many muses musing - TOGETHER

swimming together by mayte-pons


to·geth·er (t-gr) adv.
• In or into a single group, mass, or place: Everybody get together, try and love one another right now.
• In or into contact: We belong together.
• In association with or in relationship to one another; mutually or reciprocally: It’s always better when we're together.
• By joint or cooperative effort: You and me, together, can do anything, baby.

I hope this holiday season, you’ll gather together, laugh together, feast together, work together, swim together, and love together.

Today I’m giving away a pair of little handcrafted notebooks together with accompanying pencils – great for throwing in your purse or camera bag to record your thoughts, dreams, or grocery lists. Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below and/or leave a comment on this post for a chance to win the giveaway. (max 2 entries per person).

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: TOGETHER. Please link your blog or flickr url in the linky tool provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for Tuesday is: GREETINGS.

All the best for the coming new year!
--lucy (so happy to be together with the muses again!)

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cloudaholic

My name is Lucy and I am a cloudaholic. I carry a cloud book in my car and embarrass my children by pulling over to the side of the road to look up the names of unusual cloud formations. I could spend every summer day lying on my back gazing up at the sky.



Do you remember the famous scene from A Boy Named Charlie Brown?

Lucy: Aren’t the clouds beautiful? They look like big balls of cotton. I could just lie here all day and watch them drift by. If you use your imagination, you can see lots of things in the cloud formations. What do you think you see, Linus?

Linus: Well, those clouds up there look to me look like the map of the British Honduras on the Caribbean.That cloud up there looks a little like the profile of Thomas Eakins, the famous painter and sculptor…

Lucy: Uh huh. That’s very good. What do you see in the clouds, Charlie Brown?

Charlie Brown: Well… I was going to say I saw a duckie and a horsie, but I changed my mind.

I’m more of a Charlie Brown kind of cloudspotter – I see duckies, too. And dinosaurs, and bears, and love, and surprise, and wonder.

I’ve enjoyed seeing your cloud photos in the Mortal Muses flickr groups over the last year – what you see in the clouds has inspired and amazed me. The vision and eloquence of all the Muses has expanded my own vision, and helped me to grow as a photographer. On this one-year anniversary, I want to celebrate all of the followers, contributors, and the Muses themselves. You’ve become a cherished part of my life, and I am so grateful to have been a part of this wonderful community of photographers. Here’s to another great year ahead! Much love.

--lucy @ a little light reading

1. hawaii | 2011, 2. dream big, 3. hidden angels, 4. happy days, 5. Reaching for the Skies, 6. lights on strings, 7. The Sky is The Limit, 8. Huntington Beach, mothers day / 6:34 pm, 9. Day 3 - clouds, 10. ~ early summer fields ~, 11. stormy lake, 12. Be Awesome, Be You, Be Free, 13. 196:365 evening rays, 14. lonely as a cloud, 15. Hill and Cloud, 16. Clouds in a Row

go out with a smile

I don't know if animals actually smile when they're happy, or cry when they're sad.  But their wonderful expressions reach out across the human/animal divide and connect us in profound ways.  These sheep couldn't have looked happier curled up together in the sunshine, and seemed genuinely pleased to have their picture taken.  Each time I look back at this image, I get a big goofy grin on my face.

I'm feeling both happy and sad this week as I take my leave from Mortal Muses.  From the very start, I've SO enjoyed being part of this amazing group of photographers.  My fellow muses are talented, funny, caring, and generous.  Connecting with the followers of this blog and seeing the diverse and beautiful images that have been shared in the flickr group has been a treat.  Thank you for making the last 6 months a hugely rewarding experience.  I'm taking my leave in order to have more time to pursue other projects.  But I'll be following along as the Muses offer up great prompts and challenges in 2011. You can keep up with me as I tackle my 53 project over on my blog a little light reading.

I know you'll join me in welcoming the newest muse, Ashley Sisk of Ramblings and Photos.  She'll be taking over this spot, and I hear she'll also have some great wisdom to share over in Muse University.

OK --let's go out with a wry sort of smile, courtesy of Angie*Allen.

I've loved every minute of this adventure.  Thank you all so much.

