Some folks need to be around others in order to be comfortable.
While I like people, I also enjoy my own company. Solitary pursuits are easily as interesting to me as those that involve rubbing shoulders.
Landscape photography is, for the most part, something best done alone – unless you’re with another photographer. (It can be mind-numbing for someone to accompany a photographer while he or she works – lots of seemingly endless waiting along with revisiting the same location over and over understandably become tedius for the one without the camera). I spend quite a bit of time by myself working in the field.
I saw a nice visual representation of the beauty and peacefulness of solitude earlier this week as I was doing some aerial photography from the skies over Florida (courtesy of my brother, who’s a pilot).
I like to look for interesting patterns and shapes from the air – the added bonus here was the solitary sailboat. What a way to get away from it all!
I had the opportunity to visit the McKee Botanical Garden in Vero Beach, Florida a few days ago.
I’d been looking forward it from a photographic perspective and wasn’t disappointed. The weather was spectacular with temperatures in the low 70s. Though it was quite breezy, the thick canopy of plants cut the wind so it was still possible to do some close-up work.
(Honestly, as a resident of the far north, if contending with the wind is as tough as it gets working in the field on a balmy late January day, it’s a challenge I’ll welcome!)
Privately owned/not-for-profit McKee is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a historic Florida landmark.
Though some of its plants aren’t in bloom this time of year, it was lovely nonetheless.
Water Lilies in bloom at McKee Botanical Garden
How true…
While this concept has broad application (“little things” can have a lot of meaning), as a landscape photographer, I can attest to the immense value of those “little things.” During a spring shower, tiny droplets clung to the leaves and buds of this crabapple tree…so graceful, dainty and beautiful.
It was just a rainy day like so many others – yet here was this lovely image. A little thing. Like so many other “little things” I’ve had the opportunity to photograph. And on the many occasions when conditions made it impossible to capture a usable image, I was still able to observe something interesting…maybe beautiful. And of course, I was outdoors where I find immense enjoyment.
In and of themselves, certainly not earthshattering. Nonetheless, the sum total of all these little things is noteworthy, indeed.
If your child will soon be baptized, you might want to present his or her Godmother and Godmother with some sort of keepsake to commemorate not just that special day, but also the lifelong bond they’ll share.
That can be easier said than done; if you’ve looked for gifts for Godparents lately, you’ll know that there’s not necessarily a lot to choose from.
It was the approach of another baptism in my family, in fact, that was the impetus for the founding of The Christian Gift. I was looking for a special keepsake that I could personalize and my search wasn’t bearing much fruit. Not long after, I began kicking around ideas for custom-created baptism gifts – those that could be presented to Godmother, Godfather, or two Godparents together – and also personalized plaques that could be given to the child.
These plaques been a staple here at The Christian Gift, and I’m excited about the new designs that have just been added to the store in each of those categories: Gifts for Godfather, Godmother, Godparents, and Godchild.
This is just one of the new Godparents’ Gifts:
Are there other occasions you’d like to commemorate but have been unable to find a good range of keepsakes? Let us know! Maybe there’s a new collection waiting to be designed…!
