tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-63469359900497878982024-02-06T21:31:25.298-05:00Paisley Rain BootsSarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.comBlogger466125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-57376832970432950662019-11-12T01:00:00.000-05:002019-11-12T01:00:07.743-05:00Made of Glass<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><i>Glass: A hard, brittle substance, typically transparent or translucent, made by fusing sand with soda, lime, and sometimes other ingredients and cooling rapidly. It is used to make windows, drinking containers, and other articles.</i></span><br />
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What comes to mind when you think of glass?<br />
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Probably not a historic greenhouse.</div>
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Our FaceBook photography group has been choosing five different word prompts each week to use as guides for inspiration. We can choose to do all five, just a couple, or fixate on one. I fixate on one. </div>
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When I read the word "glass" on the tiny slip of paper, I immediately wondered where I could go. Then like divine intervention a place jumped to the forefront of my mind. The city greenhouse, with all its wonderful curves, chippy paint, and glass. </div>
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We choose new prompts every Sunday. It took me until the following Sunday to finally get out and shoot. The week had seemed to conspire against me. First, on Sunday our furnace died, and I mean death died. Our furnace technician got it going enough for what I called "weak heat" until the new furnace could be installed on Thursday. We got our first snow and truly cold weather; grateful for that weak heat. Also, I seemed to have some morning obligation each day which prevented me from going to shoot. </div>
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Finally a week later, I stepped out of my car on a snowless and slightly warmer Sunday morning and set up my tripod. The conditions were perfect for the vision I had for the glass greenhouse. </div>
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While I was there with my camera and tripod, I had two different people stop and talk to me. The greenhouse is a popular backdrop for wedding photos, engagement photos and senior pictures. But I don't think people often see a lone photographer decked out head to toe in winter apparel, using a tripod, on an early Sunday morning. I was encouraged by the conversations, even as the battery drained away on my camera. Often the outing is about more than getting the shots.</div>
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<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-78784075793804439442019-09-29T01:00:00.000-04:002019-09-29T01:00:07.743-04:00Forbidding Joy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I shouldn't have been surprised when it happened, all the warning signs had been there. I would be happily processing photos in Lightroom, my battery at 50% or more when suddenly the screen would go black. I couldn't get it back until I plugged it into the charger and hit the eject button. It always came back. Until it didn't. One morning I flipped open the lid of my seven year old laptop and was greeted with the black screen. It had already been charging all night.<br />
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I Googled MacBook Pro and black screen and tried all the various suggested fixes, and in a brief moment of joy I thought I had done it. I was able to load the photos I had taken that morning for a project I am working on, process the ones I wanted and exit out of Lightroom without a problem. At lunch when I flipped up the screen, blackness greeted me. There was no bringing it back this time. It was done.<br />
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I had been hoping to delay the purchase of a new laptop until the end of the year. Switching everything over in January. A new beginning at a new beginning. But that was not to be. The time had come to make a trip to the Apple store.<br />
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It wasn't that I didn't want a new computer, I did. I knew everything would be so much faster. It wasn't adjusting to something new, we learn new things much faster than we expect. It wasn't that I was afraid to spend the money (much to my husband's chagrin), I had been budgeting for a new computer for a while. What I was afraid of was transferring all the precious data. By God's grace, I had done a backup the day before it died. But still, could I trust that everything would transfer smoothly and quickly. I envisioned days of transferring, and having to reload Lightroom and Photoshop, praying that seven years of photographs would all end up in the correct place. Yes, I was scared.<br />
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I am really good at forbidding joy. I bought my new laptop on a Thursday. I didn't take the plastic off the box until Monday. I kept telling myself that I didn't have the quiet or the hours that I needed to focus on this process. Finally Monday afternoon after lunch and taking the dog for one more walk, I got the little red Swiss Army knife out of the drawer and slit the plastic wrap.<br />
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All my fears were unfounded. It was so intuitive to set up, the backup obviously making a huge difference. My Lightroom and Photoshop programs are subscription based so I just had to log in. The only small annoyance was that I had to download a new Adobe Cloud desktop app, which also went very smoothly. A lot has changed in seven years.<br />
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How many things do we put off due to fear? And then when we actually do them are so easy that we want to kick ourselves and say, "You should have done that sooner." When will we learn there is nothing to gain from forbidding joy, and everything to gain from taking action?Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-19505125824676597812019-09-15T01:00:00.000-04:002019-09-15T01:00:02.098-04:00Box of Memories<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwX1UrKJQjGHjHby3q4hqZv-w0ejK6cxfH7F6gVftkWwBkyEEy1mROxJmNrpvBVwrrxJUNu9Mu2npg7b-9X_SPeSUssYnXMo_u8AXNLDxnnJrgu2xHaDZntQjqclicU4af6gUTRmQpPIY/s1600/IMG_4747.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwX1UrKJQjGHjHby3q4hqZv-w0ejK6cxfH7F6gVftkWwBkyEEy1mROxJmNrpvBVwrrxJUNu9Mu2npg7b-9X_SPeSUssYnXMo_u8AXNLDxnnJrgu2xHaDZntQjqclicU4af6gUTRmQpPIY/s1600/IMG_4747.jpg" /></a></div>
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We all have one, an old shoe box or stationary box, shoved to the back of a hall or bedroom closet.<br />
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The box may have originally belonged to our grandmother or a great-aunt, but somehow we have become the keeper of it.<br />
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Inside is a jumble of memories: childhood moments, former cars and houses, and gone-but-not-forgotten beloved pets.<br />
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What do we do with this hodgepodge of visual stories? We were trusted with the box, trusted to keep the memories alive. But how can this be done when there is no complete story? <br />
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We write a new story with the bits and pieces.<br />
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But what happens when we take our responsibility to be a box keeper so seriously; that when we see somebody else's box of memories on a table at an antique store we must buy that box too.<br />
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We feel a deep sense of sadness that nobody is willing or able to be the keeper of these memories.<br />
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We're not quite sure how we will write this story of someone else's life, but we are willing to try. Even if that story is just some pretty pictures of forgotten memories in a box.<br />
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<i>**Module Three of the photography class I am taking is all about Still Life photography. I am not much of one for pretty styled photo shoots, so I instead I found my way to tell a story with a still life set up. </i>Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-3383534021103411442019-09-01T01:00:00.000-04:002019-09-01T01:00:07.160-04:00This Is Real Life<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejUL0_0dxl3uMwfvjXQX1zL3fyVO4dXpOIg_KL1NSsx_g297cJvP5ml3Em2t8ikGtt3qhiOTEh-ALRH5grCU5FrYNTXMsiX-snVjfqh13n5a7E7EpaHCP34TyDNim3Y5-jFS_hjPlxAA/s1600/IMG_2785.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiejUL0_0dxl3uMwfvjXQX1zL3fyVO4dXpOIg_KL1NSsx_g297cJvP5ml3Em2t8ikGtt3qhiOTEh-ALRH5grCU5FrYNTXMsiX-snVjfqh13n5a7E7EpaHCP34TyDNim3Y5-jFS_hjPlxAA/s640/IMG_2785.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
"Is this real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality.</blockquote>
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Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see, I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy.</blockquote>
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Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low</blockquote>
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Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me, to me."</blockquote>
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Bohemian Rhapsody ~ Queen </div>
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I'm sorry if those lyrics are stuck in your head now. They have been stuck in mine all week, so I thought I would share.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixChRbEDInnDkMmzO7v7koKGz9nEUUJT0vMkEBaX_tRdDSPGMyQQy4No-cov21kpzR4o540vDJhrO8DY7INtPU4SEwC_MMYHeW_hadfF6BzXMMbSFXfup3vHX9-3DTMiPbwtnkaVKzDGk/s1600/IMG_2816.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixChRbEDInnDkMmzO7v7koKGz9nEUUJT0vMkEBaX_tRdDSPGMyQQy4No-cov21kpzR4o540vDJhrO8DY7INtPU4SEwC_MMYHeW_hadfF6BzXMMbSFXfup3vHX9-3DTMiPbwtnkaVKzDGk/s640/IMG_2816.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This was week 2 or Module 2 of the photography class I am taking - A Month of Multiples taught by Kim Klassen. The theme this week was documenting real life. There was a slew of suggestions for what to do for your real life series. I decided to document my daily morning walks with Atticus and make it a five day series. We would explore one of our favorite destinations every morning. </div>
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Of course the "finish" of the daily walk/project was posting the photos from our morning walk as a Story on Instagram. I chose to use the new-to-me app Unfold. I can not express enough how much I love this app. Now, Instagram on the other hand, I have a love/hate relationship with. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPkCF_xOgLJ0kwfsvF-UGhQtGcLs2LUtuwplwK2QZf6tc6oTeYZG6TVcKs6Q243ZzsqZAIgV6Ui5SzFpqv9d1dUUjihUpvicXqG6jd5cghfCn7jHVzUR4Rkdfdaj2ixcKiI63cGAL_JQ/s1600/web-0325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="900" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWPkCF_xOgLJ0kwfsvF-UGhQtGcLs2LUtuwplwK2QZf6tc6oTeYZG6TVcKs6Q243ZzsqZAIgV6Ui5SzFpqv9d1dUUjihUpvicXqG6jd5cghfCn7jHVzUR4Rkdfdaj2ixcKiI63cGAL_JQ/s640/web-0325.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Karen Lakis</td></tr>
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On the hashtag #amonthofmultiples you will see a lot of beautiful photos, but I have to question - is this real life? And even my personal friends where posting photos of dreamy walks, gorgeous flowers and tranquil morning coffee scenes. And I am taking photos like this...</div>
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On the surface, people would call me out and say my photos were dreamy and tranquil as well, but the reality is that for every ten I took, I got one where Atticus was looking at the camera, and not ripping the flowers off a bush at a public garden, or munching on a stick, or yanking on my arm as I tried to push the shutter button on my phone. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwoJKgX4KCzx3QsxPIgIsnffuf6qgzvzKzVHU5HH_vXfHVEXjGAcgo3qFobFfSqaRb29uF-YfmffheyuY3VCcvFDEYabq9UeBVuYfwuHHr0KpuvTcaMrwtFSfkXJY8vhuzyRO-ASrJPz8/s1600/IMG_2473+2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwoJKgX4KCzx3QsxPIgIsnffuf6qgzvzKzVHU5HH_vXfHVEXjGAcgo3qFobFfSqaRb29uF-YfmffheyuY3VCcvFDEYabq9UeBVuYfwuHHr0KpuvTcaMrwtFSfkXJY8vhuzyRO-ASrJPz8/s640/IMG_2473+2.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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That is real life. Why are we afraid to share what real life looks like? The clutter, the mess, the upside down photos, which yes can be fixed, but isn't the story better in the original version?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwVpyhp45xYxL7jJC0vCfJBds8H_urntVJF8a55Q_2k7p3OrpRqITkUwlCpVMzRmpDpV_zr_F3AheVIFk9WKwHDkR7OiPY3m24YlZ_h4oawp2oqzSFCH7w_QlS_JCg9ps_lDxnnI5Bhw/s1600/IMG_2810.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilwVpyhp45xYxL7jJC0vCfJBds8H_urntVJF8a55Q_2k7p3OrpRqITkUwlCpVMzRmpDpV_zr_F3AheVIFk9WKwHDkR7OiPY3m24YlZ_h4oawp2oqzSFCH7w_QlS_JCg9ps_lDxnnI5Bhw/s640/IMG_2810.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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I will occasionally look back at my daughter's early years and let out a sigh of frustration. Why did the counters have to have so much stuff on them? Why was my house so messy? Oh right! Because I lived there and had a young child with toys and two dogs, and not a lot of storage space. That was real life. </div>
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If you looked at my counter right now you would see a tray of blueberries drying, two loaves of hot, out-of-the-oven banana chocolate chip bread cooling, an open box of crackers, a half eaten cheese board, and a half empty bottle of wine, a calculator (no idea why that is out), and an open recipe binder. I no longer have a young child, most days only one dog, and I have lots of storage, but still the clutter remains. <br />
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When I talked to my friend about her tranquil morning coffee with her grand pup, I realized it wasn't as tranquil as it seemed. She was trying to balance a cup of coffee, her camera and hold the pup's leash, and get a decently composed shot. All is not as it seems. Tranquility comes with work. After seeing her photo, I tried to duplicate a similar one with Atticus, minus the coffee. It looks pretty good, but in reality he is trying to eat that leaf on the ground. Thankfully the blur diminishes that reality.<br />