Much love.  --  lucy

Chuckles by Angie*Allen

opposites attract

Country and city.  Earth and light.  Subdued and energized.  Brown and blue.  My diptych, shot on a walk in the woods, captures the light and textures of the winter landscape.  Piecesofmejen's photo (which, coincidentally echoes the diptych style) embodies the boundless sparkle and wonder of a walk in the city.  Opposite in every way, but oh so complementary together. 

You can see more of Jen's citywalk here, and more of my countrywalk here.

Hope your new year is off to a wonderful start.

Until next time.

lucy @ a little light reading

Saks 5th Avenue, nyc by PiecesofmeJen

9 muses musing - STORIES

Keeping Christmas Real Simple by suzie•q

Each year at Christmastime my father would read Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales aloud to us...

...There were the Useful Presents: engulfing mufflers of the old coach days, and mittens made for giant sloths; zebra scarfs of a substance like silky gum that could be tug-o'-warred down to the galoshes; blinding tam-o'-shanters like patchwork tea cozies and bunny-suited busbies and balaclavas for victims of head-shrinking tribes; from aunts who always wore wool next to the skin there were mustached and rasping vests that made you wonder why the aunts had any skin left at all; and once I had a little crocheted nose bag from an aunt now, alas, no longer whinnying with us. And pictureless books in which small boys, though warned with quotations not to, would skate on Farmer Giles' pond and did and drowned; and books that told me everything about the wasp, except why.
 

I miss my father so much, but I'm happy to have a special copy of A Child's Christmas in Wales that he gave to me, and which I read to my children.  And someday I'll pass a copy along to them, to read to their children.  And so on, and so on, down through the ages.  

Now, three days after Christmas, we're finally getting a chance to sit and appreciate our gifts, and among them are some wonderful books I can't wait to start reading.  Even though I'm a librarian and surrounded by books all day, there's nothing like a new book to get me all excited.  As Suzy Q says, "I enjoy reading because every time you pick up a book there's always the unknown discovery about what each story will reveal to the reader." 

Today I'm giving away a blank notebook made with handmade paper, and 4 colorful mechanical pencils to help you tell your own stories.

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt: STORIES.  Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is: TRADITION.

Until next year.

--lucy @ a little light reading

9 muses musing - VILLAGE

hope for the holidays by ewitsoe

I live and work in a town with seven villages.  Every year each village has a Holiday Stroll where people visit the local businesses, historic homes and libraries; meet Santa; enjoy food and festivities; and celebrate with their friends and neighbors.

But more and more, even here on idyllic Cape Cod, there are people who live along the edges of our vision who need us to see them, too.  They are just as much a part of our village life as the librarian and shopkeeper and restauranteur.  When we open our doors and our hearts this season, we must remember to open them wide.

Please visit ewitsoe's flickr page and read the story that accompanies his powerful photo.

Today I'm giving away a set of two antiquarian Christmas books and a book of classic Christmas poems.  Leave a comment for a chance to win all 3!

I look forward to seeing your submissions for the prompt:  VILLAGE.  Please link your blog or flickr url in the link provided below.

Your creative holiday prompt for tomorrow is:  SWEETS.

Happy holidays to all!  Until next time.

--lucy @ a little light reading

the beauty in work

There's magic and beauty in the hard work of bees -- toiling away in their weathered hives to create their sweet honey.  Even in the frozen days of early winter they labor away, slowed by the cold but steadfast.

And there's beauty and magic in the hard work of forging iron -- the roaring furnace, the red-hot metal, and the generous act of passing on this age-old art to the next generation.

Please visit Muchadesign's photostream to see more wonderful diptych's and triptychs like the photo below -- it was so hard to choose just one!

Until next time.

--lucy (who's almost finished her 365 project!)

homeschooling by muchadesign

feet first

This Thanksgiving, I discovered the expressiveness of feet.  To be honest, I've been a little puzzled by the whole feet-photo-phenomenon on flickr -- even though I've taken a few myself, I didn't really get the fascination with bench shots and toe shots and shoe shots.

