big sky country

When I moved to California from Toronto 16 years ago and met my (now) husband, we bonded over road trips in his old Bronco to the desert, the mountains and the Pacific Northwest forests and coasts. I was bowled over by the landscapes and fell in love with wide open spaces.

It was Death Valley that stunned me into silence, however. When we first arrived after an almost half-day drive from the San Francisco Bay Area, it was already twilight and the stars were coming out. We set up camp and I think I barely spoke a word for the rest of the evening. I couldn't believe how silent it was and yet how the stars vibrated and sang. It still defies description for me. We returned many times, sometimes alone and sometimes with friends and the magic never faded.


We recently made the trip again after many years, this time with our eight year old daughter. We silently hoped she would feel the same magic as we had, but braced ourselves for the fact that she might be bored and wonder why we'd dragged her all the way there. My husband sometimes talks about how I go "feral" in the wilderness - going silent as the silence and space take over and letting my spirit become awestruck. Although our trip was brief this time, we saw the same thing happen for our daughter. At twilight we stopped by the side of the road and she took off like a bird into the dusk, stopping to collect rocks and sticks and build sculptures with no need of any interaction from us.

Skiingrn1's amazing photo from somewhere between Idaho and Nevada reminds me of those long ago road trips to the desert, with mix-tapes on the car stereo as a soundtrack to the views passing by. The title of this post is taken from Big Sky Country by Chris Whitley, always included on any road trip mix-tape.

cheers,
kim (mosey)

The Wide Open Road by Skiingrn1

yearning for warm

The rain is currently pounding the roof just above my head, and a steady drip drip drip from the chimney to the metal flashing below could easily become a form of monotonous torture if I didn't have a glass of wine close at hand.  The chilly wet of winter in Northern California, just barely beginning, makes me yearn for a warm patch of sun on the hardwood where I could curl up like a cat.  When the skies briefly clear, I hustle my family out of our shady valley to soak in the last warm rays at the coast before the sun dips behind the horizon early.  Too early.

It's cozy inside with the fire but the nape of my neck pines for warm sun.

Ike06~ grabbed this slice of delicious late afternoon sun in North Dakota - it reminds me of an African savanna.  I wonder if she uses this photo as a background on her phone or computer during long, frosty winters to remind her what it feels like to be warm?

cheers,
kim (mosey) of mosey along

late afternoon by Ike06~

forward momentum

What I have been so moved by this past year, along with the obvious imagery we have featured on Mortal Muses, are the stories that sometimes accompany those images.  And even more so, the community of people who have encouraged one another, inspired one another, and also found friendship with each other, even those across the globe who may never meet in person.  I sometimes shake my head in confusion and wonder at how ideas are born, and how the relationships of those involved develop and deepen.  Not only amongst the nine who post here every week, but those of you who fill the flickr pools with your work and then come to comment and so become muses with us.

My involvement in the Mortal Muses came at the end of one of the hardest periods of time in my life.  And call it fate or luck or serendipity, but I've been carried on your shoulders so many times this past year whether you knew it or not.  My daughter featured in my very first post, and today I feature her again.  Just a simple moment caught on our recent trip, after a hike in the Sibillini mountains of Italy.  She had led the way the entire time, reaching the top before any of us, but as we headed down she said "I'm so tired, Mumma.  Will you pick me up?"  The photograph is not technically adept, and I can find fault with it in many ways, but it tells a story that seemed appropriate for my last post as a Muse.  You'll never know how grateful I am for the overwhelming love and support you have given me, and for the other wonderful women who have posted alongside me since last summer.

Carrying us forward will be some new muses to infuse us with new energy and stories and ideas, and of course beautiful images.  I am so proud and happy to pass one of the torches on to Holly Clark, better known to us all as soupatraveler.  She has been one of our biggest supporters from the very beginning, and is such a talented and joyous spirit.  And as I agonized on how to say farewell (for now), her image gave me the inspiration I needed.  I am delighted that Holly will be musing here, and she will be (in October) the third muse that I will get to hug in person!  (following Kirstin last month, and Tammy also in October)  It's my mission to hug as many of you as possible.  I'll be the tall one with the Lumix GF1 knocking on your door, so get ready.