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I love taking and sharing a beautiful photo as much as anybody else, but there is a whole lot of real life that happens before that photo become reality.<br />
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My Instagram feeds for both my Atticus Adventures @paisleyandatticus and my feed for my art and photography @twistedroadstudio will never be influencer perfect, but they will be real.<br />
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<i>**Thanks to my friend Karen for allowing me to use her photograph and for the great conversation this week about real life and everything in-between. Please check out her blog <a href="https://karenlakis.com/morning/" target="_blank">Gingham Notebook </a>for her take on real life.</i></div>
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Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-62615652591263059872019-08-25T01:00:00.000-04:002019-08-25T01:00:02.588-04:00One Spot Wonder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><i>"Do not be afraid to walk the path that you must go just because you cannot see the end. The path becomes clearer as you continue to go on." ~ Tracy Allen</i></b></blockquote>
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This past week I started a new photography class with a group of friends. The core group of us have been friends since the Summer of 2012. Seven years already. How did that happen? Through those seven years, we have enfolded a few other kindred souls. You may be wondering where we meet. Good question. We meet online, in a Facebook group that was born out another class we all took together from the delightful online instructor <a href="https://kimklassen.com/" target="_blank">Kim Klassen</a>. The class was on blogging. That was how we began our lives together.<br />
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Our new photography class is once again taught by the talented Kim Klassen. It has been a while since she has taught a photography class, and it has been a while since I have taken one focused on adventures with my camera. I was excited, and I was excited to share the adventure with my friends.</div>
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I went out shooting Monday and Tuesday mornings. First to a sunflower field recommended by a friend, and then to the lake near my house for sunrise and boat photos. Our first lessons were on framing and focus. Good refresher lessons.<br />
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I was eager to share my photos with my friends in the group. But, I didn't want to be the only one sharing photos, so Monday night I gave them a pep talk. I love to be one who inspires, but I also need others to inspire me. This is a group of highly talented women - photography, art, writing - they are amazing. I encouraged them to go out, do the lessons, and post their photos. None of us signed up and paid the money for the course to have it just sit in our inboxes.<br />
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My encouragement must have worked because on Tuesday photos started to flood the group. Not everybody in the group is in the class, but I pleaded for everyone in the group to please share photos, I know they have them.<br />
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I hope we can keep this momentum going.<br />
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Friday morning, I had to heed my own advice. I had planned to go out shooting. I had gathered my gear Thursday night. I had my location picked out. But when I woke up Friday morning, the last thing I wanted to do was get moving right away so I could be at my location and ready to shoot for the sunrise at 6:59 a.m. I thought, maybe I will just take the dog for a walk and then work on my art class, that is something I can do in any light. But then I heard my own voice in my head saying the same words to myself that I had written to them. So I quickly showered, skipped breakfast, left my husband in charge of the dog, grabbed my camera bag and left the house.<br />
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I did change my mind from my original location idea, and it bought me an extra half hour before the sun licked the features of my main subject. For class, one of our assignments was to stay and photograph in one spot - ideally a four to five foot radius. When the dog and I had been hiking at this park the day before I thought the bridge would be perfect place for the one spot challenge. </div>
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I did wander more than five feet, but I did stay on the bridge the whole time, so that counts as one spot. Once out there, and as the sun began to come up, I forgot about my lack luster attitude for going out to photograph, and was really glad I listened to the voice in my head.<br />
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I spent an hour on the bridge. I never saw another person. I hear a lot of nature noises: ducks quacking, acorns sounding like rain as they slipped free of the tree branch and pelleted the leaves on their way to the ground. Lovely bird songs, and something larger and louder crashing around at the edge of the river upstream.<br />
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Every time I turned around, looked up or looked down, I saw something else that I wanted to photograph. Eventually though, the sun was getting too high and too bright. It was time to go home, make a cup of tea, eat breakfast and take the dog for a walk in the woods.<br />
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As much as I hate to admit it, it was that low sunrise light that made these photographs magical. The light inspired me to keep looking, to keep shooting.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-19777704212164214382019-08-11T01:00:00.000-04:002019-08-11T01:00:04.804-04:00Garden Recommendations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Asking for help does not come easy for me. I think that is largely due to my German/Italian heritage. If you are physically and mentally capable, you figure it out and do it yourself. This is why I will probably never have a cleaning lady. When I do ask for help it is because I need something hung on the wall, that usually doesn't go all that well.<br />
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But, last week I reached out and asked for recommendations on FB for local flower farms where I could go photograph. I know this seems such a low hurdle in the help-asking arena, but for me it was still hard. I have Google at my fingertips, and with my many years of wandering, I should be able to figure it out. What I have learned though is that people want to help. Within 24 hours, I had three awesome recommendations.<br />
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The flower farm was for Exercise 36 in the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Soul-Photography-Self-Expression-Smartphones/dp/1592538711/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3BO4FVJ38G2UX&keywords=shooting+with+soul&qid=1565379974&s=gateway&sprefix=Shooting+with+sou%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Shooting with Soul</a>. You are probably tired of reading about this book every time I post, but I need this book and these exercises to get out of my daily rut. Without the book, my wanderings are limited to walks with the puppy at the beach, in the woods, at the park, and downtown. Wash, rinse, and repeat. I need my brain and my eyes to be challenged to look for something new, to think new thoughts, and to get out with my big camera by myself.<br />
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Now if you have the book and look at Exercise 36, you might wonder what am I talking about - going to a flower farm? The lesson instructs you to buy fresh flowers, arrange them and photograph them in your home. I will get to that this winter when there is nothing to do outside. I am choosing to follow just the last couple sentences:<i> "Then, with input from all of your senses, take photos that infuse your images with your thoughts and feelings. Repeat as needed throughout the year."</i><br />
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As I said I received three recommendations, and I plan to explore them all, but I started with the one closest to my house. Sunrise is at 6:43 and I wanted early morning light, but I didn't want to leave the house at five o'clock. Plus my recommendation came from the wife of the owner of the wholesale garden I was going to.<br />
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The funny thing is, more than a decade ago, I actually worked in these display gardens for a few summers. I worked for a friend who was contracted to maintain the large gardens. I haven't been back in many years. Some of it felt familiar, but a lot of it felt so different. It was the perfect combination of comfort and exciting new discoveries.<br />
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This week, I also started a new art class from Laly Mille - Soulful Abstracts. One of the first exercises we had to do was find images on Pinterest based on questions about ourselves. My finds were the color palette I expected, although I feel my green color is more clearly defined now, what did surprise me was how dark and moody a lot of the images were. That dark moody feeling definitely influenced my photography at the garden. I might be in love. I looked at everything with a completely new perspective.<br />
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This is going to be a really good class for my art and my photography.<br />
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<i><br /></i>Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-73823195015720101892019-07-30T01:00:00.000-04:002019-07-30T01:00:04.225-04:00To The Market We Shall Go<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We all start with an understory to our day long before we ever walk out the door. It could be something as simple as the fact that we ran out of time to make coffee, or that our new underwear doesn't fit like our old, favorite underwear. Or it could be more complex: we are tired of waking up alone every morning, or our old dog stumbled down the steps to go outside...again.<br />
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Maybe that is why the series I use to write - The Coffee Shop Chronicles - did so well. There was always was an undercurrent to my day long before I reached the coffee shop to peer into other peoples' lives. I think in the busyness of my life this year with a puppy I haven't taken the time to acknowledge that understory. At least that is until last week when I set out to do Exercise 31 - Markets and Stalls in the photography exercise book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Soul-Photography-Self-Expression-Smartphones/dp/1592538711/ref=sr_1_1?crid=27ID0OX9Z623U&keywords=shooting+with+soul&qid=1564445486&s=gateway&sprefix=shooting+with+soul%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Shooting with Soul.</a><br />
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Before I leave the house at any given time, I always take the puppy out to go to the bathroom before he goes in his crate. As we pitter puttered down the bike path, I noticed the neighbor across the street's dog coming down his driveway. Odd, I had heard his car that morning when he left for work, and his dog is always in the house when he is at work. Maybe his teenage daughter was home and let the dog out. I quickly sped Atticus back to the house. These two dogs had met the night before, Atticus loves everybody, the other dog didn't feel the same.<br />
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Atticus zipped into his crate, I wrestled with the thought of trying to catch the neighbor's dog and knock on his door, but when I went back outside she had disappeared. Maybe the daughter was home.<br />
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I left for the Farmers Market, but my mind kept going back to that dog and our busy summer traffic road.<br />
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Once at the Farmers Market I forgot about the dog. I grabbed my camera and my 35mm lens for some wide/establishing shots of the market. I was at the market just after 8 a.m., it wasn't busy yet. I wanted photos of the stalls, not photos of crowds. I turned my camera on to check the settings needed for the light and noticed the blinking battery light. You have got to be kidding me. I just used this camera two weeks before, and I had plenty of battery. Knowing I always keep an extra charged battery in my camera bag, I went back to the car to get it. After a thorough search of my camera bag, I found no extra battery. Seriously!<br />
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I decided I was just going to see how long I could go with this blinking battery. I wasn't going to go home and come back. It would take too long, the light would be too bright and I was afraid I would find the neighbor's dog lying on the road.<br />
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This exercise made me very uncomfortable. It was great that it wasn't busy with a lot of people, but I felt so exposed, wandering with my big camera. Now, if I had been wandering around with my iPhone snapping photos, I would have blended right in. The funny thing is when I see other people with their DSLR at the market I only wonder what they are going to shoot.<br />
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This feeling of being uncomfortable inhibited my ability to set up shots with thoughtful composition and I gave no consideration to the story I wanted to tell. Still, I pushed on. Determined to keep trying until the battery quit, which it was surely going to do at any moment.<br />
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After about a half hour, the light was getting too high and market too crowded for any more shots. It was time to go home. The battery never did die.<br />
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As I crested the rise of the hill near my house, I saw the neighbor dog wander across the road from our house to her house. I parked the car in the garage, grabbed Atticus' leash and went across the road. She was sitting, shaking on her front porch. She came to me readily and let me put the leash on her. I called the neighbor's work and asked that a message be given to him. We sat on the porch, she resting in my lap, until his car pulled into the driveway about ten minutes later.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-955641137478193052019-07-19T01:00:00.000-04:002019-07-20T09:45:27.253-04:00One Hundred Days<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mobile Photography</td></tr>
