Charming life.

Symphonies of wind and whispers ring in my ears , grass softly passing under my feet, running running running, following the stream , diving , swirling, drifting.

Looking towards the sun from under the gentle passing waves of water, it welcomes me, looking lovingly  down on me, bubbles of air escape me, dancing around my face and hair, laughing at secrets that I do not yet know.

Silvery dancing fish, swimming peacefully , teasing me with their grace .

Slowly melting down, pond weed at my feet, tracing the lines of my legs, dancing it's secretive dance.

The world around me full of secrets, winds, and suns , fish and weeds, charming me until my last gasp of breath...

I'm gone, swaying away, the stars and moon have me now, secrets unfolding , stories recalled, dances undone,

charming little life it was.

To smile or not to smile? Why is that a question?

So,  as the night has come upon me, I am sitting in my rocking chair, going over all my thoughts and emotions that has been running through my head like leaves tumbling down the street.

One thought that I seem to can not shake actually happened today as I was running errands .

I was at the grocery and looking at the products on the shelf ( baking ingredients ) as I look up, a young man who was stocking shelves, proudly and very eagerly smiled at me, actually stood there smiling as if to say "Hello" He stood and smiled longer than I would expect anyone stranger to smile at someone.

My first thought to myself was "Why does he look so happy?" then I rationalized with myself and said he probably wants to help me, if I am looking over products and it's the day before Good Friday , he might actually want to be helpful, I returned the smile grabbed some cream cheese frosting and was one my way.

Now as I am looking through more groceries I suddenly think to myself, why would I wonder why someone looks happy as they smile?!?!?! It was a legitimate smile, not one of those fake through the teeth, painful smiles that people tend to force ( As a photographer I do everything in my power to prevent those) A REAL SMILE, a happy "How do you do?" smile!   

I suddenly realized to myself that when "out and about" so many people carry sad , angry, tired , lonesome faces, that to see a beautiful smile , has actually shocked me.

I started focusing in on people and many if not most, just seemed weary for the worst, and this saddened me beyond belief,  so many carry such stress, and it shows through their eyes.

 So I started smiling at those around me, some look baffled and some looked almost angry at the thought of me even considering it. For those who actually returned the gesture had sad smiles.......

What a thing to have, a "sad smile"  ( this depresses me )

I have always believed you can tell a life time by someone's eyes, the lightness in them, they give off so much information, you can everything through the eyes of people, and they are a dead give away when someone is faking a smile. 

I suppose I have been so wrapped up in my world and the world of those that I love that I have not really paid mind to those that smile at me when I come across them. 

So what has happened to us? Why are we confused and why are some of us annoyed at those who dare spring a bit of joy in our directions?

I will in fact start smiling as much as I can , hopefully I can keep the lesson I have learned today, and smile, hopefully sprouting joy into someone's day, I hope you will too.

As Charlie Chaplan once said, 

Smile though your heart is aching 
Smile even though it's breaking. 
When there are clouds in the sky 
you'll get by. 

If you smile through your pain and sorrow 
Smile and maybe tomorrow 
You'll see the sun come shining through 
For you. 

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness.
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying.
You'll find that life is still worthwhile-
If you just smile.

I truly hope the sun will shine upon you,

Many Blessings,

For months I have been putting off doing a self portrait, I have either been to busy, something pops up that I have to take care of , or I become a little camera shy, today I actually tried to start the process, but was soon becoming involved into so much , that I was not able to do so.

I did however get about 10 minutes to myself tonight and soon wandered around taking pictures of hanging flowers, dessert that I had made and even light fixtures around the house and in the alley.

Even though I did not achieve my original goal, I still managed to get a quick snap shot of myself

I have always said, I am better photographed behind the camera 

I suppose it's true now ;)

I hope everyone has been happy, and healthy,

remember to always find a way to do what you love, even if it is not originally what you planned.

Many Blessings

Hammers and Nails, and My Deck Building Fails.

So for the past two days, my husband has been building a handicap deck for his father so he can access our house easier, and now that his father is happily retired he will be coming over more often for visits and meals.

The second day of building the deck it was just him and I laying down the rest of the boards, this included cutting notches , making sure when got the boards tight , nailing the boards down and putting in screws.... Seems simple right????

HAHA, have we met, this is me we are talking about ! I am single handedly the most uncordinated woman in Centerville.

With that said, I would have toss extension cords to use the drill and Zack would toss them back at me so I could use the nail gun ( kind of fun to use, because it's loud and it makes the job go soooo much faster)

When Zack tossed the extension cord across the deck and towards me I had to take a step back to catch it. When I took the step back I put my foot in a hole that one of my lovely dogs decided to dig, trip, fall over the air compressor and just flat eat the ground.I would like to say that my flipping around the place looked cool in some way, but that would make me a liar, and well, I don't lie. It was the most akward, clumsy mess you ever did see, feet and hands flying every where and I didn't even catch the damn cord.

To top it off I dropped boards, fell , tripped and rolled my ankle more than once. It's pretty safe to say my dreams of being a contract worker are down the drain. 