But then last week I spotted my daughter and her cousin doing the dishes together after Thanksgiving dinner.  My daughter, a stylish 17, is adored by her 7-year-old cousin.  I remembered back to the days when I  idolized my older cousins -- I wanted to dress like them, wear their shoes, BE them.  So this shot of just feet kind of tells the whole story, doesn't it?  Someday this little 7-year-old will be the one sporting the high heels, and will be idolized by the next generation of cousins.  And so it goes.

Mimundo's photo featuring happy red pigeon feet tells it's own story -- hungry birds doing a little pushing and shoving to get the best morsels, claws skittering on the cold stone walk.  I love the focus on those red legs, and their little heart-shaped beaks.

I guess I've seen the light when it comes to feet.  Can Bench Monday be far behind?

Until next time.  --lucy

hungry by mimundo

the gift of sight

" Poetry Photography lifts the veil from the hidden beauty of the world, and makes familiar objects be as if they were not familiar."  Percy Bysshe Shelley (with a touch of poetic license).

I'm thankful every day for the gift I've been given... the ability to see the beauty amidst the mundane, and the wonder in the seemingly un-wonderful. 

My photo above was taken last spring, in the parking lot at the Cape Cod Mall.  This little tree was sparkling it's heart out while busy shoppers rushed by without a second glance.  I saw; I stopped; and I captured the light-filled wonder.  You'd never know that this tree was surrounded by blacktop and miles of parked cars.

Beverly of Life Stories Photography has found her own beauty in the parking lot at Walmart.  Her muted colors and wonderful texture create a unique vision of her everyday world.

I thank my lucky stars that not only have I been given the gift of sight, but that I get to share it with others seers like Beverly and all of you.

Happy Thanksgiving one and all.

Until next time.

-lucy @ a little light reading

316/365 by life stories photography

best supporting bokeh

I think of bokeh -- lovely, inexplicable, often misunderstood -- as the supporting cast & crew in the drama of a photo.  Not the lead but the stand-in, the lighting director, the prop mistress, the make-up man.  Without bokeh, the main character can be flat, lifeless, light-less.  With it, there just might be a standing ovation.

In my photo above, bokeh's getting ready to take a bow.  In Elizabeth Glass's photo below, bokeh's whooping it up at the cast party. 

Encore!

Until next time.

lucy @ a little light reading

taxi dancers by elizabeth glass

better to light a candle

I used to be afraid of the dark.  My mother would send me out after supper to put my bike away or bring the clothes in off the line, and I remember running back to the house as fast as my feet would carry me, certain that there was some unseen monster in fast pursuit. 

But now I see the beauty in the dark of night, and find it rich and mysterious.  After we turn our clocks back this weekend, it will be dark by the time I head home from work, and I find something comforting about that change in the rhythm of the seasons.   I can come home, light some candles, start supper, and be embraced by the late-fall night.  As the saying goes, "it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness." Literally and figuratively.

Ashleymariephotos' image of the Miami skyline at night reminds me of a magical kingdom appearing in the distance, over the vast expanse of black ocean against the night sky.  The offset angle, hazy cloud, and soft reflection enhances the lure of the glittering lights.  If Atlantis could rise up from the ocean depths one night, it might look just like this.  So beautiful.

Until next time.

lucy @ a little light reading

it makes for happy endings by ashleymariephotos

inspired by the light

I'm having a secret love affair with light.  I've always been captivated by the slant of light at special times of the day, but now that I've found a way to capture it and keep it by taking a photograph, I'm a little obsessed.  I look for light everywhere.  I wait for it, morning, noon, and night.  I guess I might be something of a light stalker, if truth be told. I caught some amazing afternoon light in the gardens at the Vanderbilt Mansion recently -- a whole bed of little ghostly flowers dancing on delicate stems.