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One hundred days in the Hundred Acre Wood, or at least it felt like it. Because...<br />
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The rain, rain, rain</div>
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Came down, down, down</div>
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In rushing, rising riv'lets</div>
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'Til the river crept out of its bed...</div>
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The rain came down often in those one hundred days.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-__kYaJ84LugjbysRxWkUw-CUmY4cXL9AdXLCTvswlt7MQTkBklQ42qf9ElDNRVdpWkL5GLWB2UZ-AW25jnVlefE5ZOVJq1LAFIDEWeDk1meAbXsgkv9g6TNnHktpFYivO3_cwkB5bE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-18+at+10.55.08+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="552" data-original-width="562" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB-__kYaJ84LugjbysRxWkUw-CUmY4cXL9AdXLCTvswlt7MQTkBklQ42qf9ElDNRVdpWkL5GLWB2UZ-AW25jnVlefE5ZOVJq1LAFIDEWeDk1meAbXsgkv9g6TNnHktpFYivO3_cwkB5bE/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-07-18+at+10.55.08+AM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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On April 2, I began #the100dayproject for the fourth time, determined to finish it for only the second time. Two other years where aborted attempts. What is the #the100dayproject? It is committing to 100 days of daily creating. You get to choose what you want to create. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhqCm_QeZcBtUn8WyO3UJ6Z-BQs2vg62Tq3-nKLemCJ1ejxbEWfu1XwrpfjOQnkHgEEbkALSN6oUXc0pcP52fMG9RfhDqJZFBCMR7qc8Mvfr0yz3u8ARyxSsA81SzFnnr_f9SAY_t2M8/s1600/IMG_8949.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="904" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKhqCm_QeZcBtUn8WyO3UJ6Z-BQs2vg62Tq3-nKLemCJ1ejxbEWfu1XwrpfjOQnkHgEEbkALSN6oUXc0pcP52fMG9RfhDqJZFBCMR7qc8Mvfr0yz3u8ARyxSsA81SzFnnr_f9SAY_t2M8/s640/IMG_8949.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collage, watercolor, and acrylic paint</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I set one and only one constraint for myself I was going to do all my creating on 5" X 7" pieces of art paper that I would binder together into a journal at the end of the 100 days. This lasted until Day 22. We were on vacation for the week. I was fully prepared with plenty of blank 5" X 7" pages to create on. But once surrounded by the beauty of the north country, I was inspired to reconnect with my love of mobile photography and the amazing editing/creating apps that I had at my fingertips. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgo5uzLquFPuT3aktXELaQH8_a_sdpxeOwH-bhqAR17RWBO4rjijE2kkxmxf_B2xlv7993UZ-GnsZAhSx9RZGN2aVxDCxhiSqPpalPxvi0Oiz1zONwazDS6dwLHOpEPi7niK3xUMH788E/s1600/IMG_9282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1174" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgo5uzLquFPuT3aktXELaQH8_a_sdpxeOwH-bhqAR17RWBO4rjijE2kkxmxf_B2xlv7993UZ-GnsZAhSx9RZGN2aVxDCxhiSqPpalPxvi0Oiz1zONwazDS6dwLHOpEPi7niK3xUMH788E/s640/IMG_9282.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mobile Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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At first I thought; "Oh, I will just print those out in 5 X 7 size and I can still add them into the journal." This lasted until Day 50, when I much preferred the square crop of my photograph to the vertical 5 X 7 shape, and that was the end of the #5X7artjournalpage 100 day project. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBMhXSDFUi-p6lkdlf8NRfQTigIH8-ujNkBD5R29FgSxl4LhfwyjdwL-RmG36dOcRojPXTtbmY82T0CnGE1ORSsLvduyBiI23FP6GKWYzY4xDi7g_C2XteLLvDnHr2EFIwdhPPZ1cxH4/s1600/IMG_0111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzBMhXSDFUi-p6lkdlf8NRfQTigIH8-ujNkBD5R29FgSxl4LhfwyjdwL-RmG36dOcRojPXTtbmY82T0CnGE1ORSsLvduyBiI23FP6GKWYzY4xDi7g_C2XteLLvDnHr2EFIwdhPPZ1cxH4/s640/IMG_0111.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mobile Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I could have quit there. I had made it half way, which is further than I have gone the last three years. But I was also half way through, I couldn't give up, it would feel like I was abandoning all the work I had done already. Plus, it was about darn time that I finished something! So, I readjusted my focus and renamed my project - #100daysoffreedomtolearn. This renaming opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me, I was excited about the project again. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJHt04gHJb0ajIcaw61czmUdk5HsrSruM9OSyBIvjMizwgLQ06DD_55IYclHuiR7dWI_rfqv5NTf_QU7PmltdfDkUXPYeChQ90Wzav85HLZouj1jAXeMKkSJbYxgUVZIuDDMYpj7nKCo/s1600/IMG_0022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1281" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWJHt04gHJb0ajIcaw61czmUdk5HsrSruM9OSyBIvjMizwgLQ06DD_55IYclHuiR7dWI_rfqv5NTf_QU7PmltdfDkUXPYeChQ90Wzav85HLZouj1jAXeMKkSJbYxgUVZIuDDMYpj7nKCo/s640/IMG_0022.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mobile Photography - iColorama</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It was around this time that I was also reading the book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Refuse-Choose-Interests-Passions-Hobbies/dp/1594866260/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1C2ZR8RK76Z8O&keywords=refuse+to+choose&qid=1563461960&s=gateway&sprefix=Refuse+to+Ch%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Refuse to Choose.</a> This book opened my eyes to the fact that I am probably a Cyclical Scanner. What is a Cyclical Scanner you ask. Here is the book's definition:<br />
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<b><i>"If I ask you what your interests are and you have no trouble doing it, you're probably a Cyclical Scanner. You know all the things you love to do most. Your list may have only a few items on it, or it may have 20, but it isn't endless. You know what you love, and you usually return to each activity over and over again."</i></b></div>
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There are three subcategories of Cyclical Scanners - the Double Agent, the Sybil, and the Plate Spinner. </div>
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I am a Sybil. <b><i>"If you're a typical Sybil, you're usually surrounded by lots of "creative clutter." Sybil types can't always find their materials, because they have so many projects going on at the same time they can't keep track of them. All the same, most Sybil Scanner have very little tolerance for chaos and have bursts of organizing energy they find very satisfying. But order never lasts for long because when the creative urge comes, there is no patience for putting things away."</i></b></div>
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That's me in a nutshell. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdee6U9xj5wtLyYgF8n-Ab9Rti9ZtrcuPSaOw9TfR1_JuhZl7ISyBbHhRH9wyIY8sW86PP25ulbkHmiglzYK0MdGKwZX1Mm9Tg5ARTJ4PHNVpO507Yh63xEkycHZW5uwS4M7aFOEUk9E/s1600/IMG_0242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1197" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdee6U9xj5wtLyYgF8n-Ab9Rti9ZtrcuPSaOw9TfR1_JuhZl7ISyBbHhRH9wyIY8sW86PP25ulbkHmiglzYK0MdGKwZX1Mm9Tg5ARTJ4PHNVpO507Yh63xEkycHZW5uwS4M7aFOEUk9E/s640/IMG_0242.jpg" width="510" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">iColorama</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My list of things I love:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Photography</li>
<li>Film making</li>
<li>Being outside</li>
<li>Writing</li>
<li>Hands-on art</li>
<li>Reading</li>
</ul>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTl9AVjW45_7Qr0wKaHJpVznfIKBvnG-GXj2LWpMP6oKq_5YxYAjsettg1wswT4LwHc49XAodAWdsICZaFr0MDyf9FQVS3cSRJB5D2Ryc-IWif90nxwd2Fjh0qPVZK_mkoEbQjM75DTk/s1600/IMG_8855.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggTl9AVjW45_7Qr0wKaHJpVznfIKBvnG-GXj2LWpMP6oKq_5YxYAjsettg1wswT4LwHc49XAodAWdsICZaFr0MDyf9FQVS3cSRJB5D2Ryc-IWif90nxwd2Fjh0qPVZK_mkoEbQjM75DTk/s640/IMG_8855.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collage</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The hands-on art is still all over the place. I love art supplies, and trying new things, but haven't quite settled on what "the" thing is yet. My other subjects are more clear yet there are still a million different paths to explore within them.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YOmPLEa7-5i5mzDZgyc8F4zA2dBPSClSXwAKgjzpB_A616oj47CAh5npWH0HN7VOQGrWrP0Tb_UPTkn8YPdo2sRVz2XsCaaJkJepcfwyP6KZXp32Yn_5QcgcbCCmsANDsxGeEBdtIoU/s1600/IMG_0782.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9YOmPLEa7-5i5mzDZgyc8F4zA2dBPSClSXwAKgjzpB_A616oj47CAh5npWH0HN7VOQGrWrP0Tb_UPTkn8YPdo2sRVz2XsCaaJkJepcfwyP6KZXp32Yn_5QcgcbCCmsANDsxGeEBdtIoU/s640/IMG_0782.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pastel Painting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The big takeaway that I got from the book is that no matter what type of Scanner you are, you need to occasionally finish projects to feel productive, and joy-filled. So I set about finishing the 100 day project, to have that feeling of accomplishment and not failure. Also, since the beginning of June, I have been giving myself the freedom to explore whatever I want each week, but the goal is at the end of the week I have one finished project. A sense of accomplishment and something tangible from the week of exploration. It feels good to finish.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3svNC9dPzTtN85IjxgksLYbz6vgdZjcedDofRZdRCBFNr-T9ZcTHp2k4OJbvFePyoeR-6eybcVTP3URYIr3StEsbztlLvzQ_YIOB7YQ34zwT5jiduiGJajtg-kVBCIE0GYlu9ynn9_ZY/s1600/IMG_0125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1251" data-original-width="1600" height="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3svNC9dPzTtN85IjxgksLYbz6vgdZjcedDofRZdRCBFNr-T9ZcTHp2k4OJbvFePyoeR-6eybcVTP3URYIr3StEsbztlLvzQ_YIOB7YQ34zwT5jiduiGJajtg-kVBCIE0GYlu9ynn9_ZY/s640/IMG_0125.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mobile Photography</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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So I made it through the one hundred days, explored many paths within the hundred acre wood, and I have to say I came out into the daylight stronger because of it. </div>
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Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-77680578320110091492019-07-07T01:00:00.000-04:002019-07-07T01:00:02.959-04:00Window Reflecting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5t26OqhY7L9xQ7Dd31Mh8VXTIhYWy0RWgdzBC9NmgCu6RIidhw80dzL8ABZSaAfLUvroNKitAY0LdZI05-32iOSlaE4hwBgy6b1FtKnpJ-Po66TkneXmoLPVOb50MBbsW6H3se8H0JI/s1600/IMG_3910.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5t26OqhY7L9xQ7Dd31Mh8VXTIhYWy0RWgdzBC9NmgCu6RIidhw80dzL8ABZSaAfLUvroNKitAY0LdZI05-32iOSlaE4hwBgy6b1FtKnpJ-Po66TkneXmoLPVOb50MBbsW6H3se8H0JI/s640/IMG_3910.jpg" width="402" /></a></div>
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The joy is coming back. Each time I load my backpack with a camera and a couple lens. Each time I arrive at a destination and haul my tripod out of the car. Each time I cross another item off the Summer Photography Scavenger List. Each time I complete another lesson in the book Shooting with Soul. Each time I come home with at least a couple photographs I want to print, frame and hang. I feel happy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkkeTiCrp4kC9LfMXgnQ5uZRAL55537Fri-rkHzTNxsCGC20mooVaZoP6QghQ1G6oAwTkxxNcRu0e1ZX9yAlTVN55RKZxOB2HAeIvUqF37KLaaxtjoCt2wmK6dwAFRSOYCk_1EWuwrdU/s1600/IMG_3955.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPkkeTiCrp4kC9LfMXgnQ5uZRAL55537Fri-rkHzTNxsCGC20mooVaZoP6QghQ1G6oAwTkxxNcRu0e1ZX9yAlTVN55RKZxOB2HAeIvUqF37KLaaxtjoCt2wmK6dwAFRSOYCk_1EWuwrdU/s1600/IMG_3955.jpg" /></a></div>
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The dry spell lasted way too long. September until May only a handful of photos taken with my dslr. Hopefully that never happens again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQEM2ryoIAlT8tjcZtd0zub4X0oYJcMYfx1ovWfL48yUpG72956O-4EGUhDIjyQm2xynAPnOCXmvFLwokfKWXKK8NS9eBhZMbt8x0BX5v8L_Ob515Pe_o8vg_ZO_RD8tvefZD8WMMtjNI/s1600/IMG_3906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="750" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQEM2ryoIAlT8tjcZtd0zub4X0oYJcMYfx1ovWfL48yUpG72956O-4EGUhDIjyQm2xynAPnOCXmvFLwokfKWXKK8NS9eBhZMbt8x0BX5v8L_Ob515Pe_o8vg_ZO_RD8tvefZD8WMMtjNI/s640/IMG_3906.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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The latest lesson I completed in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Soul-Photography-Self-Expression-Smartphones/dp/1592538711/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2W80284TITL54&keywords=shooting+with+soul&qid=1562427692&s=gateway&sprefix=Shooting+with+Sou%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Shooting with Soul </a>was: Exercise 27: Window Shopping<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5Mw0Ls6AKihygicaISnL_6m2GBvmEw-HUnJLBOQt6HoEIWJ6e1EAwpdmcXVi1DRMEn13oWbbM8dgPJinhB3_VXuvqEUZawnffSQ3ETo9xg4mfGpfwBd8m8Dw12KIxhkLETlg2menjWU/s1600/IMG_3918.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ5Mw0Ls6AKihygicaISnL_6m2GBvmEw-HUnJLBOQt6HoEIWJ6e1EAwpdmcXVi1DRMEn13oWbbM8dgPJinhB3_VXuvqEUZawnffSQ3ETo9xg4mfGpfwBd8m8Dw12KIxhkLETlg2menjWU/s1600/IMG_3918.jpg" /></a></div>
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My husband had to go up north for a couple days for a conference and it worked for me to go along. I made arrangements with our daughter to stay at our house to take care of Atticus. She told me long before I got Atticus that she would be happy to watch him when we went away. I was cashing in on that promise.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsES2H6qDNsN9HxAudoNJxJ-M0VBuuEM77kMiWSMrEtyysTE_s-D3BiTootsk1GwXx-cjAnIqjrtZsuhSxLX2mk61bwLcLHEAtXmIcZSjb8Oh2Octzwd_8GPpmnrKjMrj86uydoLnDQ5s/s1600/IMG_3992.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsES2H6qDNsN9HxAudoNJxJ-M0VBuuEM77kMiWSMrEtyysTE_s-D3BiTootsk1GwXx-cjAnIqjrtZsuhSxLX2mk61bwLcLHEAtXmIcZSjb8Oh2Octzwd_8GPpmnrKjMrj86uydoLnDQ5s/s1600/IMG_3992.jpg" /></a></div>
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I had one full day of wandering and shooting to myself. I prayed for no rain, but packed the umbrella just in case. The town we were staying near had the cutest shops, so it was the perfect place to complete the Window Shopping lesson.<br />
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I am not much of a shopper, but I do love windows, reflections, and wandering<br />
