a year of happy

a few photos from my favorite photographers

Ever since I got my new camera,
I've been fascinated
with learning photography--
not just as a means
to document our lives,
but as a form of art.
I'm finding new ways
to express myself,
to develop my creativity,
and  to enjoy life.

I've also been following some blog links
to some fabulous photographers
and their beautiful photos.

I would love to be able to
spend a day with one of them,
to pick their brains
and watch them work.
That would be such a treat!

I thought I'd share
a few of my favorite photos with you--
I think you'll like them too!


I love Marcie Scudder's photos...
click here and here and here
to see a few of my favorites.

Here's a peek
at a few of Bob Towery's photos...
click here and here and here.

And two more....

Diane Varner

John Barclay


Do you have some
favorite photos
you'd like to share?
Maybe one of your own...
or one from your
favorite photographer?
Leave a link in the comments!

someday

Last year, I took my son
to a new doctor's office
down in Provo.

On the walls hung
the most amazing paintings.
They were huge
and just filled up the space
with their beauty.
I couldn't take my eyes off them.





Finally I went to ask
the girls at the desk
if they knew
anything about the artist.
I decided I really wanted one
of these paintings for my home.

It took a bit of tracking down,
but I finally found out
that the artist is local
and his name is Christopher Young.

And I discovered
that a painting I had
fallen in love with years ago
was also by this same artist.





I haven't yet been able to
get one of these paintings for my home--
but someday, someday,
I hope to have a huge
40" x 60" painting
hanging front and center.
Wouldn't that be wonderful?!

Visit Christopher Young Art
and view all of his beautiful paintings--
then I'd love it if you'd come back
and tell me what is your favorite!

My favorites are his landscapes
and scenes from Italy in Gallery 1.
Be sure to look at
"Venetian Boats" and
"Duomo, Firenze."

I wish you could see them
in all their full size glory--
the computer screen
just can't do them justice!

life is beautiful

these words are an excerpt from
Richard G. Scott's "Finding Joy in Life"

Do you take time
to discover each day
how beautiful
your life can be?

How long has it been
since you watched the sun set?

The departing rays
kissing the clouds,
trees, hills, and lowlands
good night,
sometimes tranquilly,
sometimes with exuberant bursts
of color and form.

.

What of the wonder of a
cloudless night
when the Lord
unveils the marvels
of His heavens—
the twinkling stars,
the moonlight rays—
to ignite our imagination
with His greatness and glory?

 

You are one of the noblest
of God’s creations.

His intent is that
your life
be gloriously beautiful
regardless
of your circumstances.

.

.Sun

Sunflower photo courtesy of
Perception Photography.

three great links to make you smile

Link #1

On Saturday,
I received a package in the mail.
How often does that happen?!
Not often for me.

This package was from a new friend--
Sherry from Everyday Possibilities.

Sherry makes the most beautiful
mixed media paper goods
and collaged altered art.

Her shop is called Bella Rennie
and as it says on her site,
her art is "sometimes whimsical,
sometimes serious and
always with an eye to grace and beauty."

Take a look at what she sent to me.





This whimsical gift card--
wouldn't it be cute in a frame?

And this lovely bookmark.
I'll use it everyday!

Thanks, Sherry!
Be sure to visit her blog
and her shop.
You don't want to miss it!


________________________________


Link #2

The other day I discovered
a new photography blog
that I really like.

It's called
Dream Tomorrow, Live Today,
Cherish Yesterday,
and the photographer is
Bob Towery.

I'm really taken
with his amazing photos,
but I also like
how he writes about
what he did to get
his great results.

This is the first photo I saw.
You should take a look--
it blew me away!

Here's another one...
but don't take my word for it.
Check it out.
I think you'll like it too!


________________________________


Link #3

And finally,
this link is a video
from my 17 year old son.
If you like chain reactions,
you've got to see this!




______________________________

Do you have any great links
to share with the
rest of us today?
Please do in the comments!

click here and smile

Isn't it great
how the internet works?

You find something good,
and tell a few friends.
They like it too,
and tell a few more.

And pretty soon,
everybody's clicking
on that one good link
that made you smile.

That's how I found
the t.ruffle girls.

I heard about them from Beth,
and she found them
through Relyn.

And now I'm telling you.

You need to check out
the t.ruffle girls.

Each morning,
the one who loves ruffles
posts a dazzling, delicious photo.

And later in the day,
the one who loves turquoise
stops by to leave a note
with the juiciest words
to complete the day's post.

It's so much fun,
and really creative.
You just can't imagine
what will come next.

Check it out.
Just click here....and here.....
and here.....
and smile!


Photo from the t.ruffle girls.

'a' is for artister

One day when 'A' was about three,
he was sitting at the kitchen table
drawing a picture.

He sat back
and looked at his picture,
and said,
"I think
I'm gonna be
an artister!"

I've never forgotten it.

And I've quietly watched
as 'A' has drawn his pictures,
and filled his sketchbooks
and his portfolio
(and notepads and scratch paper
and t-shirts and even the walls!)
with beautiful art.

