Liquid Reflections

These photographs are posted in response to the weekly reflection photography blog, Weekend Reflections. WF is sponsored by James at Newtown Area Photo.

Banshees and Hellhounds

Maggie left the well-lit street, turning onto the woodland path that led to her house. The moon was full, the trees rustling in the strong breeze. The shadows and sounds reminded her of the stories her mum and dad use to tell her...stories about Banshees and Hellhounds and other mythical creatures of the night. Just as Maggie wondered if these sounds could truly be mourning Banshees, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, two red glowing...and then another, and another, on both sides of the path. She began to walk faster, and faster. She feared turning around, lest some horrible creature grab her. Fast walking turned to running...

"Honey, are you ok...would you like me to stop reading?"

"This is the scariest story I have ever heard mum, but please don't stop."

This story was written as a response to the weekly, prompted, writing exercise,Saturday Centus. It is brought each week by Miss Jenny.

Jeff, Tennessee

This photograph, taken in downtown Chattanooga TN, is posted in response the the weekly photo meme, Weekend Reflections. Thanks to James for hosting this.

A Fish Eye View

Shot through my Fish Eye lens...looking across the Walnut Street bridge, the world's longest pedestrian bridge, located in Chattanooga TN.

This photo is posted in response to the weekly meme, Sunday Bridges, found at bayphoto.blogspot.com.

Magical Night, Part 3

Durin knocked on the door.

"Trick or treat!" they shouted as the door opened.

As she proffered the basket of sweet goodies, Mrs. Mulligan called out, "Byron, you must come see these wonderful Faery costumes." Scarcely had Mr. Mulligan risen from his chair than he heard Mrs. Mulligan exclaim, "Oh my!", as she watched our trio of flittering Faeries fly up and away into the moonlit night with the whole basket of goodies.

This three part story is presented in response to the weekly, prompted, creative writing meme, Saturday Centus. This wonderful exercise is brought to us by Jenny Matlock.

Magical Night, Part 2

Rani, Durin and Fira flew about in the trees that lined Maple Street.

"Oh Rani and Durin, how I would love to eat some candy", said Fira.

"But Fira, we were told never to try and mingle with humans", exclaimed Durin.

"And except for our wings, we are naked", said Rani.

Fira, a quite magical seamstress, promptly cloaked our mischievous trio in garments of sewn, red maple leaves. They quickly left the trees and lit on the front stoop of a large, old white house.

Magical Night, Part 1

It was a cool and crisp Halloween night. Children were scurrying about, filling their Halloween baskets with generous amounts of candy. As they ran from house to house in their colorful costumes, little did they know that their neighborhood was home to a clan of Faeries.

Fairies have been known to enjoy sweet treats, and on this particular night, three young Faeries decided to venture into the human world.

Sepia Pinnacle Against the Sky

"Sepia pinnacles

against the sky...

A different view

through the finder...

and out the fish's eye.

Man's work here

never changing

Against nature's backdrop

forever changing..."

This photograph is posted in response to James's weekly photography meme, Weekend Reflections. I encourage you to visit and perhaps participate in this wonderful exercise and exploration in the world of reflection photography.

Peace...

Namaste...

When I See This, I See Me

It is no coincidence that my first trip to Writer's Island brings me to this wonderful photograph. When I see this, I see me. So how is it that this can be?

I am a photographer. I have spent many hours studying the techniques, pouring over photo after photo of photographers who reached their photographic prime before the wholesale advent of color photography. What they leave us is a vast array of greyscale, monochromatic treasure.

Black and white, sepia...many, often confusing, names for what are simply photographs that lack what I refer to as 'natural color'. The early progenitors of the photographic arts simply lacked equipment to bring us subjects in their 'natural color'. Because of this lack of technology, what they could bring to bear, was attention to light, detail and emotion that is often missing in color photography.

My friends and family might suggest that I create way too much monochromatic material...that somehow this monochromatic obsession speaks to my frame of mind. Perhaps...except there are those brief moments when the colors are striking, and get my attention, and I will lift the curtain on my monochrome world...

Peace and blessings, and "welcome" to my blog...

Check out the musings at writersisland.wordpress.com

Room In My Mind

It is a Saturday,

and time once again,

for Saturday Centus

with my 'Centurion' friends.

With a prompt we are lead

to write creatively,

with Miss Jenny, our teacher,

guiding us lovingly.

Using only 100 words, or less,

each one of us trying

to do our best.

I urge you to go

and check out SC,

where you will find prose,

and some poetry.

Without further ado,

I'll give what I've got,

hot off the presses,

terribly hot.

Room In My Mind

I pace the floor

of this room

in my mind...

A small space

i've created

that no one can find.

Create it indeed

with no windows or door...

Foolish planning I think

as I pace the floor.

What will I do

if I decide

this is not best?

Being in this room

in my mind

where I thought

i might rest.

I try to cry out

I scream, I shout.

Yet there is no one

to hear me,

no one about.

If I had a hammer

i'd bust my way out.

With no windows, no door,

no tools to free me...

i'm resigned to this plight,

this absurd destiny.

All of a sudden

a sound from above!

The bird has returned,

my mental 'white dove'...

has brought renewed hope,

and, quite possibly,

love...

Reflections On Love

IMHO one of the finest things a photographer can accomplish is "freezing" the moment...a moment of love's expression. For it is in that moment wherein lies the deepest of human emotion, feeling...love...so elusive, so indescribable, so without words. We never really know what came before that moment nor what the future will bring. All we are able to do is capture but a brief, momentary vision of what is...the 'now' of love...the 'Tao' of love...