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I arrived in town a good hour before the shops opened. I wanted shots of the windows, not a bunch of summertime people. The objective was to <b><i>find windows with interesting stories about their products, their audience, their location, or the season. Notice how the elements inside the windows, as well as those reflected on them, can be incorporated into your photos to create compelling images.</i></b><br />
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You could choose to include your reflection into the composition or not. Needless to say, I LOVE self-portrait window reflections.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-75777026199823031012019-06-30T01:00:00.000-04:002019-06-30T01:00:02.402-04:00Rain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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June has seen record rainfall amounts. Last Sunday was the first time we have turned on our air-conditioning all season. I was still wearing my winter coat in May. Needless to say, it has been a very cold, wet spring here in Michigan. It is no wonder my mojo for photography has been almost non-existent.<br />
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One morning, after taking the puppy for a walk in the rain -- in Michigan you need really good rain gear -- I dried him off the best I could and stuck him in his crate. I had had enough. I packed my golf umbrella, bought when my husband and I photographed covered bridges a couple of years ago, we never needed it then. I also made sure I had a regular size umbrella. I had two in the car. I wasn't sure how windy it would be where I was going. In a strong wind, the golf umbrella could have turned me into Mary Poppins real quick.<br />
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I drove to a place where I knew the landscape would be lush and magical due to the overcast skies and light rain. Also with the rain, I knew it wouldn't be busy. I was also hopeful to cross a couple things off the list for the <a href="https://paisleyrainboots.blogspot.com/2019/06/share-where-you-live-scavenger-hunt.html" target="_blank">Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt</a>. This place had a ladder, or more accurately a fire escape, but hey, close enough. Also I adore old historical buildings, and if anything was going to get me back in the mood to photograph it would be this place.<br />
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Felt Mansion, built 1925-1928 by Dorr Felt for his wife Agnes. You can read more of the history <a href="https://www.feltmansion.org/felt-mansion/" target="_blank">here</a> if you are interested. The saddest part to me is that six weeks after they settled in the house in the summer of 1928, Agnes passed away, and Dorr only lived a year and a half after that. What a love story. If you are ever in West Michigan I would highly recommend a visit. Come on a day when you can tour the inside as well.<br />
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It has been a while since my last visit. I don't remember these lights. There are also two permanently erected event tents now as well. The estate is a very popular wedding venue in the summer.<br />
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The rain had mostly let up by this time, so I started down the meandering path to the carriage house. This place has some great windows, both the house and the carriage house. I seem to be drawn to window reflections this summer. Well, really all the time, but it has intensified this summer, probably due to all the gray, overcast days.<br />
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Just past the carriage house, I noticed a new sign pointing to a trail I had not explored before. It was interesting, as I started down that unexplored trail I felt the weight of these past months of bad weather, puppy training, and lack of photography inspiration lift off of me. I felt light, happy and filled with curiosity. As I rounded a bend in the trail, I saw this shed and knew it was the light that had pulled me down that path.<br />
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Sometimes when you feel the least inspired is when you have to be brave, put on your rain boots, grab an umbrella or two, and go on an adventure. You never know what could be waiting for you.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-25564938056309390662019-06-23T01:00:00.000-04:002019-06-23T01:00:02.412-04:00Looking for a Message<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was never one of those soccer moms sitting around the coffee shop on a Wednesday morning with a group of other moms, all of us in running shorts and ponytails. Talking about how overbooked our kids are for the summer. Instead, I use to be a lone photographer/writer who sat at a table nearby soaking up their conversation like a sponge.<br />
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On this day, I may be sitting at a table nearby, but I am only half interested in their conversation. I am busy reviewing the images I have taken so far for the morning with my camera.<br />
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For my outing this week - Exercise No. 26 from the book Shooting with Soul - A Message from the Universe. I am searching for a message from someone, anyone.<br />
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INSTRUCTIONS<br />
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<ul>
<li>Photographing messages from the universe is a simple and soulful process. First and foremost, you need to slow down enough to notice what the universe has to offer you. </li>
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The universe is saying it is raining, go sit in the coffee shop and have a snack. Forced slow down.<br />
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<li>Once something catches your eye and touches your heart, pay attention to how the light looks in that environment. Make sure that the message is clear and not obscured by shadows or glare.</li>
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No worries there since it is gray and overcast, not a chance of a shadow or a glare.<br />
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<li>Eliminate any clutter from the frame that might interfere with the main interest of your shot and focal point -- then shoot away.</li>
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I don't like cluttery frames, so I will be good there.<br />
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On the practical side, this should be an easy exercise. I love words. I love typography. But I don't put a lot of stock in messages from the universe. But yet, I do believe that nothing happens "out of the blue". Maybe that is my way of being comfortable with messages from the universe.<br />
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<b><u>Insight from this lesson</u></b><br />
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I loved doing this lesson, compared to the <a href="https://paisleyrainboots.blogspot.com/2019/06/a-walk-in-park.html" target="_blank">first one</a>, while I was doing it. But I find in my contentment with the lesson it is harder to shape fresh insights about photography and about myself. Apparently, I need frustration and angst to write a good story.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-18648164375555829792019-06-16T01:00:00.000-04:002019-06-16T05:54:10.413-04:00A Walk in the Park<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was a risk. Going some place I have only been to once before. The mission - to evaluate emotions surrounding photography. Turns out unfamiliarity and lack of emotional attachment were essential to an honest evaluation.<br />
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A friend and I are working through some exercises in the book Shooting with Soul. We are both in need of a photographic kick-in-the-butt. She had recently purchased the slightly used book. I had the book on my photography bookshelf, the tassel of a bookmark protruding from a third of the way through. These kinds of exercises are better when done together.<br />
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Since it is Summer in both Michigan and Maine, we wanted to take advantage of the season. We started at Chapter 4 - Wanderings: Taking the Scenic Route.<br />
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The first exercise we are doing is No. 25 - A Walk in Nature.<br />
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It has been a while since I have taken my DSLR on a walk. There was some relearning to do. How do I change the Drive again? Oh yah, that button on top that says Drive. Since doing my Meadow Project the last two summers I prefer to use my tripod for nature shots. No, I don't enjoy carrying it, but I know I am a better photographer when I use it. I slow down. Something that is terribly hard for me.<br />
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For this walk in nature, I was suppose to photograph with a meditative state of mind. I will be honest. I will probably never get to that state of mind. I can't even get there in Restorative Yoga when I am lying on my back, eyes closed, listening to atomspheric cello music, covered by a cozy blanket. Within me lies a slight skeptical edge towards everything.<br />
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<b><i>"Notice the harmony in all the shapes, colors, and textures and how the sun shines through the trees. Let your intuition guide you. Notice your emotions as you go and think about how you might want to express those feelings in your photos."</i></b></blockquote>
I was thinking about what to make for supper.<br />
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My personality type is more post-event reflective. I see the potential in my photographs when I process them. That is when the story that lies within them is revealed. </div>
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If you had asked me that morning in the park - I would have said I hate photography. The bugs, the mud, carrying the tripod, nothing inspiring to photograph. Now, as I sit at the computer processing these images, listening to atmospheric cello music, and writing this story - I will say I love photography. </div>
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<h3>
<u>Reminder</u></h3>
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For those participating in the <a href="https://paisleyrainboots.blogspot.com/2019/06/share-where-you-live-scavenger-hunt.html" target="_blank">Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt,</a> please remember to tag your photos #sharewhereyoulive2019 both on Instagram and on Facebook. You can follow the hashtag on IG and I can locate your photos on FB via the hashtag. I want to see what you all are doing. Plus I love to post your photos from the week on my Facebook Page - Twisted Road Studio</div>
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Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-62195346975691528672019-06-09T01:00:00.000-04:002019-06-09T01:00:05.847-04:00En Plein Air<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last weekend my daughter and I attended an En Plein Air workshop. To be specific an Outdoor Pastel Bootcamp at our local botanic park. Five hours of drawing with chalk pastels.<br />
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I signed us up for the workshop back in February after the great success of our two hour acrylic workshop held by our County Park system. I was so excited to continue to try new mediums. Two hours of acrylic painting had passed in a flash, so I figured five hours would be a comfortable, enjoyable amount.<br />
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But now it was the beginning of June, the Farmers Market was happening, the weekly Chef Series was happening. I was missing all of that to go sit on a little blue stool for five hours. And I am not a sit still kind of gal. Plus I have only used pastels in my art journal and mixed media pieces as little color accents, not drawing a whole landscape scene with them. My drawing skills are still on the Kindergarten level.<br />
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Still I had signed us up and paid the money, we were going to go. There is nothing like plunking down some cash to motivate the hesitant.<br />
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Until a couple of years ago, I had never even heard of plein air painting. But doing some research, I discovered it became popular in the the mid-1800's when artists became inspired to paint outdoor scenes in natural light instead of in the studio recalling from memory and charcoal sketches. The invention of paint in tubes and the box easel also contributed to the popularity.<br />
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We began the workshop with some instruction in the classroom. Perfect. A table and a chair with a back. That lasted for a half hour or so. Then it was time to gather our blue folding stools, our drawing boards, paper and box of pastels and set off outside.<br />
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We set up in the Japanese Garden, my favorite, after the Michigan Farm Garden. If I had to sit here for four hours at least the view was mesmerizing. Our instructor gave us a demonstration of sketching and drawing a scene with the pastels, so we would have some clue as to what we were doing. That blissfully took up another twenty minutes or so. Then it was time for us to start. I positioned my stool so I was looking directly at the bridge, arranged my supplies, secured my paper, whipped out my iPhone to take some "sketches", discovered the grid app to lay over photos in the App store, applied the grid to my favorite "sketch". I was ready to begin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprUZ8ye3VAiKOlTQIOrpXnwGgTgmBxDCG0HewWiCsC17JKm0tPu35At-1KtyzJ05_IscGo7dTNYXL4hb5pZ24pWcQXtxf0UyIcZsECwAuNhg8NG2jR1LMrDWXWiiAs1GpN0hdfwBFGvI/s1600/IMG_0609.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhprUZ8ye3VAiKOlTQIOrpXnwGgTgmBxDCG0HewWiCsC17JKm0tPu35At-1KtyzJ05_IscGo7dTNYXL4hb5pZ24pWcQXtxf0UyIcZsECwAuNhg8NG2jR1LMrDWXWiiAs1GpN0hdfwBFGvI/s640/IMG_0609.png" width="360" /></a></div>
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My daughter, meanwhile, had taken her stool and moved as far away as possible from me, knowing I would be a pain in the arse, talking all the time instead of taking the drawing seriously.<br />
