Focus on Simplicity

Today I'll just let the photos and the quotes speak for themselves. I focused on three words: white, round, minimal for the third week of Kim's new class.  We're being challenged to find our own style...which evolves over time.

Weekend Highlights on a Textured Tuesday

I'm linking up today with Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...

Edster and I (and the dogs) went to Berlin, Ohio this past weekend...right in the middle of the largest Amish community in the world.  It was my birthday...and it was good to escape from the city to the simplicity of this rural life.

This man, a blacksmith, had just replaced this horse's shoes and took him for a walk to check his work.  Of course, the dog had to go along...

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I came across five horses standing along the road...used most likely for transportation.  Here is a photo of three of them with Kim's waterfront27 texture.  They were all black...

except for this one.  This gorgeous Percheron (shown with Kim's 0212 texture) was stunning...

And I could not take my eyes off of him and those white lashes!

There is nothing so pristine as Amish farms...where nothing goes to waste. (Texture used is Kim's brisbane and sybil.)

I was moved as I contemplated how materialism complicates our life so much...and what we miss because of it.  I saw this buggy in the distance while it was snowing and the sun peeking through.  (Texture used is Kim's waterfront17.) One phrase came to my mind..."live simply."

Now, I must say that I am very hesitant to photograph the Amish, respecting their beliefs.  I try to be non-intrusive, never photographing a full face...often photographing from behind or from a distance.  At most...a profile.  But I was blessed by this bonus of ice skating youth on a frozen pond.  Watching them for nearly a half an hour, watching their smiles and their antics.  They were living their lives.  And one phrase came to mind..."simply live."

It was a beautiful weekend with those I love in a rural land truly and simply all its own.

The Complexity of Simplicity

Have you ever heard the phrase, "the silence was deafening?"

I am beginning to see that it is the same with the virtue of simplicity...so simple, that it's complex!

I watched a great documentary tonight... Happy!  Directed by Roko Belic, this award-winning film from 2011 combines global personal stories to cutting-edge research on the science of happiness.  It included people living in the bayous of Louisiana, a Kalkota slum in India, a community in Taiwan.  While I do not espouse all presented in this film 100%, it had great points.

The take home points:

• If 50% of our happiness baseline is determined by genetics, and only 10% by individual circumstances, we have 40% of our happiness which we control by intentional actions and choices that will increase our happiness, including our thoughts and behaviors.
• All of us are victims of the hedonic treadmill -- essentially no matter how much "stuff" I acquire that makes me happy, I will naturally adapt to that and go back to my happiness baseline...resulting in wanting more "stuff" to get to that higher level of happy.  [Uh...yeah...I believe that also includes camera equipment...]A lot of effort for a trip to nowhere. 
• We can all participate in activities that enhance our happiness such as:  finding meaning, practicing compassion, connecting with others, participating in the discipline of grateful living, physical activity.

Seems so simple...that it is complex!

If we would all live more simply, we would be so much happier.

What makes you happy?  And how are you going to practice over the Holiday weekend?  I definitely will be...let's compare notes!

(By the way, you can see Happy on Netflix or view online for $2.99 at the link above...)

Simple Pleasures

Already the second week in Kim Klassen's Beyond Beyond class...or has she is changing it to 2B class.

Focusing on aperture (or f-stop), we were challenged to do a still shot with a variety of apertures.  Mine ranged from f1.8 to f4.  The lower the number, the greater amount of light allowed into the photograph.  All photos were taken in my "gray" room.

Here are mine...and I chose to pair them with quotes focusing on the theme of simplicity. 

f/4



f/2.2



f/1.8



f/2.8

f/2



f/3.2



Wonderful sentiments...fun lesson...and great use of this pale aqua ceramic bowl from one of my favorite and reasonable stores for props...TJMaxx...$2.99.

I'm grateful for a simple post, nothing heavy or complex...with a subtle undertone of the way to live life.