I thank each of you again for your love and support, and I will be here visiting and nosing around your flickr streams.  You can't get rid of me that easily.

cheers,
kim (mosey) of mosey along

30/31 Forward Momentum by soupatraveler

respite from summer fun

I just returned from five weeks away from home - a journey overseas to spend time with members of both my family and my husband's.  We had moments of relaxation, mad dashes for trains, slogging through sweltering heat in big cities balanced by cool drizzle in rural settings of exquisite beauty.  There was joy being surrounded by family and friends, and then blissful moments all to ourselves (and one seven year old).  There were weeks where we bounced from one city to another overwhelmed by crowds and heat and noise, and other weeks where we stayed put and the only sounds were sheep baa-ing and bees buzzing.  There were highs and lows, and then the moments inbetween.

I've written before about "traveller's melancholy", a term I first heard coined in one of Frances Mayes travel books - she refers to it as a state of being she sometimes sinks into when travelling, feeling a longing for familiarity and people she loves who are too far away.  I know this feeling well.  I love to travel, but also recognize the times when I need to slow down, take time to mosey.  My photo above is in our tiny bed and breakfast in Venice, after a morning of intense heat walking those beautiful streets and bridges under a merciless sun.  My daughter chose to use our siesta time to sit in the window seat and wave hello to the passersby below.  I engaged in my favourite activity - daydreaming - pillow beneath my head, a book and my camera close by.

I loved the similar dreamy feel of Hannah's breeze-filled curtains, and her longing for sunshine after what sounds like a dreary bout of rain and puddles. 

I wish for all of you what you most long for this summer - does your summer fun include nonstop activity or do you prefer a slow swing in the hammock with a book?  Or a bit of both?

cheers,
kim (mosey) of mosey along

Sunshine through my window by H a n n a h_

round hole square peg

My daughter has a tendency to run in the opposite direction when either I or my husband raise our cameras.  We have a lot of photos of her with disgruntled expressions, or of the back of her head.  So when she does deign to accommodate us, we take full advantage.  Her patience has limits however - the photo above was at the tail end of a shoot I did with her recently after she heaved a big sigh and said "Are we done yet?".

It made me chuckle to read Jamie's comment about the expressions she sometimes gets from her subject, and I know we're not alone since I see many photos of photographers' kids who are obviously just biding their time until they can run and do something more interesting.  Or demand satisfaction for the bribes they've been offered to pose.

I found it somewhat perplexing shooting portraits in square format, which explains my subject line - the struggle to fit one shape into a different one.  I loved the composition of Jamie's shot, and of so many others in the pool this week.  You all made it enormously difficult to pick just one photo!

cheers,
kim (mosey) of mosey along

pigtailed and stoic by jamie {74}

__________________________________

We have a winner! 

Sheila Hughes is the winner of The Slice of Life e-course starting July 11th.

You can claim your prize by contacting Darrah directly at Darrah (at) DarrrahParker.com.

Didn't win? There is still plenty of time to sign up.

secret identity

Like many of you, I haven't always relished looking at photos of myself.  Or taking them.  I'm always a bit taken aback that the outside (40-something) doesn't match the inside (12-ish).  I've shot quite a few self-portraits this past year though, and I've come to appreciate making an image that reflects me, not just for what I look like on the outside, but which reveals my personality in some way.  I recently started wearing reading glasses and when I catch a sideways glimpse of myself in a mirror I think I look quite Clark Kent-like.  I'm quite fond of the idea of having a secret identity.

KJBehavior's self-portrait of herself cooling off in her car caught my eye because that sassy smile makes it look like she's hiding something too.  I wonder what it is?

cheers,
kim (mosey) of mosey along

Cool girl by KJBehavior

____________________

Thank you for the overwhelming enthusiasm for our Picture Color giveaway this week!
Many of our current and past muses got to know one another taking Tracey Clark's Picture classes, and we are big fans.

The winner of a spot in Tracey's class, starting June 1, is gailO/Oliag. Congratulations! 
Contact us at mortalmuses [at] yahoo [dot] com and we'll hook you up.

well rounded

The rain has been beating down this past week, the wind lashing my tender vegetable seedlings patiently waiting a warm weekend to go in the ground.  Our local farmer's market started up this week, and I drove by to see the canopies of a few hardy vendors flapping madly and doing little to protect the produce below.  I pondered braving the elements but instead drove home and put on the kettle.  And then trolled my archives to admire the rounded produce from last fall's market.

Next week I'll go, rain or shine.  Really, I will.