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I had just gotten the lid of my box of pastels when I felt the first rain drops. The instructor quickly came around and reassured us that the light shower would be over shortly. We could get our umbrellas out, or move our supplies to the covered area by the tea house. I quickly carried my supplies over to the covered area. The rain didn't lessen. We decided to take our scheduled break a little early and go to the cafe for lunch.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYA16fx0ULHzWzDbC6Ozdi6IFrK2_VRWEwZIKkHZ4QAhyphenhyphenVJzYo84DBT6wX-ahQzB0fKSX6JExs16MDQgIheIntTCudho6NbpazTFaklOl_2uZDnv4YeZ0Sbt7lntiRvZ2TYGMctZtOBkU/s1600/IMG_0591.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYA16fx0ULHzWzDbC6Ozdi6IFrK2_VRWEwZIKkHZ4QAhyphenhyphenVJzYo84DBT6wX-ahQzB0fKSX6JExs16MDQgIheIntTCudho6NbpazTFaklOl_2uZDnv4YeZ0Sbt7lntiRvZ2TYGMctZtOBkU/s640/IMG_0591.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>
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While in the glass windowed cafe, it was clear the rain wasn't going to go away. The classroom assistant had had the foresight to gather everybody's supplies and transport them back to the indoor classroom.<br />
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Back to that lovely table and chair with a back. I had my "sketches". I was ready to work. And there were only 2-1/2 hours left to endure. My poor daughter though was stuck with me again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYWLcgbQOxoPEiP42oxVIj2ZEyCC5Jo7m8QmaGuukrEan79CzytAsu6cp6XthVPR7kSVdlfoKpU4kOxo9FVmbmXCZRPLNpGNZ7B2BQYxAjfVpdabpPN7BnfPinOFKuTyQujQqMy4xKj8/s1600/IMG_0595.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhYWLcgbQOxoPEiP42oxVIj2ZEyCC5Jo7m8QmaGuukrEan79CzytAsu6cp6XthVPR7kSVdlfoKpU4kOxo9FVmbmXCZRPLNpGNZ7B2BQYxAjfVpdabpPN7BnfPinOFKuTyQujQqMy4xKj8/s640/IMG_0595.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artwork: Mallory Huizenga</td></tr>
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I had to endure my own hardship with my daughter, that being that she is very talented, and makes others wonder where she gets her talent from - certainly not her mother. Some of us are just more naturally gifted than others.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8k4B1j4BOnziVHdhilZUi1sxKxiGkyNbSXvt1QcAHPtM527d9CAydsmHUEl21qeouCcVs8jWGlECZ5B_676iOlo29QhBhVwYdL0vjPxck9FsMR0JOpc2Mu8ad9sx3SXJuBDqjVXF8gTc/s1600/IMG_0612.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8k4B1j4BOnziVHdhilZUi1sxKxiGkyNbSXvt1QcAHPtM527d9CAydsmHUEl21qeouCcVs8jWGlECZ5B_676iOlo29QhBhVwYdL0vjPxck9FsMR0JOpc2Mu8ad9sx3SXJuBDqjVXF8gTc/s640/IMG_0612.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artwork: Sarah Huizenga</td></tr>
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Truthfully though, I had a great time, and learned a lot, including some patience. While my creation was no masterpiece, it wasn't half bad, thanks to the instructor's help. What I really enjoyed about pastels and what may encourage me to continue on, is that they felt like abstract drawing with color. I liked using my hands and fingers instead of a paint brush. Having handy wet and dry paper towels nearby, or a classroom sink are the perfect way to limit the messy feeling.<br />
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I have been working on another piece at home. Carving out a half hour between breakfast and our morning walk to work on art. This is the result of four mornings of work. I worked on this in thirds, starting at the top, with each third I grew more confident in my ability. I am going to call this one done. I could keep worrying it to death, but I think it would be better to take my growing confidence and move on to a new piece. Thank you to Carola Bartz for the original inspirational photograph. I had initially planned to use the photograph for a watercolor paining, but that only got half finished. This is complete. It feels really good to finish!<br />
<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-64947157225427006002019-06-02T01:00:00.000-04:002019-06-02T01:00:10.363-04:00Share Where You Live Scavenger Hunt<br />
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What place do you know the best? Your home town right? Or you should at least, you live there. But when was the last time you got in the car and went for a simple drive? Just an hour or two driving around to all your favorite haunts. Or even better yet, parking the car and walking the main street of your town and venturing off into a neighborhood or two. It is more likely one day when you are driving from work to a doctor appt. you see a new building and think, "when did they put that up?" Surprise, it has been there for two years already.<br />
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Too many of us sit inside the safety of our four walls and never even explore our own yard, let alone our neighborhood. Do you know the name of your neighbors three houses each way of yours? I don't.<br />
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I know the usual excuses. They are mine too... I'm busy. I'm tired. My _______ hurts?<br />
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The beginning of May was the first time I used my big camera since January. How did that happen? Didn't I just do a 365 day photography project last year? Yes I did! My excuse. I have been busy. I have been training a puppy almost non-stop since December. Trying to make sure I don't fail with this dog where I failed with previous dogs. No pulling on the leash when we walk, loving to ride in the car, not being anxious when we go new places. But I think it is time for him to see the inside of his crate a bit more, and I need to get out with my camera again. I have a feeling he might grow up to be an even better dog without my training him every second. He might actually have a chance to miss me, and they say absence makes the heart grow fonder.<br />
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In that spirit, I am going to do a Summer Photography Scavenger Hunt. I love summer projects and this one seems to be calling me this year. Random enough that I am not stuck in one technique or subject, but with a real opportunity for growth in my skills while having fun at the same time. I am also hopeful it will give me some material for blog posts because training your dog all the time really limits what you can write about.<br />
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I am also hopeful to meet some new people and strengthen my small talk skills while getting to know the people in my town, or the people that are visiting my town. I might even learn my neighbors' names in the process.<br />
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I want to contribute something to the world, and the only way to do that is to get out in it.<br />
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I am including the Scavenger Hunt I will be using this summer. I would love for you to join me. Take a picture with your phone, your big camera, just take a mental photo, whatever works for you. But also share it - if you use to write a blog - revive it - show and tell us about where you live. If you love Instagram share it there, or if Facebook is your thing share it there. I think the sharing is important. I know I am curious about you and where you live and others probably are too. You never know what connections can be made through the simple act of sharing.<br />
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It is worth noting, when you are out hunting, how the experience makes you feel. Do you feel excited, joyful, anxious? It might even be good to keep a small notebook with you so you can jot down some thoughts. I have mine tucked into my bag.<br />
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My plan is to start today, Sunday, June 2, and finish on Labor Day, September 2. I don't know about you, but, I work better with a deadline.<br />
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Instagram Hashtag will be #sharewhereyoulive2019<br />
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<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-70691100789196779992019-05-19T01:00:00.000-04:002019-05-19T01:00:05.618-04:00Aiming for the Middle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week I completed a large project that has been hanging over my head since December. It seems I like to spend a lot of time in the concept stage of a project, overthinking it almost to the point of death. The actual doing doesn't take me that long.<br />
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In the last three weeks, I have shot, edited and uploaded all the video clips needed for the workshop I am teaching at the end of the summer for Dirty Footprints Studio's Summer Studio. The title of our summer session is - Capturing Moments. My workshop specifically is called: A Personal Note: <i>telling the story</i>. In a nutshell, it is about taking your favorite photographs into your art journal and telling the story behind the photograph using carbon transfer, words, and paint.<br />
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This is the first workshop I have ever filmed. Being in front of the camera is very uncomfortable, at least from a talking perspective. I would much rather write than talk. But I knew that I had to give this a try, and I am glad that I did. I learned a lot. All those films I shot last year in Xanthe Berkeley's film course paid off though. The editing portion was a breeze.<br />
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As I was preparing to upload them to Dirty Footprints, my husband asked if they would come back with any critique. Ah...no, it is a deadline for a reason. I have watched enough e-courses, and done enough filming that I was comfortable with what I had done. I told him that I wasn't aiming for perfect. That leaves no room for growth. I was aiming to settle in the middle.<br />
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Time to move on to some new projects and overthink those to death.<br />
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<b>Early Bird pricing for the Summer Studio goes live on June 7. If you are interested, I will have a code for you to use when it goes sale. Stay tuned to my FB page and Instagram, as well as here. </b></div>
<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-67232857765458947792019-05-05T07:00:00.000-04:002019-05-05T07:00:06.817-04:00Shadow Day<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBGKZp5tH2ug6C7p7zU4l8UGXkmq1RgJE2SkDCnm-rw12ckd2Yzl2rHBhGgn1QOBG4ni_LlXJoyWU8WpiKzhRzTP1xD9VkxDDZGU_Lxffd_PBCBjnDcgVAzjdZ2iWpbFm7wOR6IqyaCo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-05-03+at+3.44.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1214" data-original-width="1600" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglBGKZp5tH2ug6C7p7zU4l8UGXkmq1RgJE2SkDCnm-rw12ckd2Yzl2rHBhGgn1QOBG4ni_LlXJoyWU8WpiKzhRzTP1xD9VkxDDZGU_Lxffd_PBCBjnDcgVAzjdZ2iWpbFm7wOR6IqyaCo/s640/Screen+Shot+2019-05-03+at+3.44.26+PM.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Zeeland Christian Schools</td></tr>
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A friend recently asked me if I would be willing to let her daughter "shadow" me for a day, part of a school project for 8th grade students. Samantha is interested in photography. Without a moment's hesitation I said, "Yes".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33HWpV4PzeFrNY0ua0C1MnbSFcfDBqP2c31FkmVpYXgaC3oX2DxzLhaPEhwvErxMVgKWz-oynTOOpig2ap4nHVjemE_qLaiq3KyYA_L08rWQS1SLH-H1Wyd8vOMW3YTXAW7S20xHQIE8/s1600/IMG_1713.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj33HWpV4PzeFrNY0ua0C1MnbSFcfDBqP2c31FkmVpYXgaC3oX2DxzLhaPEhwvErxMVgKWz-oynTOOpig2ap4nHVjemE_qLaiq3KyYA_L08rWQS1SLH-H1Wyd8vOMW3YTXAW7S20xHQIE8/s640/IMG_1713.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Samantha Meyer</td></tr>
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Last Thursday, May 2 was our "Shadow" morning. I had texted Sam's mom earlier in the week to find out what she enjoyed photographing. Being a good mom, Rebecca sent me a folder of Sam's photos.<br />
Flowers, low to the ground shots, shooting into the sun for sun flares. Sam and I would get along just fine.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjNZDulJFRy6MU7fzTpz37JRUrfHuBo-RPiIthEGWCx7A7q3NQuBcRnPtuUPUjdqWT1K6fQ0hMt6NFyYHoT7g5gIxNdu-ciwKBYcs2CQZiSnXzmbqmE7wqGOpNoKGFUOjXaVSGZLQmJs/s1600/IMG_1380.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjNZDulJFRy6MU7fzTpz37JRUrfHuBo-RPiIthEGWCx7A7q3NQuBcRnPtuUPUjdqWT1K6fQ0hMt6NFyYHoT7g5gIxNdu-ciwKBYcs2CQZiSnXzmbqmE7wqGOpNoKGFUOjXaVSGZLQmJs/s640/IMG_1380.jpeg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Samantha Meyer</td></tr>
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It has been a rainy, cold, crappy week here in Michigan, and Thursday's forecast called for a 60% chance of rain. I prayed real hard the night before. My initial plan was to shoot in our downtown. Our town is host to the Tulip Time Festival every May, it is starting this weekend. All the tulips to photograph, along with food vendors, bleachers, and carnival rides. A photographer's delight. I did make an alternative plan if my prayer didn't work. Greenhouses were our next best option. <br />
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We made it half way through the morning before the slightly annoying mist became very annoying rain. We stopped at one greenhouse. The rain gave us enough time to go to a coffee shop and load her photos onto her computer and play a tiny bit with editing.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Samantha Meyer</td></tr>
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Even though my role was teach Sam about what I do and photography, I think in the end she taught me much more.<br />
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What Sam taught me:<br />
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<ul>
<li>To fall in love with what I do once more</li>
<li>To look up</li>
<li>To be brave</li>
<li>To love being a teacher/mentor</li>
<li>To continue my own photography projects/series</li>
<li>To find the words again</li>
<li>To get out and wander without the dog once in a while</li>
<li>To see life through the fresh, unjaded eyes of youth</li>
</ul>
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What I taught Sam:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Composition and the rule of thirds</li>
<li>How to hold and lock focus on her phone</li>
<li>Snapseed editing app for her phone</li>
<li>The art of wandering</li>
<li>Coffee shops are a great place to hang out</li>
<li>Build a body of work - shoot a series and keep building it. </li>
<li>Don't be afraid to put your photos out there</li>
<li>Look at other's photos to learn more about your own</li>
<li>Good rain gear will always serve you well :)</li>
</ul>
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She deduced herself that this was much more fun than school :)</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Credit: Samantha Meyer</td></tr>
