On Seeing Beauty: A Daily Challenge

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament.  Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

For the past three months, I’ve been working on an experiment. It’s been a simple experiment, involving only my iPhone and an app called Instagram. The challenge has been to see if I can find one beautiful thing about each day and take a photograph of it. The result? An improved daily perspective.

My Instagram roll

This summer, I’ve seen beauty in unexpected places: a shell tree on the beach, a tangerine sunset, a fleeting rainbow, a used palette, a skyline, and a family game night Monopoly board. And now, once I’ve started looking for something beautiful in each day, I find I notice it more and more … a child’s smile, a held hand, a delicate flower.

Let there be many windows to your soul, that all the glory of the world may beautify it. -Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Prague’s Spires and Magical Golden Lane: A Photojournal

“Known as the “golden city of 100 spires” and a “symphony in stone”, Prague boasts architectural styles ranging from the Renaissance and Baroque right up to the art nouveau and cubist styles of the 20th Century.” -Prague Guidebook

To walk around Prague for a day is to walk through time. From the cobblestone streets to the hundreds of spires stretching skyward, Prague is an enchantress.

Even after living in Prague for almost 3 years, I can’t seem to get enough of Prague and her beauty. I savor time out on the Charles Bridge, where tourists pass under the Saints guarding over the Vltava River. I love exploring the nooks carved into the centuries of buildings here, and discovering the artistic palette of a city that does play a symphony with her stones.

Recently, I took my camera along for a day out in Prague. So, following, join me in a photojournal of Prague’s famed artist’s lane, Golden Lane, built inside the Prague Castle wall, and of the spires along the way. I hope you enjoy them, this glimpse of Prague in March at the brink of Spring!

Prague Castle Entrance, Changing of the Guards

Entrance to Prague Castle, facing out

Prague

Prague

Prague

Prague

The Magic of Low Light: Photography

Photography is the art of writing with light. -Gerardo Suter

I love visiting the ocean, and having time on the beach. To me, there is something about the rhythmic crashing of waves, the wide feeling of timelessness, and the gentle scrubbing of the saltwater and sugary sand to wipe away all of the world’s cares. I love being at the beach.

Gulf of Mexico Sunset

When I brought my first camera to the beach, I made the classic mistake time and time again. And I was always disappointed with my photographs. The colors always appeared washed out, my subjects were always squinting, and the objects I was trying to capture for remembrance always turned out pale. One morning, when I was up with the sun, I watched the woman staying next door to us, out with her impressive camera. After she was done taking photographs, she chatted with me for a moment, and made a comment I’ll never forget. “At the beach, don’t even bother to take photos when the sun is high. Only shoot at sunrise or sunset.”

Sunrise at Monterosso al Mare, the Cinque Terre, Italy

Since then, I have found her words to be true, for more than just taking photos at the beach. Because when the lighting is low, the colors are rich, and the photographs become magical.

First Light, the Mediterranean Sea, Italy

When I had a backyard garden in the United States with many roses, my favorite time to be in the garden was at dawn, with my camera in hand, as the light turned the dew into diamonds, and the roses and other flowers sparkled like gemstones in the low sunlight.

Kennedy Rose at sunrise

Capturing the Beauty in Life: Photography, and Venice

Photography is the beauty of life, captured. – Tara Chisholm

Venice

In 2003, I received my first SLR camera from my husband as a birthday gift. It was not one of the more prestigious brands, and the zoom lens was off-brand, as well. But, the combination of the two– a Target-special camera combined with a basic 30 – 300 mm lens did one major thing in my life: hooked me on photography.

It wasn’t long after we purchased the camera, and we took a trip to the coast of Maine from the flatlands of our home in the Midwest. The time was precious because the skies were vivid blue, the ocean was alluring, the lighthouses shimmered, and the fog was thick at times. But also, our boys were then ages two, three, and five. It was tough, with boys running everywhere and into literally everything. But, as I now look back on the photographs I took during that time, I realize that it was the time of our lives.

Now, many years later, the time still is the time of our lives.

Somehow, through the lens of the camera, time can stand still, and a MOMENT is captured, forever.

Venice, Servizio Gondole

I have photographs from that Maine trip of majestic lighthouses surrounded by waves crashing like thunder along the craggy shore. And the next frames had photographs of little hands and legs scrambling to climb the dry rocks beside me. These memories will last. They are a treasure.