In the meantime, I found Alicia's photo a perfect accompaniment to my apples, and am feeling strangely hungry for frittata, maybe with kale left over from my winter garden.  I wonder if she put all her eggs in one basket?  I'm sorry.  You know I just had to.

cheers,
kim (mosey) of mosey along

Eggs 2 by ajplmama

daydreaming

Life is like a speeding train at the moment.  The end of the school year approaches, I am squeezing in a freelance project before the summer break, and relaxation is somewhat mythical.  Although I admit, I do make time on my weekends to just sit and read a book if only for twenty minutes.  Those moments are essential for my sanity.  I went digging through my archives to find this photo from last September when I spent almost an entire Saturday in our hammock on one of the last hot days of summer.  I recall feeling so lethargic that I actually hollered for my hubby to please bring me my camera since I couldn't be bothered to do it myself.  Thankfully he's an accommodating guy.

I love not only the abstract feel of Clare-B's photo, other than that exquisite sliver of focus, but also its title -- drifting into dreams -- it evokes what true relaxation is about for me, being without plans or even conscious thoughts, time to daydream. Spa not necessary, just time and space...... 

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

Drifting into Dreams by Clare-B

hello sunshine

Why, hello kitty. 

Along with pictures of my shoes, I take an inordinate number of photos in my dining room.  Not only is it where my family gathers to eat, spend time together, do homework, and where teetering piles of mail accumulate, it is the first place the sunshine touches each morning.  After months of winter when our house does not get any sunshine at all, the sun slowly creeps high enough over the hills, and it's our dining table where I sit with steaming cups of coffee and soak in those first rays.  And take photos.

Although my choice of reading material might differ from that of my daughter, I understand the impulse to linger after breakfast with the sun on my neck and a scintillating piece of literature - or People magazine - in my hands.

Anika obviously felt that same impulse to pick up a camera on a recent morning as the sun slanted through her blinds.  It makes me want to start the day all over again.  

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

morning light by anika alonzo {Little Piece Images}

spring break

Spring conjures the warm, slower-paced days of approaching summer. Work and school still immerse us, but long weekends and spring breaks give us a breather and remind us of lovely things to come.

My family took a little roadtrip to the canyonlands of Utah for my daughter's spring break. When we finally allowed ourselves to just absorb the moment rather than dashing from one place to another, our mini-vacation took on a completely different vibe. We found a magical spot on a late afternoon hike, right where I took this photograph, and I sat and let my mind empty while my daughter made art with sand and stones and sticks, both of us content to dream and soak in our surroundings and the warmth of the sun.

And it never hurts to break out hot pink hiking accessories, as Kelly also demonstrates below.  A true sign of spring, shrugging off the dark colours and weightier fashions of winter.  I feel a shopping spree for some new chucks and sassy knee socks coming on.

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

Fun socks and shoes by Kelly Russo Photography

punch buggy purple

While musing on inspiration for the transportation prompt, my first thought was SHOES.  They get you where you need to go, I take an unprecedented number of shots of my shoes already, and one of my mantras is "put on your shoes" when I'm feeling blocked.

But as I was jamming the drawer closed on my daughter's toy chest today, this little purple treasure caught my eye.  Sweetpea is a master of the Punch Buggy game - whacking my hubby or me in the arm with glee when she sees them on the road, and keeping a running count of how many she has accumulated.  She vows to retire once she has reached a certain number.  My hubby once decided to beat her at her own game and sat her in front of the computer while he filled the page with Google images of Volkswagen bugs, punching her repeatedly on the arm as he shouted "Punch Buggy Blue! Pink! Green! Red!" until the two of them were shouting with laughter.

I must admit doing a little vroom-vrooming as I rolled this car around our patio today, remembering my childhood obsession with cars (no dolls for me, I wanted a mechanic's garage) and how I would draw with sidewalk chalk miles of roads and parking lots for my toy cars to travel on the length of our street.  No wonder this photo by Becky Sue charmed me - doesn't it make you want to get down on your knees and play?

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

Blacktop derby by RSL Photography (aka Becky Sue)

coming and going

Growing up I remember going in and out of the house, banging the screen door countless times a day.  "Mom!  Can I have a snack!"  "Mom, can I go over to so-and-so's house?" "Mom, I just fell off my bike again, do we have any bandaids?"  My best friend lived on the other side of the block and we could yell to each other from our bedroom windows.  I'm not sure what the neighbours thought of our hollered conversations across their backyards, or why we didn't just use the telephone, but it worked for us.  We take the openings in our homes for granted, but on a daily basis they usher us out into the world and then welcome us back in.