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Thursday night lying in bed, I was thankful for at least a couple hours of minimal rain. Also, for the revelation that I much prefer walking alongside someone on their creative journey then standing in front of them. </div>
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Have a great week!</div>
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Sarah</div>
Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-16251859313975681442019-05-04T01:00:00.000-04:002019-05-04T01:00:06.917-04:00Fixing What Was Broken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I never imagined when I ended this blog that I would so completely and unequivocally lose my way. I figured I would have the time I needed to devote to my fledgling business, and to a small degree that was true. But without blogging, I lost the motivation to make photographs. I lost the ability to share in the way that is truest for me.<br />
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Yes, since December somebody has been taking up most of my spare time and energy. But when my husband and I went on a cruise in early March, and I had a whole week without him, but still couldn't find excitement in taking photographs or editing them; I knew something was seriously broken and I had to figure out how to fix it.<br />
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Two events in April/May have been catalysts for me being back in this space today.<br />
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The first event was our 2nd Annual Huizenga family vacation at the end of April up in northern Michigan. We rented the same airbnb.com that we rented last year, thankfully minus the snow this year, and with an additional dog in tow. It was still great, but very different from all my other trips to the north country. I have never had a dog of my own along. This changed my morning routine. Instead of going out shooting every morning, we drove in to town and practiced his loose leash walking. I brought my dslr along, but never once took it out of its bag. The best camera is the one that is always with you. I shot a lot with my phone. I also shot a lot of video clips that will be complied into this year's vacation films. This creativity made me very happy, and was one giant step towards fixing what was broken.<br />
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The problem was that I had all these great mobile photos and films clips, but I had no way to share them other than FB, which is fine...but...I need to tell the stories as well. A FB post isn't the space for that. I didn't realize until this trip, a trip we have taken many times, how important the words and the stories are to me.<br />
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The second event was in early May. I was asked by a friend of mine if her daughter could shadow me for a day. Eighth graders around this area usually have a Shadow Day towards the end of the school year where they get to pick somebody in a profession they are interested and follow them around for a morning. She is interested in photography. Since I have a "business" I counted as somebody she could shadow. I said yes immediately.<br />
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I am nearing the finish line, or at least the finish date for the videos I had to shoot for the Dirty Footprints Studio summer workshop I was asked to do. On our Shadow Day, I had some interesting revelations about all of that as well. I will be sharing about our Shadow Day in my next post. I wanted to give it its own breadth and light.<br />
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Eventually, I will be moving my blog to my new website for Twisted Road Studio. Once I get these workshop videos finished, I will have the time to work on that. I have decided the new blog will be called <b><i>Tales from the Twisted Road.</i></b><br />
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Stay tuned! I will be back.<br />
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SarahSarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-79285419233450844682019-01-20T01:00:00.000-05:002019-03-01T07:44:31.781-05:00Don't Quit on a Dream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This past week I had to bring my parents into the city for a doctor appt. It was a follow up to my mother's hospitalization in November for a couple of mini-strokes. On our way home we stopped for hamburgers at Wendy's. My parents are of German and Italian decent, one is the work hard, no emotion mentality, and the other is all about yelling and criticism. My parents are not that severe, but it was how they were raised and some of that carries forward. Needless to say, I didn't get a lot of encouragement for creative endeavors as a child. But now at fifty, I don't need my parents approval or encouragement to know that I am following the right path for me. I debated all through the car ride to the city and the doctor's appt. whether I would share my exciting news or not. Finally, seated across from them, hands wrapped around foil covered burgers, I gathered my courage and said the words, "I've started my own small business as of the first of the year." The smile that lit my dad's face warmed my heart. Explaining the concept of teaching an online art workshop and eventually selling my photography integrated art pieces via a virtual shop may have been a little beyond their comprehension, still, the look of pride on my dad's face meant everything to me.<br />
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I have had the dream of having an art business since the early 1990's, before my daughter was born. At the time, the only crafty skills I had were rug-hooking, counted cross-stitch, and collage using mod-podge, stencils and the decorative paper of the time. It was the mauve and green era so I covered everything paper mache in that color scheme.<br />
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The only place to sell your handmade art was at craft fairs. I dreamed of long rectangle tables clothed in black fabric, artfully styled with my paper mache creations and framed cross-stitch pieces.<br />
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But then our daughter came. There was no time for cross-stitching or collage work.<br />
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Eventually though the child grows up, goes off to college, graduates and starts a life of her own. <br />
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I have spent the last seven years learning photography, a more marketable art than counted cross-stitch. Craft fairs are no longer the only option for selling your art, thanks to the internet. It is easy to get your work out there and test the water before you ever make the decision to actually set up an Etsy Shop or a website to sell from.<br />
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Almost thirty years of holding onto a dream, never willing to completely let it go.<br />
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January 1st, 2019, I finally fulfilled the dream. I applied for my LLC for Twisted Road Studio, the name of my new creative business. The beginning of the next week it was official, I had a small business. Since then I have been busy setting up a bank account, a credit card, securing the domain name, an Instagram account, and a Facebook page. Things are coming along well. Next steps include getting my logo and branding done, and getting a website setup.<br />
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In my last post, I said I was going to create some postcards for an exhibition at a local art museum. I completed four postcards for the Postcard Salon exhibit and hand delivered them almost a week before the deadline. I am excited to go see them hanging on the wall. The exhibit opens January 24 and runs until February 7. The postcards are small versions of the art I hope to create integrating my photography and sell via Etsy.<br />
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Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-46270577594254632018-12-30T01:00:00.000-05:002018-12-30T01:00:06.217-05:00DecemberDecember has been...chaotic, for the most part snowless, frustrating and sometimes overwhelming. Yet in the quite moments there has also been great joy.<br />
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We brought Atticus home on December 2. He has added to the house some of that chaos, frustration, and also great joy. I haven't threatened to send him back to the breeder this week, so things must be looking up. Somebody we met recently summed it up best, "You are training a puppy, but you are also retraining yourselves."<br />
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The mostly snowless December has been great when you have to bring a puppy outside every 15 minutes to go to the bathroom. Not so great because the snow would cover up the acorns he gets distracted trying to eat and forgets to go to the bathroom. Then 15 minutes later we are back outside to do it all over again.<br />
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We didn't put our tree up until the Friday before Christmas due to a curious puppy, and it is down already, even though he did learn to leave it alone. The bows on the Christmas presents never lost their appeal though.<br />
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Atticus loves the beach! Hallelujah! I know I have the right dog. December has had a fair amount of 40 degree days and a little sunshine, perfect for digging in the sand and running up and down the little sand dunes. One sunny, 45 degree afternoon when we were there, there was a boat cruising the channel, the stereo system blasting Oh Holy Night and Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow. I felt like I was in some weird time warp.<br />
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Somehow I got everything done in time for Christmas; the presents bought and wrapped, the food bought and prepared, the house cleaned, the traditional sugar cookies cut out and decorated, the family party hosted and cleaned up. I'm glad it's over though.<br />
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I got an Instant Pot for Christmas, I am excited to try it out. Mallory surprised me with a month of unlimited yoga classes for both of us. I can't wait!<br />
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We had a mini-reunion of the boys from Atticus's litter along with their mom. The boys all live in the area so it will be fun to have play dates every now and again.<br />
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I committed to doing the online Summer Studio video lesson on Art Journaling for Dirty Footprints Studio.<br />
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I am looking forward with anticipation to 2019...<br />
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Watching Atticus grow up. Hard to believe he will be 12 weeks already on Monday.<br />
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I am entering 1-3 collaged postcards in a Postcard Salon exhibition at the Muskegon Museum of Art. Deadline is January 13. I have one almost done.<br />
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On January 2, I will begin the steps necessary to start my long dreamed of art business. I am applying for a LLC, setting up a bank account and getting a business credit card and all the other things that come with starting a business. I have a friend that will be doing a logo and branding for me. I need a head shot done for my website and for Dirty Footprints Studio, so I will be seeking somebody to do that. I plan to open an Etsy shop once I have some art ready to post. The art most likely will be a combination of collage and my photography, similar to the postcards I am making for the exhibition.<br />
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I have no idea where any of this is going to go, but I am buckling up for the ride and trusting the journey on the twisting road before me.<br />
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<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-37451261989420391712018-12-02T01:00:00.000-05:002018-12-02T01:00:05.539-05:00The Stories We Tell Ourselves<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-46hAEO4W9ov4NFEH7_EFqwQCVmIwbauwBfJNOWVWU1aHp3rajgicVE5DBeZeeF7_A7fhzPW88MBg6wfxP50NFhb-EsOiIspVHJMWfnRXR3ZYGo61wr1R_fkFPP3Wt4iiwkeWJaIjygw/s1600/IMG_6435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-46hAEO4W9ov4NFEH7_EFqwQCVmIwbauwBfJNOWVWU1aHp3rajgicVE5DBeZeeF7_A7fhzPW88MBg6wfxP50NFhb-EsOiIspVHJMWfnRXR3ZYGo61wr1R_fkFPP3Wt4iiwkeWJaIjygw/s640/IMG_6435.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 12</td></tr>
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The story we often tell ourselves is that we aren't good at something. The honest truth though is that we have never even tried. How in the world can we be good without trying? <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_lNKGTmGEJorBE1dYayTBurVuFbzeSp2avq-J36Vrkn0p3cuh43HTCKCvuO9DTs1zsLqGiBn6nTgYhki0d0gq1FwNtEz9L4HlTKeuAIXjpt0b-Jm_P6rw1c9NpVECuIAyeUl5va0XW8/s1600/IMG_6531.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX_lNKGTmGEJorBE1dYayTBurVuFbzeSp2avq-J36Vrkn0p3cuh43HTCKCvuO9DTs1zsLqGiBn6nTgYhki0d0gq1FwNtEz9L4HlTKeuAIXjpt0b-Jm_P6rw1c9NpVECuIAyeUl5va0XW8/s640/IMG_6531.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 17</td></tr>
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A couple posts ago I wrote about my art journey this fall. At the end I shared a bit about wanting to learn to draw. I was convinced that I wasn't good at drawing, but in all honesty I hadn't tried since I was ten. Our vacation up north motivated me to try again, at the age 50. Once we were back home I had to find a way to keep trying, even without the inspiration of the place I love.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwQvoFXtO9jYkQQuiF54wmiN0XfowLBKga2K77eTaY2BwT1xqNXfrzt6mj59UZ10ETpBTPRJYQnSQniFd7FJMPmCj1DmX6VZMT5QAdOxIKDRVfN0EKxVEVyh6b8-UBi9Yfv7MJuE6H48/s1600/IMG_6468.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBwQvoFXtO9jYkQQuiF54wmiN0XfowLBKga2K77eTaY2BwT1xqNXfrzt6mj59UZ10ETpBTPRJYQnSQniFd7FJMPmCj1DmX6VZMT5QAdOxIKDRVfN0EKxVEVyh6b8-UBi9Yfv7MJuE6H48/s640/IMG_6468.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 15</td></tr>
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I seem to do really well with 30 Day challenges. November conveniently had 30 days. I decided to do 30 Days of Drawing. I even went bold and posted my daily drawing on Instagram, hoping that a few of my friends would keep me accountable.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKL8zwgtPiThU3-UBtLHgHvSvJDOxCXpAKfB8je5IKx6QKEJ3hCojcnOTvnXMuG3mzutOACx5PFSU6bTd_lw8QMQUYxjWbqlGPMz_MFcmPGhOF3O3Zt_AEZ16bjKYw-JsOQ8Y3Nf7SQw/s1600/IMG_6234.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisKL8zwgtPiThU3-UBtLHgHvSvJDOxCXpAKfB8je5IKx6QKEJ3hCojcnOTvnXMuG3mzutOACx5PFSU6bTd_lw8QMQUYxjWbqlGPMz_MFcmPGhOF3O3Zt_AEZ16bjKYw-JsOQ8Y3Nf7SQw/s640/IMG_6234.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day One</td></tr>