Now with that said I had to carry 12 foor boards, way heavier than they look, picked one up ( barely it was more like an awkward grasp with me shaking yelling for help) So my husband teamed up and carried to boards to the garage . There were 10 boards to carry each board I somehow managed to find holes, and knots in the ground to trip over while holding the boards. I ran into the fence God knows how many times, then finally crashed in the garage into the riding lawn mower and scuffed myself, it was horrendous crash to be honest which lead to my husband dropping the board in a fit of laughter. 

Now keep in mind I managed to still hold onto this board all while falling ( don't ask me how my body does weird things) and he DROPS the board from laughing.

It's pretty safe to say.... I am SORE.

Happiness in simplicity , not in social circles.

Sorry bloggers, my life has been so hectic I have neglected my blog, for this I apologize.

As I sit here writing, I have a glass of wine, an open window with a cool breeze , and sounds of piano softly filling my office with it's enchanting tunes. ( I am in absolute Heaven right now)

For the past few days I have been wondering what is it that makes us happy? Lucky for me I had a thought provoking and utterly lovely chat with someone who understood where I was coming from. He also, has had the same thoughts of, "Why do people go after social status/overly concerned with pop culture?"

I find that most people, instead of living a life of joy, and living a life of creative living, we as people have become so engrossed in " What's next? " "HURRY HURRY HURRY"  " What do I have to buy now , just to feel as good as you?!?!"

We have become a people who are more focused on living in the next moment, that they rush all the moments they are currently in, and rushing them so much that they can not enjoy them.

Today as I was helping finish up the deck in our backyard, I honestly thought to myself " WOW I have so much to do, I am running around like a robot 90% of my day" I laid back and just enjoyed the breezes that spring has provided and gazed at the branches above me, noticing the branches on the trees and the new sprouts of leaves that has graced my tree. Those few moments were heavenly, just a small moment can make such of a difference in your day. To lay and actually pay attention to nature, the way the wind feels, the way the sun shines, the noises around you , it's like opening your eyes for the first time in a long time...

Accumulating the newest purse or getting the newest technology will not make you happy . A piece of  material will not make your day better, it will not love you back, it will not have a conversation with you, or help you become educated ,  it will only give you something to stress about, you have to afford the product, take care of it, then eventually it goes bad. All of this induces stress.....

What happened to us? Theoretically we are all the same, and I will say this as I said in my conversation with the gentlemen whom I was speaking with. "We are all the same, a few culture changes and a language barrier, but we are ALL basically the same"

Let us remind ourselves, it's not the latest trends , toys, etc etc that make us human, that make us happy, it's what we enjoy! Lay in the sun, play in the water, create art, read a book, write a poem, sing, have a conversation with someone who is completely on the other side of the fence than you , and see how you feel.

It's not the status that makes us a success it's our passion.

As quoted by my new friend YOU are the world, I am the world as MJ said it , we are the world.

Now I say to you ladies and gentlemen, go be the world, and go relish in it.

Blessings to you.

Bottle Bell Photography

Hi Everyone!

So I desperately want to will a print give away hosted by Ashley Lebedev of Bottle Bell Photography.
In doing so, I am writing an article about her work, and why I like it.

I also want to share with everyone photographers/artists/story tellers that I admire , and honestly Ashley is that and more.

Ashley's work is reminiscent of fairy tales, love stories, and a dreamers imagination. Her work evokes passion and creative thinking.

Her fine art photography is one of a kind, with it's charming, sweet , yet dark concepts. And there is always unique vintage pieces in every photograph.

Her photography is well executed, and very detailed, from hair and make up all the way down to locations and clothing.

Every photograph has a story to tell, and each beautifully written. So, if your in the mood for a peek in the mind of story teller , this is the way to go!

To see Bottle Bell Photography click on the links below and add her fan page on facebook!

http://www.bottlebellphotography.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bottle-Bell-Photography/171749649705

http://bottlebellphotography.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/bottlebell

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebottlebellphotography/

Thanks for reading folks!

Kinsey H

What is it we want to see?

I am currently tucked away in my office , with my good pal insomnia ....

I have a candle burning brightly beside me, a Thomas Newman song playing, and a cigar smoldering in front of me, and as I am sitting here listening to my music, and watching the smoke dance through my office, I am wondering , "What is it we want to see?"

What is it as people, do we want to see.

I look around, and I always look at the cause and effect of things, and I think, those are the things that move me so much...

To see wind blowing hair, to see the golden color the sunset makes , beads of water on flowers, and smoke dancing , it's just so common, yet so beautiful.

So why is it, we as people expect people to be so beautiful, but not so common?

I find people are quick to point out the flaws in people, animals, buildings, plants, your name it, some one can find something wrong with it.

Why are we so focused on making things seem so damaged.

I find if you look at something or someone long enough you can find the beauties in the thing/person you are looking at. We need to find traces of beauty around us, or we will be very disappointed in the world. I suppose as a photographer I feel it is my own personal duty to show people the world they can't see with their own eyes, I have to show everyone the world through my eyes and my heart.

I often wonder if the need to claim things as "damaged" is often a result or a knee jerk reaction to being frightened about what the person is seeing.

I can only hope, that I can continue to find beauty and amazement in the world, because without beauty , what's the point in seeing.

Even with my eyes closed I see images flashing through my head of a slower world, and everything is beautiful.