Photo-heart connection, number V

"I haven't a clue as to how my story will end.

But that's all right, when you set out on a journey and

night covers the road, you don't conclude the road

has vanished. And how else could we discover the stars?"

- unknown

I started backward in my monthly file of photos and as soon as I saw this one it was a heart connection

at first sight. I immediately felt its pull, not just the ocean pulling my spirit, but the path pulling me

into my future.  And as uncertain as the future can be it can also be just as much about the anticipation.
That was a journey in itself for me to learn.

And that's what I feel when I look at this image, anticipation.

Four years ago we moved, and I kicked and I screamed and I cried . . . and I kicked some more. I couldn't see the anticipation of the road, only the night. But that road has led me straight to where I am right now.

That road has led me to a better understanding of myself and along the way I discovered a deep passion for capturing life with a camera and sharing that with others. I can't imagine myself on any other road.

But it's not just the path that pulls me forward. It's the encouragement I have gotten from you and so 

many others and some times it is the only thing that has kept me going, because some days the path is clouded. Clouded with self-doubt and uncertainty.

But today, the path feels full of light and unobstructed as I feel the anticipation of so many ideas

swirling in my head. And on the path when day turns into night I hope I will remember that the road is

still there and that I will wonder about the discoveries I may find.

Love, Kim

XO

P.S. What is your photo-heart connection?

Something about an oyster?

While at the beach this week, discovering, well maybe not in the sense of something

that has never been seen before but in the discovery of something I have never seen before,

this popped into my head:

"The world is my oyster"

It's certainly not something I hear very often, and I'm not even sure where I first heard it.

But apparently it comes from Shakespeare, and yes I googled it.

The Merry Wives of Windsor Act 2, scene 2, 2-5

Falstaff: I will not lend thee a penny

Pistol: Why then the world's mine oyster,

which with sword I will open.

Falstaff: Not a penny

Hmmm, I'm thinking Pistol is threatening to steal from Falstaff and everyone else. Just a thought

but then again I've never really understood Shakespeare. I don't really like this version very much.

So I'm going with my original thought, and that's probably not original either, that the world

is my oyster, that life is full of treasures just waiting for us to notice. And these treasures aren't

even something we need to steal from anyone, they are just simply the gifts of the earth.

"The world is my oyster clam"

Sometimes you have to improvise . . .

{Photo Art Friday - Golden Bokeh, hardlight 32%}

The ocean seems to be throwing a lot of gifts my way lately . . . okay it might also be with

the help of my handy dandy blue kids net we bought when they were little. It seems to be my lucky charm.

SO,

the other day I had this idea and thought how cool would it be to actually see the things I find in their

natural habitat rather than in my handy dandy blue net.

Welcome to Kim's aquarium....

Can you hear me squeal with joy! I found the best glass container, AND it was on sale, to take with

me to the beach for my blue net finds. Oh but the squeal wasn't because of the container. . . I found a new kind of fish in the seaweed. They look like their tails were cut off but really the tail and their pectoral fin is completely see through, and why at first I didn't notice them in my net. They looked like a small brown frond, that and they aren't even the size of a dime. Aren't they cute!!

These aren't the greatest pictures, it's hard to shoot through glass and less than clear water and well,

they never stop moving.

And Mr. Crab, I think I may know where "crabby" comes from. He definitely needed an attitude adjustment as he wasn't playing very nice with the others. And perhaps it was his cousin Vinny that stabbed my ankle

whilst standing knee deep with my net, and gosh it hurt and broke the skin. Well at least I'm going with that 'cause the thought of it being something else kinds freaks me out a bit.

I had another first . . . a water spout!

And this storm formed fast, and it wasn't just one, but at one time there were five trying to start.

If you look really closely you can see where the water spout is touching the water as it sprays out.

But the excitement dwindled after about 20 minutes....

And this one, I can't seem to get enough of these wildflowers that grow along the road to "my oyster". 

{Flower Art Friday}

The world is an oyster . . . pearls are found in oysters. Some pearls are very valuable.

The. World. Is. An. Oyster!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

(School's ...out...for...summer)

Love, Kim

XO

  

The challenges of intentions . . .

 . . .  or wait should I say the intentions of challenges?

Oh, either way intentions are those things that in order to fully participate

it requires me to take action. 

Just having a good intention isn't going to get me very far.

So with today's word being "Intentions" at Beyond Layers,

I'm taking on the "Edit Me" challenge.

Because with all my best intentions, I've edited the last three and never linked them up.

The challenge is this: someone provides one of their photos for the challenge and then you

simply put your editing twist to it.

So here goes, I'm going to share my thought process along with my edits:

I started with this photo:

I removed the phone wires, adjusted the contrast and sharpened a bit.

I did all of this editing in picmonkey, because with the best of intentions I have yet to learn my PSE9.

I decided not to crop, I liked the empty space. But the sky needed something so I used different tints and selectively "painted" in some sunset colors, added a texture from Pixel Dust art at hardlight, and then a texture from Kim Klassen in overlay. I then used intrepid at 18%.....

But, I envisioned the barn sitting in a field, so I took this photo...and removed the cow. Don't worry I was gentle, haha!

Layered it back over the photo with the barn in mulitiply and removed the pasture photo off the barn.

Then I boosted the color only on the trees, softened the field of flowers and then added another texture from Pixel Dust in hardlight 21% which gave it the painterly effect I was after.

{linking this one with Edit me}

Happy Thursday!

Love, Kim

XO

Choose it . . .

Today in my Beyond Layers class, Kim asks, "Where do you find peace?"

Oh, a question that I don't have to hesitate on, or do I?

My immediate response is, of course . . . at the beach!

  I could live there, on the beach falling asleep to the crashing waves and the sea breeze.

It's a place where I feel quiet, and still, and thoughtful.

And it's a place where my worries seem to melt away.

But what makes the beach, and the experience of the ocean so different.

Is is really where I find peace, or is it just simply where I allow myself to feel peaceful.

And is peace something you can even find?

Because if it is something you can find then it should also be something you can seek.

Which brings me to the thought that peace is a choice we make, and why sometimes we are at war

with each other and ourselves.

{ my view along the path to the beach }

[ Kim Klassen's texture "warm sun" ]

"If you go, go in Peace it makes the flowers sweeter along the path."

-  Mike Dolan

** Almost forgot . . . I was invited to guest post over at Focusing On Life today where I am **

sharing some thoughts on "What is Beauty" and would love for you to click here to check it out!!

Love, Kim

XO