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It was scary in the beginning to put myself and my lack of skill out there. But somebody has to be brave and show others that even if you don't start out good, you can come a long way in 30 days with a commitment to daily practice. It wasn't a big time commitment each day. On the average I probably spent about thirty minutes per drawing. Some days I had more time and some days I was lucky if I had ten minutes. But it was the showing up every day that mattered, not how much time I had.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBPag3O_EBWk6NNG8m_C-HoCs9WKV89_ViZljyn2U2p8735VN-bMgwLZM3eWRHiIdPxsfMPGcdPB9NsQ8FiVhCWoXaNYDr64NSTEXgNxjc1ZvcVbph9FDeJ_zJeVV-7Lqdf5zkUPhaQA/s1600/IMG_6539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaBPag3O_EBWk6NNG8m_C-HoCs9WKV89_ViZljyn2U2p8735VN-bMgwLZM3eWRHiIdPxsfMPGcdPB9NsQ8FiVhCWoXaNYDr64NSTEXgNxjc1ZvcVbph9FDeJ_zJeVV-7Lqdf5zkUPhaQA/s640/IMG_6539.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 19</td></tr>
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With any project there is the dreaded middle. I would have a few really good days, and then it felt like I took three steps backwards. The above drawing was suppose to be a moody stone barn, but to me it feels like a slightly moody Caribbean stone house. Not what I was going for.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpTLAJMyQauV9IkZF8Mf3fAcZzdRNhUmQUc5exUqawQNRKPxLZV6PhPInuUQyBvYmKpzktzJ76LPvTXDXzKTfmXcyI4PMktPHeXelwKDfy1qivpC-zsZCbAOCDf-O71v-ymKqHoAby4o/s1600/IMG_6454.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZpTLAJMyQauV9IkZF8Mf3fAcZzdRNhUmQUc5exUqawQNRKPxLZV6PhPInuUQyBvYmKpzktzJ76LPvTXDXzKTfmXcyI4PMktPHeXelwKDfy1qivpC-zsZCbAOCDf-O71v-ymKqHoAby4o/s640/IMG_6454.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 14</td></tr>
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I am someone who needs to have an image in front of me to draw. But I also have seven years in as a photographer, I am image driven. Besides my own photographs, which I drew from quite a bit, Pinterest is a fabulous source. Oh the rabbit holes you can fall into. I swore I would never draw people because I wasn't good at it. But...I had never tried.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXGsaAuKZfO6U34KONQVO6iqHLW_JOzbfKAPAcdY4QH5zFayJvZLBE1wuXACGLPwJD6siU0yK-BxIwnrmhIMAqB0B7hyphenhyphen64dWWGqCMVTv3kCDPOfHsqtzmPVotIbT-as3dYO9vIg7wmAk/s1600/IMG_6373.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGXGsaAuKZfO6U34KONQVO6iqHLW_JOzbfKAPAcdY4QH5zFayJvZLBE1wuXACGLPwJD6siU0yK-BxIwnrmhIMAqB0B7hyphenhyphen64dWWGqCMVTv3kCDPOfHsqtzmPVotIbT-as3dYO9vIg7wmAk/s640/IMG_6373.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 9</td></tr>
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Some of my ladies have been drawn with the X and Y axis and reference points and some have been outlined with my Lightbox, I am completely fine with that. Seeing how far I have come in thirty days, I know I will get there with them too. We all have to start where we are and grow from there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Day 27</td></tr>
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I am also completely in love with charcoal.<br />
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Exciting News</u></h3>
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Today, Sunday December 2, we bring Atticus home. Let the adventures begin.<br />
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Second: I was contacted this week by <a href="https://dirtyfootprints-studio.com/" target="_blank">Dirty Footprints Studio</a> about teaching a small segment of a summer on-line course for them. You can just image how dumbfounded I felt when I read the email. Me? Are you serious? The story I am telling myself is that I am not ready for this, I don't know how to shoot a tutorial video. But the truth is that I haven't tried yet, and until I try I don't have any right to say I can't.<br />
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The theme for this is Capturing Moments, which are to be brought to fruition in your art journal. I am looking for ideas from you, my friends, about what this theme would mean to you. I am kicking around an idea, but I would love to hear your thoughts.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-46316936867207199122018-11-18T01:00:00.000-05:002018-11-18T06:11:27.810-05:00Road to Atticus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On my desk sits a photograph of two golden boys in the prime of their lives. I recently found this photograph in the storage room as I was sorting and purging. My heart paused when I saw it. It was probably put there when it became too painful to look at.<br />
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It was October 2014 when we lost the first golden boy. He was 12, old but not too old. I have never been able to fully write about his loss. October 11 marked two years since the loss of the last golden boy. He was only a couple months shy of 14, but he had been slowly slipping away for the last year of his life.<br />
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We have lived the last two years with a part-time dog, the grand dog Findley. Findley is the funniest, quirkiest dog you will ever meet, but he is also a geniune joy and blessing.<br />
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It took us these two years to heal, to spend some time without a dog, travel, not be tied down. We did all those things. Eventually the heart heals, the wanderlust dies down a bit, and being without isn't fun anymore. Born on October 8, 2018 was a new beginning.<br />
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Our new beginning will be coming home at the beginning of December. At first I thought we were crazy to get a puppy going into winter. Potty training, cold and snow didn't seem like a logical mix. But the more I thought about it...when am I home the most? When do I have the most time to devote to potty and all around training? Winter of course.<br />
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Then I worried about socialization. The new ideal is for your puppy to have contact with at least one hundred different people before they are sixteen weeks old. Where am I going to find 100 people in the winter? Our downtown of course, with its heated sidewalks. What a great place to walk, get use to different sounds and a wide variety of people and dogs. Who can resist talking to and petting a puppy?<br />
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The first two golden boys were only six months apart, and we took them on many adventures as a family, but two young dogs and me alone didn't go that well. After the loss of the first golden, I was able to take Scout on some day adventures with me, we had such great times. My one regret was that we didn't get to do more before it became too hard for his back legs to keep up. I have many adventures planned for our new boy, so he better like the car. We have places to go and things to explore.<br />
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We don't know yet which little golden boy will be ours, there are three boys in the litter. The breeder matches based on what we are looking for, and the personality of the puppy. She has been doing this a long time, so she knows what she is doing. Although...Mallory did ask for a gentle old soul...<br />
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Well...He may not be what she asked for, but he is exactly what she needed.<br />
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Still, it's hard not to have a favorite. Whoever our new beginning is, his name is Atticus.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-40479652355646947412018-10-30T01:00:00.000-04:002018-10-30T01:00:07.696-04:00Longing to Belong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Maturity calls us to risk ourselves as much as immaturity, but for a bigger picture, a larger horizon; for a powerfully generous outward incarnation of our inward qualities and not for gains that make us smaller, even in winning."</blockquote>
~ David Whyte, <i>Consolations </i><br />
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There is an interesting trend going on amongst many of my on-line friends that I first met through photography classes and blogging, they are all turning to art. By art, I mean hand-created art: painting, drawing, fiber, collage. I have always wanted to belong in that world. I grew up doing rug-hooking and counted cross-stitch, but the only really good drawing I did was when I was ten. A pencil and crayon drawing of a Basenji dog. I wish I still had that drawing, or maybe it is better that it only lives in my memory.<br />
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Every summer, I have this itch to create with my hands, but this year the itch has turned into a longing. Mid-September, I began the practice of art journaling. I have (sort of) tried this before with minimal results. But here it is the end of October and I am still doing it. What I am finding most enjoyable is the playing, the trying, the failing and trying again. There is no rush, no pressure to get it right the first time.<br />
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Each spread pushes me a little further. To learn to embrace color, new techniques, and new materials. To learn to trust my intuition and not over-think.<br />
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This is the latest one I am working on. The first pages I did reawakened the longing to belong, it grew a little more with the second, and in this third one it came to fruition: the house/shed in the bottom left corner I drew myself.<br />
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I started a sketch book while we were on vacation. It was easy to pack and minimal supplies were needed. I didn't start out good, but I couldn't give up after only one attempt. I drew this from a photograph I took with my phone.<br />
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By the fifth day of practice, I was getting better. This was drawn from a photograph of a garden shed on Pinterest.<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"If you don't love photography for the sheer act of trying to express yourself, and will only find joy in it when you finally get there, yours will be a disappointing journey. Not only will you likely never "get there" but you'll have missed how beautiful and exhilarating the journey itself is."</blockquote>
~David duChemin, <i>Within the Frame </i><br />
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When I started to be serious about photography in 2012, I thought I had found my "art" camp. I wasn't good, but like the Ira Glass <a href="https://vimeo.com/85040589" target="_blank">video </a>on creativity, I knew what was good, and I knew with practice I could be good. And I did get good, but what I soon discovered in some parts of the fine art photography camp is that they are only interested in the end result. What I loved was the journey. I needed photography to find my voice and tell my story.<br />
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The hand-created art camp feels different. They encourage your journey. They love watching you learn, grow and get better. They are just as excited about a finished piece as they are about the first pencil strokes you put on paper. They all know how hard it is to put yourself and your work out there. This is the camp where I have always longed to be, but I don't think I ever would have had the courage to be here, if I hadn't set up my tent in the photography camp first.<br />
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<h3>
<u>
Resources</u></h3>
<div>
Here are some of the inspiring sites and classes I have found this year:</div>
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<div>
<a href="https://jeanneoliver.com/" target="_blank">Jeanne Oliver</a> - Great selection of courses</div>
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<div>
<a href="https://www.lalymille.com/classes-laly" target="_blank">Laly Mille</a> - Excellent teacher. This where my art journaling inspiration came from.</div>
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<div>
<a href="https://www.toniburt.com.au/" target="_blank">Toni Burt </a>- Down to earth teacher<br />
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<a href="https://ivynewport.com/" target="_blank">Ivy Newport </a></div>
<div>
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<a href="https://www.willowing.org/" target="_blank">Life Book 2019</a> - There was a free two week Summit for Life Book 2019 in October. While not all the teachers are my style, there were many who were.<br />
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<a href="https://www.everything-art.com/p/wanderlust-2019" target="_blank">Wanderlust 2019 </a>- Looking forward to this.<br />
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If you have any art classes you have enjoyed, I would love to hear.</div>
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<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-49772003257980689262018-10-21T01:00:00.000-04:002018-10-24T07:59:48.865-04:00Simplicity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJnlfrQr7FfQEg3cpY6hAEAN7Mx17k6KzRt2y6sWQOFyuh7ztzDWESUESuJqemgFcoqt222cW5zmIlSXpjl9eUuEvKhOYsKG66WhCj19GiKk4mUZnp0ym-bOwyU2IluwrUT2mRPFwQvo/s1600/IMG_5961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeJnlfrQr7FfQEg3cpY6hAEAN7Mx17k6KzRt2y6sWQOFyuh7ztzDWESUESuJqemgFcoqt222cW5zmIlSXpjl9eUuEvKhOYsKG66WhCj19GiKk4mUZnp0ym-bOwyU2IluwrUT2mRPFwQvo/s640/IMG_5961.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Coming home from a great vacation is always hard. You just don't understand how on vacation you were content with three pairs of pants and five tops that you mixed and matched throughout the week. But when you get home and see your closet full of clothes you feel overwhelmed, and that you have nothing to wear. You long for that small pine armoire at the rental house that wasn't even a third full with your clothes. Or, at least that's what I long for.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqa0JQj4WWjWv_2aDNC6XfCUQzQwJIpR9JBAYET2UOspvG7KqxmB7W1i9DDjHbnSiRG1qTpD4hVt3X4NxSvmbmEzbB9uh5-4XCapgTjy3mE2wdV2BTp-hFjPXhGSdoBBN_Q1J7ize05pA/s1600/IMG_5341.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqa0JQj4WWjWv_2aDNC6XfCUQzQwJIpR9JBAYET2UOspvG7KqxmB7W1i9DDjHbnSiRG1qTpD4hVt3X4NxSvmbmEzbB9uh5-4XCapgTjy3mE2wdV2BTp-hFjPXhGSdoBBN_Q1J7ize05pA/s640/IMG_5341.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I always come home from vacations, specifically, vacations from northern Michigan with a resolve to declutter and only keep things that bring me joy. Yes, I have read <i>The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</i> and <i>Spark Joy</i> by Marie Kondo a few times.<br />