There's a sadness to the decay of this door I found in a small abandoned building on a hike recently.  Someone carefully laid coats of paint on it, the door knob was polished by many hands going in and out, but now it sits quiet.  Nettebar's window gives me the same feeling of melancholy.  At some point in its history, all the panes were lovingly buffed and someone dreamed while looking out at the street or their garden.

But I like thinking of those openings as opportunities, whether they are in daily use or just markers of the past.  Every day we put on our shoes and step out the door to welcome what comes next.

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

window by Nettebar

memory lane

I was going to choose one from the archives for this prompt.  I have some photos of my daughter as a toddler, taken on my old Nokia over four years ago.  They are tiny and fuzzy and poor quality, but it just doesn't matter.  I didn't have a camera of my own then, not even a point-and-shoot, but I look at those old cellphone photos and can remember in vivid detail the moments in which they were taken.

Just as I'll remember this moment, just this afternoon.  A moment in the garden with my daughter before dinner, both of us marvelling over the blossoms ready to burst into bloom on the plum tree, she in her brand new pink boots.

I'm certain that marionesdetumi's photo is one for the memory bank as well - someday that child may see the photo and exclaim "I remember those boots!".

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

#1_hipstamatic by {marionesdetumi}

better together than apart

She brings me delight on a daily basis.  At seven, she is full of enthusiasm and incredible amounts of energy that leave me breathless.  She can scowl with the best of them, but prefers to be overjoyed.  She is independent and leaves me at the school door with barely a backward glance, but still hurls herself into my arms at the end of the day.  On a recent Saturday, when my photo above was taken, she chose a trip to our local children's discovery museum which we used to visit weekly when she was a toddler.  And just like when she was three or four, her hand reached up to mine as we walked toward the entrance.

I know the time is fast approaching when she will prefer not to spend whole afternoons with me, will not want to hold my hand, will begrudgingly hug me only when I ask.  I don't want to stop time and keep her as she is now, but know I'll look back at these simpler times and hold them close. 

Lindsey's similar shadow portrait of mother and daughter tugs at my heartstrings in much the same way.  I love the angle and the profile and the sense of connection.

Thanks for sharing your shadow portraits this week! 

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

Long shadows of winter by Lindsey G (modchik)

art you can eat

I promise that muses Suki and Kat and I did not consult on our photographs for this theme - we obviously all are drawn to still life's involving food.  For me it was certainly a labour of love.  I tried to think outside my own box and take a photo of flower arrangements or items around my home, but after a morning at the farmer's market my subject for today's post was a given.  And after such hard work taking my photo, I had a nice snack.

As for my choice of ania's lovely textured pear?  A nice thinly sliced portion with some organic local artisan cheese sounds delightful.  Wine, anyone?

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

Bosc by ~ania♥

street colour

I am slowly working my way toward being brave enough to do the kind of street photography seen in the amazing body of work discovered by luck in an auction bin just over a year ago.  Vivian Maier was a nanny in Chicago, unassuming and private, and over the course of 40 years she amassed thousands of images of her walks around the city and they are exquisite.  (See her story and images here.  If you haven't seen them yet you are in for a treat.)

My intention today was to skulk around the city and find someone who looked friendly, hopefully with sassy fashion sense, who would afford me the opportunity to leisurely capture them doing something intriguing.  On a street with character.  It's not too much to ask, right?  Cue the downpour.  So I scuttled from corner to doorway to alley with my umbrella balanced on my head and captured the amazing colour in the Mission district of San Francisco instead.  Not a bad trade at all, although I will muster my courage and return another day.

I'm in love with Stephskimo's image below, taken in London.  The wall art is bold and graphic.  I want to know what's happening just out of frame to the right.  My daughter thinks it looks like people helping each other, which seems appropriate given the person sharing the frame.  Stephanie has created a collection of her street art photographs and it is well worth a visit to her photostream.

What street photographers inspire you?