The couple in this picture captured my attention as lovers often do, by their togetherness and their singular expression of that togetherness...and in this case the lovely setting, their bright clothing, and as a secondary feature the reflection that the bridge above casts to the rippling water.

Peace and blessings

I've been tagged

I've been tagged! Now this is an interesting concept. Kat at Emptynester has tagged me to participate in a meme started byThe Kid in the Front Row which is called "A 30 Sentence Kid In The Front Row Story, by 28 Authors." Want to see the rules? Clickhere.
Basically, the "Kid" starts and ends the story. The rest of us complete it one sentence at a time. So without further ado, here is my contribution at #11. I'm tagging CJ at "Small Stories and Stuff" to continue the story.

cj's Small Stories and Stuff...http://smallstoriesandstuff.blogspot.com/

1. Jane never expected to visit Belarus, but it was the only possible solution after what had happened.

2. Her lonely planet guide had advised her that it was a great place for birdwatching- so she packed her binoculars- Todd would have been proud, had he not been lying in a coma.

3. Poor Todd; Jane remembered the incident so well: he had spotted a rare long-whiskered owlet, had ran out into the street to snap a photo, and had thusly been hit by an ice cream truck.

4. Except the ice cream truck was actually a roasted salmon!

5. Upon seeing this strange occurrence, a Portuguese fisherman who happened to be standing on the other side of the street (and who was also, coincidentally, the resident expert on salmon) ran to scene and called 911, prompting Todd's speedy - albeit smelly - rescue.

6. Naturally, Jane was distraught over the entire salmon/ice-cream truck affair , moreover considering that she was the one who had wanted the photo of that owlet; they were both avid birdwatchers, but she was particularly fond of the owlet.

7. She had gone off owlets since then, and as she checked into the little hotel by the river, she wondered if she could find solace in the azure tit, a beautiful bird that, while easily spotted and hardly rare, at least had a name that sometimes made her giggle.

8. Surrounded by beautiful little azure tits as she wrote in her journal to un-bird-en herself of thoughts of fish, and fowl, and Todd (who was slowly recovering, and would join her soon); and as room service arrived with her vegetarian plate; her phone vibrated, signaling a text....

9. Alas, the careful study of azure tits would have to wait as an urgent text message from the manager of the treatment center where Todd was hospitalized informed her that something truly extraordinary was happening to him

10. Please return to hospital stat - patient awake, agitated, requesting nurse to masticate and regurgitate his dinner - wings noted sprouting from back, need your expertise in birds ASAP!
11.When I returned to the hospital and Todd's room, I was shocked to find that his nurse was a female member of The Blue Man Group.
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30. The three of them left as quickly as they could and vowed never to return again, especially if Jane was in town.

The Great Escape, Part 3

After a few minutes baby Huey opened his one eye and hesitantly looked down. To his surprise he had grown...Legs! He quickly looked over at Grandpa, who had fallen fast asleep. Grandpa had legs too!

He hollered, "Grandpa, Grandpa," but he did not hear him.

Huey got up on his new legs, walked over to Grandpa, and kicked him in the rind.

" What, what are ya doin Huey!"

"Grandpa, it worked. We've got legs. Let's get goin!"

As we end our story (at least all of it we will ever know), we can see two orange pumpkins, one big and one small, their rinds glistening in the morning sun, making their way through the rows, then through the dew ladened grass, finally disappearing into the distant forest.

The Great Escape, Part 2

"What will they do with us? Well, they may cut your innards out, and cook ya. Or they might carve you up into ugly faces."

"But Grandpa, I don't want leave, and I sure don't want to be eviscerated (a mighty big word for such a young punkin)."

"I thought that maybe if I wished hard enough that I might grow some legs and run away. So far nothin. But Baby Huey, maybe, just maybe, if you wish real, real hard, you can grow legs and get outta here."

So, baby Huey closed his one umbilical eye and proceeded to descend into his deepest pumpkin meditation, mentally repeating the mantra,

"Grow legs for me and Grandpa, Grow legs for me and Grandpa, Grow legs for me and Grandpa..."

The Great Escape, Part 1

It is Saturday Centus time once again. Miss Jenny has provided a photo prompt for this week's 100 word, or less, creative writing exercise. The photo is in keeping with the Fall season. In keeping with my routine difficulty in restraining myself to 100 words...forget less...my effort this week will be in 3 parts. The first part written by me, with the subsequent parts written by my alter selves...those other Jeff's living in parallel universes. So, if any of you word counters have a problem with this, you will have to take it up with my alter selves. Problem is, I don't know how to get a hold of them. So, let us begin...with our Pumpkin Photo Prompted exercise.

Our story begins with a big, orange sun rising up above the eastern horizon, its early morning rays reflecting off the dew covered grassy fields. In the distance we see neat rows of large and small orange pumpkins. It is a "picture perfect", serene morning. Yet down amongst the rows of pumpkins all is not well, and we can hear great pumpkin chatter.

"Brutus, why did they move us here? Why did they take us away from our home?"

"Duh, I don't know Huey. Ask Grandpa. He will Know."

"Grandpa, why did they bring us here?"

"Well Baby Huey, they brought us here to make it easy for the school kids to pick us."

"Pick us! What will they do with us?"

Which Way Go the Bus?

I must admit that I have gone way deep into this whole reflection photo business. Urban environments offer up a smorgasbord of reflective opportunity with such a variety of different surfaces and subjects. In this shot, it almost seems like this bus is crossing over into a parallel universe. Would not that be cool if you could hop a bus and take a trip across the veil into a different universe?

Peace and blessings...

This photograph is posted in response to a weekly meme, Weekend Reflections. Thanks to James for bringing us this opportunity.