Tracy/SurprisePally's photo of fall leaves captures a completely different kind of light -- full of watercolor greens and blues, and those sweet red berries (with one that's just like a little heart.)  Here's what she had to say about what inspires her:

Light, detail, and color are probably the top three things that motivate me to take a photo and light is definitely at the top of the list. If the sun isn't shining, or nothing interesting is happening with light then I usually don't even feel like picking up my camera. When I  took this [photo], the light was dancing on the delicate berries and leaves on this tree and I love photographing these berries. They are so cheerful particularly because they are red and red always makes me feel happy. The small size of the berries and leaves make for an interesting pattern especially when using a wide aperture. This photo also reminds me of one of my favorite things about photography which is the endless possibilities for composing a photo.  Just move your camera ever so slightly and you have a completely different photo. I often take dozens of exposures of just one subject, which is probably quite amusing to onlookers. I love that,  though. Just snap that shutter and you have instant art. I can't draw, paint or write and I'm not even a particularly great photographer but it's an art that is accessible to me and I enjoy it more than I can express.

Thank you, Tracy, for inspiring me with your beautiful images and words.

 Until next time.

--lucy @ a little light reading

berry-okeh by surprisepally

PS:  Today we've got a another great giveaway -- a copy of noted photojournalist David Douglas Duncan's photo-autobiography Photo Nomad.  Duncan, a LIFE magazine photographer, captured everything from the horrors of World War II to the private life of Pablo Picasso.  The book is filled with hundreds of Duncan's amazing photographs.  Leave a comment and you may be the lucky winner.

___________________________

We are having nine days of giveaways and special guests. We will be drawing the winners from the comments left during the entire 9 Days Of Inspiration from all three pages and announcing them in a special *muse flash* on October 31. Make sure to visit the Everyday Beauty and More Musing pages and comment each day for more chances to win.  Each comment is an entry to win. Good Luck.

simple sustenance

The simplest food makes me the happiest.  Don't get me wrong -- I lust after seven-layer-divine-molten-chocolate-decadence-cake as much as the next person.  But once it's gone, I feel kind of empty-full, a little sticky and slightly nauseous.

But a perfectly ripe tomato still warm from the vine?  Or crisp translucent snow peas just picked from the garden?  They satisfy and nourish me in a way no sugary confection can.  They feed all of my senses with their simple deliciousness.  They fill me up, body and soul.

William Carlos Williams expressed this perfectly in his poem This Is Just To Say:

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which

you were probably

saving

for breakfast

Forgive me

they were delicious

so sweet

and so cold

Until next time.

--lucy @ a little light reading

PS:  The beautiful photo below is by Hannah of honey & jam, a favorite food blog of many of our readers.  Her photography is a feast for the eyes, and her recipes are simply scrumptious!

fresh peas by hannah ○ honey & jam

and the next theme is ... inspire us

So we have to admit that this theme may seem like a bit of a cheat.  It's kind of a non-theme, with no real rules. For the next challenge, we ask you to submit one of your best photos -- one that means something special to you, and that will strike a special chord with us as well.

We ask that you INSPIRE US with your unique vision.  Then, please take a moment and add a few words in the description field and talk about what inspired you to take the photo, or what inspires you as a photographer.  Each muse will choose a photo inspiration that really resonates with them.  We'll include your photo AND your words along with our own.

So, I guess there is one rule after all -- you need to post a photo AND a few words.  Eloquence is not required.  Just speak to us from the heart.

Tomorrow, Tammy will start our 9 days of musing on FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD.  Your photos for this theme have been absolutely scrumptious.  Join us for all the deliciousness!

--lucy

leap of faith

I have a fear of flying.  I'm scared of heights.  I'm mortified to step onto the dance floor.  I've never been on a roller coaster (well, not a real one -- I guess you can't count the one in the kiddie park.)  All these things take a giant leap of faith, trusting the universe, letting go.... believing. 

And yet, I know that someday I'll do these things I'm afraid of.  I'll board an airplane again because I want to go places and see the seven wonders of the world.  I'll climb a steep mountain because I want to experience the breathtaking view from the summit.  And while I may not go sky diving or bungee jumping (that might be asking a little TOO much), I'll step onto the dance floor someday and twirl and spin and take that leap -- and fly.  See -- that beautiful dancer in the photo below by muchadesign?  That's me someday.  Really.  I trust... and believe.

Until next time.

--lucy @ a little light reading

leap by muchadesign

and the next theme is ... food

You know you've done it.  You're at a restaurant, and you can't resist the urge to take a picture of your luscious entree.  The people at the table with you turn away ever so slightly, as if they don't know you.