The very definition of Prague: two Czech men at 11:00 am with their beers, in Obecni Dum

Of course, now living in Europe, I tote my camera everywhere. Because everything is beautiful, and our boys are at a great age. My photo batches now have ones like the two above, of the Prague spires poking through the shroud of fog and two men chatting over beer in the Prague Municipal House, followed by a dozen shots of our boys playing futbol with their school tournament, followed by a thousand photos from our roadtrip to Venice. All moments frozen in time, to share with our loved ones far away, and to cherish for years to come.

Carnival Masks on San Marco Square, Venice

It doesn’t matter what our cameras are like — whether they are digital SLR cameras with multiple lenses or the always-handy cell phone cameras. To be able to separate ourselves from everyday busyness and to SEE the preciousness of a snatch in time — this is a gift. To be present. To really see, and mindfully capture the whirl of life around us.

How to Watermark Your Photos for the Web

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs.  ~Ansel Adams

A February dash of color, tulips

A couple of weeks ago, a friend wrote to me asking how I watermark my photographs for the web. Since I hadn’t blogged about photography in over a year, I decided to dedicate my posts in February to the subject.

In case you missed the last two posts, click here for The Joy of Photography: How to Find Your Inner Lens and 5 Quick Steps to Managing Your Digital Photos.

Why watermark your photographs for the web? To claim your work as your own.

Some photographers like to have their text in a prominent position, with bold text. Others want to be more discreet with their watermark. But the principle stays the same: the purpose of a watermark is to claim the photograph you have taken and stamp it with your signature. That way, when others like your photo and want to link to it, or, as often happens, want to use it as their own, your watermark already links your work back to you.

Another important factor to consider as you watermark a photo is what size do you want your photograph to be? A smaller photo (in KB or MB) by compression helps your website to upload more quickly, while large photographs (more than 1.0 MB) bog down your website or page. The smaller the image file, the blurrier the image when it is enlarged. But usually, an image can be quite small on a web page and still retain its original look.

There are many resources online that show how to automatically watermark photos for the web, for instance here. But, my technique varies a bit from the standard method of watermarking photographs. I place my watermarks by hand, so that they blend into the image.

Following, in three steps, how I watermark photos for use on the web:

The Joy of Photography: How to Find Your Inner Lens

• Originally posted on February 1, 2012

“Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.”  -Ansel Adams

In the comments on last week’s post, I was asked how I managed to place my website name on each of my photographs. I hadn’t thought about it much, and haven’t blogged about photography itself here for quite a while. So, inspired by Hallie’s question, I’m planning to write about photography each Wednesday in the month of February, including how I file and sort, edit and mark my digital image files. But first for today, the reason to become hooked on photography: On the Joy of Photography, and finding your inner lens.

Years ago, my love for photography came on strong—it traipsed into my life like a memorable song, sashaying in, swinging her coattails, and purring a delectable melody.

Dewy daisy at first light, in my former backyard, one of my favorite early shots

5 Quick Steps to Managing Your Digital Photos

“Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever… it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.” – Aaron Siskind

A Great Tit bird in winter, Prague

Today, I had the immense privilege of venturing into Prague with a dear photo-loving friend, despite the bitter cold temps, to take photographs of gorgeous Prague under a dusting of snow. In the matter of a few hours, I took a couple hundred photographs. :o)

One of the hardest things about digital photography is the ability to take thousands of photographs.

Yes, the ability to take thousands of photographs is a wonderful thing, especially considering the time and effort and money involved in the old-style method of developing film. But there is one drawback to digital and the thousands of photographs: how do you organize and find the photographs once you’ve taken them?

A Prague Photo Journal

Words cannot begin to describe the beauty we’ve discovered in the Czech Republic thus far, so I am dedicating this week’s blog to a true view through my lens– a photo journal of our time living in Europe thus far. The images can speak for themselves … Enjoy! 

Prague, Czech Republic: the Prague Castle

the Prague Castle

The infamous Astronomical Clock, and other sites around the Old Town Square


Crossing the Vltava River on the Charles Bridge:



Not too far from Prague, the Krivoklat Castle:

 

Berlin, Germany: the Brandenberg Gate, the Berlin Wall, and the Holocaust Memorial

 

History has countless stories to tell … More photos to come. Enjoy the waning days of summer! -JK