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

stik mural 1 by stephskimo

sharing the love with... holly

the light of love by holly {soupatraveler]

Remember that song by John Paul Young? You know the one, "Love is in the air, Everywhere I look around..." Okay, I'll admit it, I had to look up who sang it, but as soon as Kim asked me to be a guest muse, this song has been playing on repeat in my head! But you want to know something else? Love's not only in the air, it's also in the light! Truly, it is. Just look around you. If the sun is shining, if a lamp's turned on, if a candle's burning, the chances are, you're seeing something, or maybe someone you love, bathed in its splendor. The evidence is all around us, the light and love within us. We too become beacons of light through the love in our hearts. We radiate sunshine with our smiles showering warmth and goodness over everything we see. Luckily, we can also capture these feelings forever with our cameras.

As photographers, we are blessed with the ability to not only show the love, but to share it too! We turn our cameras where love abounds: anniversaries, birthdays, and weddings. We shoot big, toothy grins, hugs and kisses with a couple of candle-topped cakes thrown in. We shoot our kids, our pets, our homes. But we also shoot simple things where love is aglow, or maybe because of it, like this light soaked heart bathed in bokeh, or like Oliag0's candy hearts. Two sweet, simple lollipops, a tiny pop of colored happiness in an otherwise grey world, adorning a windowsill while catching some light and warming our hearts all at the same time. They certainly warmed mine. I hope you find some evidence of love in the light illuminating you today. Oh, and by the way, feel free to sing along. "Oh, oh, oh, Love is in the air..."

Please visit tomorrow as Ashley shares the love with her muse... Jhen.

Sending lots of love and light your way today,
xoxoxo holly {soupatraveler}

Warm Your Heart... by Oliag0

standing tall

My fellow muses, I cannot tell a lie.  I came kicking and screaming into doing textures.  I love taking photos, I love the stories they can tell - when I get them right, that is - and I love messing around in Photoshop to get the look I want.  I even have added Photoshop noise/grain to get a vintage look from time to time.  But I couldn't get my head around the need for textures.  I certainly have seen some beautiful things done with it, some by the muses themselves, but I snootily decided that textures weren't for me.

But now?  I am a convert.  I love them.  Sign me up, I'm born again.  They can enhance a photo in a whole new way and I'm more than happy to eat my words.  The Columbus Tower in San Francisco is a distinctive copper green flatiron building - perfect for photography.  But the sky was uninteresting and the light not quite right.  The vintage canvas texture from Shadowhouse Creations (SkeletalMess on Flickr) was just the ticket.

And although I'm sure drdesign's sooc photo was lovely, the added texture takes it to a new level.  I loved the feeling of the subject almost whimsically standing at attention center stage, similar to mine.

Thanks for the amazing photos this week - you helped convert me into a lover of texture!

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

October 10, 2010 by drdesigns

bird on a wire

I was curious to trace the etymology of the word silhouette, given our theme this week.  It's a beautiful sounding word (go ahead, say it aloud right now... put a little flourish on the last syllable... doesn't that roll off the tongue nicely?), and I figured it would have some deeper meaning.  In actuality, the word is named after an 18th century Frenchman named Etienne de Silhouette,  a politician who controlled finances, apparently not very well.  He was criticized as frugal (to excess) and parsimonious in his work, and that description later came to be attached to silhouettes as we now know them in the art and photography world - something that is very simple, or frugal so to speak.

However they came to be, they're a beautiful way to capture shapes  - both simple and abstract - and to highlight negative space.

RDN87's beautiful photo of branches and birds caught my eye in the pool, which was such a pleasure to scroll through this week, a visual feast of silhouettes.

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

IMG by RDN87

wild kingdom

Witness the wild guinea pig in its natural habitat, casting a baleful eye on those who would approach.

Actually, meet Alice, my daughter's guinea pig who eyes us suspiciously even after two years living in our home, but welcomes all gifts of carrots, lettuce and apple slices.  And squeaks outrageously if we ignore these needs for more than a couple of hours.  I have to admit, I wasn't sure whether a quality photograph could be made of a rodent without apparent personality.  I intended to go for photo walks this past week to local stables to capture noble horses, or meet friends in the dog park exercising their rambunctious doggy friends.  But it seemed a shame not to feature Alice given that she plays a part in our family life.

Arin S's sneaky chipmunk seems to share Alice's focus on acquiring (or in this case - stealing) food.  Which is probably the only way one can photograph speedy little creatures like this one. 

cheers,
mosey of mosey along

Sneaking a snack by Arin S