I have boxes
of his creations.




 

I caught him in action
the other day.
Here's a peek at his latest drawing.

 

We found out today
that one of 'A's pieces
has been selected
to be shown in the
38th Annual Utah All-State
High School Art Show.
His was one of 313 pieces chosen
out of 936 entries
from all the high schools
across the state.

Someday soon I'll show you more.

Because I think
all those years ago,
when he said,
"I think I'm gonna
be an artister,"
he was right!

shoot

I've been out practicing
with my camera lately.

Officially, I have taken
over 3,000 pictures
since Christmas.

And unofficially,
only a handful of them
have even been worth sharing!

It's a really good thing
we've got digital cameras.
Can you imagine
how much money
I would have spent
developing all the ones
that didn't work?!

Here are a just a few
of the things
I've been working on:





and in black and white:






my friend debbie's orchids....






even closer.....







clementines....




 



jill's lamp....







and birds on a wire.






I'm really loving
this new camera!

If you see a middle age lady
out taking pictures
in her pajamas,
it's probably me!

____________________

Stop by tomorrow....
I'm going to tell my
Life Changing Moment #4.
It's the one about a trip!

_________________________

You can view my
One Hundred Photos collection here.

it was good

In Sunday School yesterday,
we discussed the Creation.

Something jumped out at me
this time
that I hadn't
thought of before.

.

.

After each thing was created,
God saw that IT WAS GOOD.

And after everything was created,
and He was finished,
He saw that IT WAS VERY GOOD.

Why is that such
an important
part of the story?

It hit me yesterday
as I pondered this thought
that the scriptures
are always very symbolic.

And we are told
that the best way to study them
is to apply them to ourselves.

So how does this apply?

Could it be
that the Lord is trying
to teach us
to step back
and see the good we do each day?

How often
do I end the day
with thoughts like:
"I should have done this,
I could have done that better,
I didn't finish what I started."

Do I ever
go to bed
pleased
with what I accomplished?

________

My sister is training
for a triathlon.
In her training,
they are taught to
spend a little time
each night as they're
falling asleep
repeating to themselves
something good they did that day.

They repeat it over and over
until they fall asleep.

I like it.
Focus on the good.

Say it over and over,
"I did this today and
IT WAS GOOD!"

___________

What do you do
to focus on the good things
you do everyday?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/ / CC BY 2.0

looking for it

We're in the thick of
January gray.
For what seems like weeks,
we've had that horrible
winter phenomenon
called an inversion,
where the valley air is filled
with smog
and we haven't even seen the sun.

The storms have finally come,
which hopefully means
that the air is clearing
and the sun will come out soon.

With all this gray,
it means that I've had to
look really hard
to find something good
to take pictures of.

But looking hard
is good, isn't it?
When you find something
beautiful,
it means that much more.

It was in the dismal gray,
that I found these berries....
.



.

and these branches.....

.

.

and this birdhouse.

.

I'm really excited
about my One Hundred Photos project.

I've posted photos 4 and 5:

.

4:: for the birds

5:: pear and pomegranates

. .

Click over to my project
and see what I've been doing!

I've also spent a little time
checking out the photos
of others who are participating.

Take a look at these gems.
I think you'll like them!

.

umbrella and scarf by Toni

finding light by Lisa

mason jar by Emerald Lane

.
. .

How about you?

What are you doing to
look for the good
in this January day?

. . .

one hundred photos of happy

Would you like to join me
in a new photography project?

I ran across a blog
yesterday
that I'm really excited about.

It's called One Hundred Photos.
The creator, Toni, has given herself
a personal challenge--
to take 100 photos
following a specific theme
throughout the year.
She says:

One Hundred Photos was created as a personal challenge to myself. A focus that would hopefully hone my skills and spark inspiration, but also teach me to dig deeper when I feel uninspired. To look harder when I don't see anything around me. In the end I will have a collection of 100 pictures that I can look back on to see how I've grown as a photographer--not just with my camera, but with my eyes and heart too.

_____________________

Toni has invited
anyone who is interested
to join her in her
One Hundred Photos Project.

There really aren't many rules.
You can choose your own theme--
or you don't have to use a theme--
you can link up with her project,
and you can even post your photos on her
Flickr group page.

I love this idea--
and I think it fits perfectly
with A Year of Happy.

So I'm going to do it!

Every so often,
I will post my photos here,
and I'll also post them at
A Year of Happy: One Hundred Photos
so they can be viewed
as a collection.
My theme will be
"Simple Pleasures."

Although I've never studied
photography,
and have so much to learn,
I'm excited to get familiar
with my new camera,
and explore the possibilities.

My first two photos
have already been posted
on this blog.
You can view them
in the collection....

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1:: hot cocoa on a sledding hill

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2:: making music

.

Here is the third photo:

3:: winter treasures

.

You can also visit
my "One Hundred Photos"
by clicking the link above
in the navigation bar,
or by visiting
www.ayearofhappyphotos.com.

If you'd like to participate,
visit onehundredphotos.blogspot.com.
I think it will be fun!

..

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