photography – Page 114 – Dutch goes the Photo!

Instant Grammar – page 26

The image on page 6 was shot on September 5, while I was waiting for my car to be serviced. It had just rained and I sauntered over to the Panera close to the dealership to get a bit of breakfast.

After a (somewhat) healthy power breakfast with a cup of hot green tea, I was walking back and rather liked the sky that presented itself, so was looking for an opportunity to photograph it in some fashion.

As it happened, the dealership had planted a nice row of sunflowers along the edge of their lot to dress things up a bit. I liked the idea of juxtaposing the sunflower against the doughnut shop and the sky; a bit of a 3-way contrast between sun and rain, as well as healthy sunflower seeds vs killer doughnuts. A bit of finding the position to line up flower, shop and sky, and you see the result here.

I hope you enjoyed my musings about page 26 and feel free to take a look at the entire book at the following link for the softcover versionInstant Grammar 2013 by Frank Jansen or for the hardcover version Instant Grammar 2013 (Hardcopy) by Frank Jansen

Instant Grammar – Page 8

Page 8 displays an image that was captured on April 7 in East Haddam, Connecticut. The location is in Devil’s Hopyard State Park, which is a great spot for hiking and interacting with nature; the small cascade is called Chapman Falls.

Chapman Falls in Devil's Hopyard State Park, East Haddam, CT. — Chapman Falls in Devil’s Hopyard State Park, East Haddam, CT.

I was visiting friends in East Haddam for the weekend to explore some photography opportunities, help with a web-site and do some off-roading with my newly acquired FJ Cruiser. On this beautiful Sunday, a bit of exploration along a tricky bit of trails (great boulders and such) led us to the vicinity of Devil’s Hopyard State Park.

As we were all ready to stretch our legs a bit and new there would be a bit of scenery, I parked and we started following trails. The trail that took us down to Chapman Falls provided access to a bit of clambering over a couple of rocks to get a seat right across from the falls. The falls feature potholes that have been created by stones that were caught in eddies and spun to wear holes into the rock; as these holes formed, larger stones would get stuck in them and continue the process by carving a deeper hole.

The origin of the name ‘Devil’s Hopyard’ is not entirely clear, but there is folklore surrounding it. One of the more believable accounts is that hops were grown in the area by a man named Dibble; maybe not as fun as a supernatural dance location, possibly.

Hope you enjoy page 8 and feel free to take a look at the entire book at the following link for the softcover versionInstant Grammar 2013 by Frank Jansen or for the hardcover version Instant Grammar 2013 (Hardcopy) by Frank Jansen

Instant Grammar 2013 – page 19

This image is a bit unique in the collection resulting from the 365 Day Instagram project: shots of trash are pretty rare among my images, unless I see something unusual about the particular trash item. On July 22nd, something caught my eye about this little tableau, as I was driving along my morning commute.

It is not every day, that I see a red couch, albeit dilapidated, framed by a bit of greenery next to the road. The couch looked a bit forlorn and disheveled, as if it was having a rough morning following a long night of rowdy partying at the local fraternity. To add insult to injury, trash was stuffed under the cushions in a futile attempt to make the most of this act of brazen dumping.

What adds a little bit of irony to this situation is the fact that just to the left is the entrance to the local town transfer station (aka dump); the couch almost made it, but was left in clear violation of local rules: the transfer station fence bears a sign that expressly forbids dumping!

So here is page 19 for your enjoyment. Feel free to enjoy more images in the book at the following link for the softcover versionInstant Grammar 2013 by Frank Jansen or for the hardcover version Instant Grammar 2013 (Hardcopy) by Frank Jansen

Kryptomorphaics #1 – Rose Particle

A rose is a rose full of energy

A pink rose, from which light streams emanate throughout the green leaves — Rose Particle

Image Description

As the title ‘Rose Particle’ suggests, this image centers on the streams of energy emanating from the singularity presented by the dark pink rose. The rose becomes at once the object of beauty, to which our eyes are drawn, and the center of energetic particles radiating outward from the forces contained within it. As each object within the universe holds latent energy, so does the rose, as it demonstrates here. The counter play between beauty and strength is as the yin and yang, the duality that resides within each of us. This duality is held together through the cosmic vibrations, which can be ascertained in moments of great quietude of mind and body, such as achieved during meditation.

Whereas the rose has revealed its cryptic energies through this image, one may find that the image enables the centering of similar energies. If the image is studied while directing focus on the process of breathing, as one does in meditation, the rose may become a guide.

Technical Details

This image was captured at 100 ISO, F/22 at 0.3 second shutter speed. The bright white streams originate from the sun’s reflection on the shiny leaves that surround the rose.