Or you're in the kitchen making supper and the greens and yellows and reds of the salad ingredients call out to you:  "I'm photogenic!  I'm beautiful!  Quick, take a picture!  No one's looking...!"

For the next theme, we want you to capture FOOD... glorious food!  At a restaurant, in your kitchen, at a street fair, or in the garden.  Wherever you spot it, share your food shots with us.  Food and photography go hand in hand, if the number of gorgeous food blogs out there are any indication.

Tomorrow, Tammy will start our 9 days of musing on MOTION AND MOVEMENT.  Stop by and say hello.

--lucy

PS:  Do you have a favorite food blog or link to a favorite recipe?  Share them with us in the comments.

the halflight of morning

As I think I may have mentioned, I could have happily lived in an earlier time -- the 19th century calls my name.  My favorite books are ones where the heroine must rise in the halflight of morning and wash in a porcelain basin, perhaps cracking the skim of ice from the surface first.  The Little Princess.  Jane Eyre.  The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. 

But then the glorious morning light would warm our heroine as she stoked the fire and gazed out the window to the fields beyond.   And day would just be dawning.  And it would be beautiful.

Circulating's photograph takes my breath away.  May all our days begin like this.

Until next time.

--lucy @ a little light reading

Brittain Territory by circulating

and the next theme is ... motion

The autumn wind rippling a field of grain.  A lace curtain caught on a breeze.  A child chasing after a red ball.  The beating of a raven's wings.   The neon stream of car lights on a night highway.

For the next theme, we want you to capture MOTION & MOVEMENT.   There are a number of ways to evoke motion in your photos:  slowing down your shutter speed, taking a long exposure, panning, moving yourself or your camera (have you tried the camera toss?).  We encourage you to play and experiment and explore the dizzying possibilities of the world in motion.

Have you seen the work of Daniel Ranalli?  He has created a series called "Snail Drawings" that shows both stillness and motion in a diptych format.  Ranalli says of his work, "The series is based on the drawings made by snails on the wet sand in the intertidal zone ... I choreograph the snails’ starting positions, and then photograph the marks they make over time."  I love the unusual creative vision and surprise of these compelling black and white photos.  You can see the series here.

Tomorrow, Tammy kicks off our 9 days of musing on MORNING. And, I just have to say -- every time we announce a new theme we're bowled over by the photos you're posting to the flickr pool.  So gorgeous!  Keep them coming!

end-of-summer delight

Cape Cod is a summer place. Memorial Day weekend kicks off the season with a flood of eager visitors, and then on Labor Day the tourists and summer residents head home, back to school and jobs and real life.

If only they knew that September and October are the best times to be here.  The days are warm and  nights are cool enough to pull up a cozy comforter.  The beaches are nearly empty, and the lines at the ice cream stands are gone.  There's a sweetness in the air and a certain slant of light that us year-rounders savor -- our own special secret delight.

The photo below,  we are all wanderers on this earth,  evokes this same kind of secret delight --can you imagine a whole field and sky that's all yours, to share with a friend on a late summer afternoon? 

I've loved seeing your end-of-summer images.  Leave a comment and tell us more about what you savor most about this time of year.

Until next time.

--lucy

We are all wanderers on this earth. Our hearts are full of wonder, and our souls are deep with dreams. by Stephanie Caldwell

and the next theme is ... morning

Are you a morning person?  If so, MORNING, our next theme for photo submissions, might have you rising extra early to capture the first light of day.  On the other hand, if you're someone who doesn't come fully awake until the third cup of coffee, no worries  – morning officially lasts until 11:59 AM.  Whether you’re rushing off to work, dashing to get kids ready for school, or savoring the quiet of the early dawn, share a bit of your morning with us.

For you non-morning people out there, I have a quick photo tip.  Sprinting out into the front yard in your jammies on a fall morning to capture the light on the frosty grass is a great eye-opener.  Try it!

We can't wait to see how you start your day.

Make sure to visit the blog tomorrow as Tammy starts our 9 days of musing on END OF SUMMER.

--lucy

PS:  Just a reminder to please tag or label your photos with the theme each time you post to the Mortal Muses flickr pool.  That helps us muses (especially first thing in the morning) to know which theme your images portray.