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Usually though, by the end of the first week home from vacation, that resolve has flown out the window. There are too many things on the daily to-do list and not enough time to do even half of them. With winter just around the corner here in Michigan, time seems shorter than ever. There is yard work to be completed before the snow flies, and some other big projects that need to be finished by the beginning of December.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFysQduh3hNwZKQjjfIge7up58RIzxLkJIjMv4kIwmE5CMq_ZiVkk985ZNyG1-0sPaaEEa8NlT32LYjQJTZdzv0MBM92MvJILKvWz3LAQkVCw1tUeFFwYK6sfbw0c_3Hsm6XYX7iSse4I/s1600/IMG_5958.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFysQduh3hNwZKQjjfIge7up58RIzxLkJIjMv4kIwmE5CMq_ZiVkk985ZNyG1-0sPaaEEa8NlT32LYjQJTZdzv0MBM92MvJILKvWz3LAQkVCw1tUeFFwYK6sfbw0c_3Hsm6XYX7iSse4I/s640/IMG_5958.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Still, I am going to try to do some decluttering. One of the big projects is painting and organizing my soon-to-be reclaimed studio aka small spare bedroom. It has been apple green and lilac purple for 14 years, it needs to be simply white. Then, maybe I will use the room for more than storage. Also, we are making Mallory's old bedroom into a guest room, so when she and Fin sleep over they don't have to sleep on a mattress on the floor. The good thing is, with both of these rooms, decluttering will happen because it has to.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizI-MJAW17XBWIbiGNSMFTDNHcHw2EBHQqiXhhnRN6g-JW-gkhjSFt2H1FLZSKVn44n586nH3Yw-R04ufLYrzMh_SeKUQsX5v1fdm9aA1t-BNiZIioCc3Ungvmq6pDlB6sHh6sPsra8hs/s1600/IMG_5671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizI-MJAW17XBWIbiGNSMFTDNHcHw2EBHQqiXhhnRN6g-JW-gkhjSFt2H1FLZSKVn44n586nH3Yw-R04ufLYrzMh_SeKUQsX5v1fdm9aA1t-BNiZIioCc3Ungvmq6pDlB6sHh6sPsra8hs/s640/IMG_5671.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Enough about the drudgery of being home. I will take you on a quick tour of the perfect autumn in Northern Michigan.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt-1ojtcDGxVzVmqSLizA4d0mLpa7-RgRj2nSDDXZ30UqHwpMYM89Vi04NxP3jmvgDtvLWZ1ru_X_m0GYSftGNlofNpfE7B5O8F1H9ZG4noM03zumLIm4EWnrcLKi5SQDlvSiwfP_cv0/s1600/IMG_5959.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDt-1ojtcDGxVzVmqSLizA4d0mLpa7-RgRj2nSDDXZ30UqHwpMYM89Vi04NxP3jmvgDtvLWZ1ru_X_m0GYSftGNlofNpfE7B5O8F1H9ZG4noM03zumLIm4EWnrcLKi5SQDlvSiwfP_cv0/s640/IMG_5959.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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The weather certainly ran the gamut while we were there. We had temperatures in the upper 70's to daytime temps. of only 39 degrees. We had bright sun, fog, moody gray skies, and even some white snow/rain stuff.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNxznQLF2GS8eCZHBi_l7b5Grt7T693EecYOiCn90drQk4LdE6EUvafK1UoXOsIVPD-7_ufvyyMgO6FHfJMV9Fqkwjqju1jCp2zMZio1fOjiQfNH5hlHJs19nMyPa7YQPAk3AnIc9nJM/s1600/IMG_5668.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSNxznQLF2GS8eCZHBi_l7b5Grt7T693EecYOiCn90drQk4LdE6EUvafK1UoXOsIVPD-7_ufvyyMgO6FHfJMV9Fqkwjqju1jCp2zMZio1fOjiQfNH5hlHJs19nMyPa7YQPAk3AnIc9nJM/s640/IMG_5668.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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We spent our mornings hiking. We revisited some favorite trails, and took a chance on a couple new-to-us ones. One of which has become my new favorite.<br />
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Usually lunch was at quaint local places.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVKQtxGm9nX5yTISO3pkHoDufrGIrcahXIhU_MlQQ0R3J9a68PEhWag_9cgk1_7Gm3VoSvABtxu2KR11wD2jVw6uBxjYG7h_39Rcj1ZRFG_AIVQ3687AS6jG9MZKI40YyP2BVPLdv27Y/s1600/IMG_5965.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixVKQtxGm9nX5yTISO3pkHoDufrGIrcahXIhU_MlQQ0R3J9a68PEhWag_9cgk1_7Gm3VoSvABtxu2KR11wD2jVw6uBxjYG7h_39Rcj1ZRFG_AIVQ3687AS6jG9MZKI40YyP2BVPLdv27Y/s640/IMG_5965.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Afternoons were spent at a couple wineries savoring a glass of wine and enjoying the view.<br />
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We only shot with the big cameras one morning because hiking in the woods is much easier with a pocket-size camera. Plus, Glen loves Instagram. He has complete control when he shoots with his phone. Although, I end up in way more photos and stories that I would like.<br />
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It is so hard to leave this place. Maybe a pine armoire with three pairs of pants and five tops is a pretty good life.<br />
<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-17438056886134837242018-10-07T01:00:00.000-04:002018-10-07T01:00:05.624-04:00Six Windows<br />
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I struggled to pick up my camera in September. After 365 days of daily photos, what could I possibly photograph that I hadn't already?<br />
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There is nothing wrong with taking a break when you feel burned out, but I also didn't want to let a year of hard work slip away for too long either. Thankfully at the eleventh hour a challenge came my way via David duChemin and The Compelling Frame course that I started last year.<br />
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The challenge was:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Choose one idea, theme or subject.</li>
<li>Choose some constraints.</li>
<li>Make photographs in September</li>
<li>Chose the six best at the end of the month and post them in the group.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGobRpSpTNFjbDGaxycvFnWESb8C47n9SmLQDomjHyd2P3mBC_4F7r383GTSO8iipcaX2Kd6ycHY_5v2hcKIqmPxG4VjJs8Z7rRCgxyhSjt4eopZRC24t-rX1TWm8eZHQrqSLw2Rv4qqI/s1600/IMG_3177.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="750" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGobRpSpTNFjbDGaxycvFnWESb8C47n9SmLQDomjHyd2P3mBC_4F7r383GTSO8iipcaX2Kd6ycHY_5v2hcKIqmPxG4VjJs8Z7rRCgxyhSjt4eopZRC24t-rX1TWm8eZHQrqSLw2Rv4qqI/s1600/IMG_3177.jpg" /></a></div>
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I loved the idea, but struggled to find the subject. I just spent a year shooting whatever I fancied. The only constraint the Lensbaby Velvet 56. I decided to look back at my 365 project as a whole and see what subjects jumped out at me. There were a few different ones, but two that kept reoccurring were windows and reflections.<br />
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I needed to talk through the challenge with a friend. So in one of our weekly Skype sessions I hashed through it with my friend Lee. She said she had once done a window project for an on-line course, as did a mutual friend of ours. She sent me the link to the blog post she did on windows, as well as the link to our friend's blog post. Both of them encouraged me. I decided to do windows.<br />
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I started out strong with a photo walk in my downtown. So many great buildings and windows. But then that ugly "middle" came. I couldn't find any more good windows. I only had three so far, and those weren't even taken with the constraint I had chosen - my 60mm macro lens, a once favorite lens.<br />
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In the "middle", I played many games with myself to get through it. What if I set the timer on my phone and stopped every five minutes to take a detail shot of something? That worked for one morning, again yielding three decent photos. I didn't feel like playing the game again.<br />
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The windows still called to my soul.<br />
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Then, an unexpected trip to my personal heaven - northern Michigan. My husband had to go for work for three whole days, which meant I had three days to photograph windows in all the places I love.<br />
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Bravely, I posted the six finalists in The Compelling Frame FB group. The windows were well received. One comment especially stirred me. Cynthia said, "Great glimpses into what feels like looking into other worlds, both moving forward and looking back."<br />
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In the waining days of September, I found all the windows I needed and so much more.Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6346935990049787898.post-42279505917671241632018-09-30T01:00:00.000-04:002018-09-30T01:00:08.548-04:00Listening Without Judgement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I spent three days up north this last week. My husband had to go for work, and he invited me along. Of course, then he grumbles about how he has to work, while I get to drive to all my favorite places, photograph my favorite buildings, and drink wine by the lake on a beautiful early fall afternoon.<br />
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While up north, I planned to do the second of five Listening exercises:<br />
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<b><i>"Seek out a public or urban environment - a local coffee shop, a busy street corner, your rooftop. Again, for 10 minutes listen to the sounds around you. Try to take it all in, with equal value, without judgement. What do you notice?"</i></b><br />
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I planned to do this at the coffee shop where I wrote the very last Coffee Shop Chronicle in the series, way back in April of 2015. Surely, one of the mornings it would rain while I was up north, it was in the forecast.<br />
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The mornings generally started cloudy with a hint of the promised rain, but usually by nine o'clock the sun started to peek through. Then the rural farmsteads of Leelanau Peninsula called much louder than sitting in a coffee shop.<br />
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As luck would have it though, I had to meet my husband on the last day at a coffee shop in downtown Manistee. His sales rep. was dropping him off and I would pick him up to begin our two hour drive home. I arrived early, exhausted from my morning of photographing farm buildings and wandering cold, windy beaches. Since this coffee shop also serves sandwiches and soup, I figured I would eat lunch there and complete the listening exercise at the same time.<br />
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When I use to write the Coffee Shop Chronicles, I engaged in two creative skills - observation and eavesdropping. So I guess listening has been a bigger part of my writing life than I thought.<br />
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The hard part of this exercise is the <b><i>No Judgement</i></b>, that's all the Coffee Shop Chronicles were was judgement, yes funny judgement, but judgement all the same. And as I sat down with my bowl of Pasta Fagioli soup, two ladies at the other end of the shot-gun style cafe did nothing to help me let go of it. They were sitting next to each other at a small round table each talking animatedly on their phones to other people.<br />
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I really wanted a table in the window, but both were full. So I sat as close as I could hoping that eventually one of the gentleman would leave. As I was eating my soup, one of them got up, but he was just going to get a refill on his coffee. What I noticed about him was his camouflage shorts and his camouflage Crocs.<br />
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Just as I was finishing my soup, the quiet guy directly behind me at the other window table got up and left. I quickly gathered my purse, phone, tiny notebook, empty soup bowl and scooted over to his relatively clean, empty table. I wanted to make sure to beat the two ladies sitting at the table next to me, in case they had the same idea.<br />
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I brought my empty soup bowl to the dirty dishes pan, returned to my table and readied myself for ten minutes of judgement free listening.<br />
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I set the timer on my phone, cradled my bent head in one of my hands, and closed my eyes. These are the things I heard:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The radio - I did not recognize the song. </li>
<li>The two ladies just below me talking to each other.</li>
<li>The buzz of the cooler holding bottles of pop for sale that was right behind the two ladies.</li>
<li>Ice being scooped into plastic glasses.</li>
<li>The voices of the two girls working behind the counter.</li>
<li>Camo Croc guy behind me snapping his 3-ring binder shut.</li>
<li>Clink of the dirty dishes being taken out of the bin.</li>
<li>One of the ladies below me telling a story about somebody knocking on her screen door and she demonstrated by knocking on the wood table.</li>
<li>Pans banging behind the counter.</li>
<li>My pen tapping on the table as I was getting anxious for the ten minutes to be done.</li>
<li>The whoosh of the front door opening and closing. </li>
<li>The building of steam for the latte machine.</li>
<li>Me chewing a potato chip.</li>
<li>Chair legs scraping across the wood floor.</li>
<li>The two ladies getting up and leaving - I could hear much better once they left. </li>
<li>The ding of my timer going off. </li>
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The ten minutes really went faster than I expected. I did feel a little weird trying to sit there with my eyes closed, although I kept my head bent most of the time.<br />
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I was surprised at all the sounds I could pick out, given that the ladies' conversation seemed to be the predominant noise. The only sound I was wrong about was Camo Crocs guy's 3-ring binder. It was really a three-hole punch.<br />
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Up next is Exercise Number Three:<br />
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<b><i>Find a natural/green space within your town or city - a public park or garden or a tree in your yard. Close your eyes and listen for 15 minutes this time. How is the quality of sound different in this location compared to the location in exercise #2?</i></b><br />
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And I thought ten minutes was kind of long...but...I do have a place in mind.<br />
<br />Sarah Huizengahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07326211901751159368noreply@blogger.com8