grateful in numbers

I made a promise this year - I Michel Feist do solemnly declare that this, the year of two thousand & ten I will post three hundred & sixty five photos to thy blog. 

In my brain, at that time it felt like it was that big of a deal. no joke. William Shakespeare himself said the words in my head. Looking back on it now it still seems like an impossible task. I definitely had some bumps along the way but am in the home stretch now (45 days left) and I'm getting all sentimental. Everyone has a different reason for doing 365's and mine was simply to become so comfortable with my camera and its settings that it would eventually become an extension of my arm. Oh and perhaps have some fun along the way. What I didn't count on - but was pleasantly surprised by - was the people I met along the way. This last week I have been grumbling about this project, unhappy with the lack of light, pouting about the photo block I've been "enduring" when all the while have also been looking back in retrospect with complete gratitude. If one thing is for certain - I definitely wasn't alone this year. People all around me were cracking me up, documenting their real lives, telling great stories, chasing amazing light, making amazing portraits and reminiscing great memories of travel. Thank you all for allowing me to join in this path with you. Please share with me images of your own personal 365 or thoughts on it today. Are you planning on doing one this year? how bout' a 52 project if every day is too much?

My numbers and the numbers running through ewitsoe's head are of completely different heartache. The only thing they hold in common are that they have brought each of us to find gratitude. I urge you to read the story that follows this image. It took my breath away.

keep on keeping on muser peeps!
michel of wishful thinking

The special significance of numbers and the magic they truly hold

count your many blessings

"Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life.  Be grateful for what you already have, and you will attract more good things" from The Secret.

I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving (for those of you in the US) and remember to count your many blessings!


April of april's 365

i am gratitude. by joy rebel photo

friendship

I am at my worst in the depths of Winter, as my nearest and dearest are only too aware. But this year something wonderful happened. I took my camera and explored the winter landscapes, taking portraits indoors, practising shallow depths of field, macro; anything and everything was captured by my camera. And in the excitement of being creative (having studied nothing but science and maths for all those years) I forgot all about how much I truly hate Winter. It wasn't until April that I really started to discover flickr and in July I got seriously stuck in.

Now I have my two worlds: my real friends and family in my very real world, and my virtual friends in my lovely world of flickr. Two sets within a universal set with no intersections (remember all that maths I did…I can't help the Venn diagram simile). Until I met Xanthe, whose pictures I adore. We met earlier this month and had a magical time, talking, laughing, jumping on benches, taking photos and having fun.

Oh, I wish you could all have been there too, just as Damiec wrote so beautifully in her post---"I am so appreciative of the friendship, encouragement and community that I have found through flickr. Don't know if I'd tapped into this passion without this website and connecting with you".

Thank you all.

See you all next time for some shooting down low pictures.

kirstin
x

wish you were here by damiec

give thanks

The candlestick and platter in my photo belonged to my mother, and I smile at her memory each time I use them. Whenever I light a candle in the candlestick, for me it brings her presence to our gatherings. I’m so grateful for the time I had with her, and a lifetime of warm, happy memories of her.
I was immediately drawn to this photo by pixelmama, of a canning jar that belonged to her mother, but even more I love the words she wrote to go along with it.

“I wanted to add something to the Mortal Muse group as the theme this week is Thankful. I have a lot to be thankful for and one thing I think about at the end of the growing season is canning. My mom passed away when she was only 43 and there is so many things I wish I could ask her.

She didn't teach me how to sew, knit or crochet; but she did teach me about the garden; how to plant it, tend it and harvest it. I spent much of my time, at the end of the growing season canning tomatoes, snapping beans and putting up jam. I remember grumbling about it back then. But now, many years later; I am so grateful that she taught me how to harvest my garden. I have all of her canning jars and her huge black canning kettle. I think of her now, with a smile on my face for every tomato I peel and every bean I snap”

Thank you so very much for sharing your blessings with us.

Maureen @ cottage 960
 

thankful for mothers and perfect mason jars by pixelmama

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

in spite of

even though

the dark creeps in too early

and the chill seeps into my bones

even though

the rain ricochets off the roof

and melancholy sometimes invites itself in like an unwanted visitor

i am grateful

because I can

sit in patches of light blinking like a cat

and wrap myself in the warmest sweater

and i can

look out at the rain from a cozy window

and wrap the love of my family around me like a soft blanket

+ + +

I am grateful too for blue elephant photography who, like me, also likes to sit and think.

cheers,

mosey

thinking chair by blue elephant photography

Gratitude

I am grateful for so many things these days. I feel blessed to experience life in the healthy condition I have. I can walk around, move in a way I want and express myself properly.
Some people who are ill or disabled might not be fortunate enough to do that.
I am grateful for this rose as a spark of hope this week. Because it means the seasons are changing soon.
But the old one did not leave quite yet.
The little things make my day.

The photo I chose is by H a n n a h_ . Since I struggle lately with getting used to early evenings, cold and wet days, this picture shows so much to me.
I am inspired by it. To catch the drops so perfectly myself one day. I am grateful for that inspiration I get here by you every week. And I am starting to like the rain.

Have a wonderful day today!

Love,
Suki of suki photography

Drip drip drop by H a n n a h_

synchronicity

I am thankful to be where I am, at this time, this place, this moment of my life. Sometimes things all align perfectly, to get us to a certain place at a certain time. To let us see ourselves and the world around us in a new light. To let us capture a certain image, that just rings true. That's my definition of synchronicity, and I'm thankful for these beautiful moments of it that come my way.

With her photo, soupatraveler said, "...I hope you catch a fleeting moment that stays in your heart all day long. I'm truly grateful for these unexpected little snippets in time. The ones that tell me I'm in the right place, at the right time, no matter my surroundings."

My thoughts exactly! I am wishing you all this feeling of gratitude, if only for one moment or one image, today and every day.

Kat of The Kat Eye View of the World

hff - a fence with flare by soupatraveler

autumn gratitude

It's a gorgeous day in November. What are you and your family doing? Are you hanging out at the beach with your friends like my little guy above? Are you shoveling the season's first snow? Or are you like Jamie973's daughter blissfully wandering in an enchanted forest cloaked in Autumn glory? 

It is during this time of year that I am truly grateful to live in South Florida. The mornings are crisp, the days are sunny, and the cool evenings perfect for outdoor grilling.  When you live in the Land Of
Perpetual Summer, it is easy to forget that it is cold elsewhere.  Photos of snow in the flickr pool and newspaper articles regarding snowstorms tend to catch me off-guard. 

In December, I will be reminiscing of snow days, white Christmas mornings, and ice skating parties of my youth in Connecticut... but for now I am thankful to be making sandcastles and splashing in the surf with our youngest son.

I am including Jamie's words. As a mother, the sentiment warms my heart.  "I'm grateful for alone time with my small fry. She loves to explore and always finds the best things for me to shoot. This time it was forest love."

Until next time. Stay sweet. ♥ tammy lee of bliss and folly

We went for a walk in the forest and all we found was love by Jaime973