Shadow Sighting at White Sands Monument

Shhh....A Shadow Sighting Occurred at White Sands Monument (New Mexico)

Well, there may have been MORE than one sighting...

(to get a larger view of the image, click on it)

What happens when two avid photographers go on a road trip to spend a weekend in the southern part of New Mexico for the sheer purpose of spending the entire weekend photographing the White Sands Monument?

First of all the entire trip is planned around being at the dunes at sunset and sunrise. They check the weather reports. They make notes on when the sun sets and rises each day. They plan to be there at each of those events to maximize their time. Freshly charged camera batteries? Check. Extra memory flash cards? Check. Tripods? Check. Several camera lenses? Check. Food for the road so they don't have to stop to eat? Check. Maps? Check. Water? Check. A way to download images in the evening when they get back? Check.

We both had to resist stopping too much on the way down for picture taking so that we could get there for the sunset. It was glorious! I'll post those later. These are from the next day (last Sunday) when we arrived there as soon as the park opened. In fact. we were the first ones there and waited for the park ranger to clock in and open the gates! The park is huge; white sand dunes as far as the eye could see. Easy to loose yourself there and forget where you are. In fact, Linda and I split off as soon as we got there and didn't' reconvene until two and a half hours later (kind of a dicey thing to do since there is no cell service in that area). No harm done, we emerged unscathed. The reason is, that this park is so amazing and unlike anything else you've ever seen. The raw beauty will captivate you and lure you in. The sunrise was beautiful and the light kept changing. Much like a game of pursuit. I was enthralled with the area that I wandered into. Not a soul in sight (heck, we were the only ones there for quite some time before others came into the park).

Linda says she's only been there four times. What a slacker! I've lived in New Mexico for fourteen and a half years and this was my FIRST trip there.

I'll be posting more on this trip, so be sure to stop back. It is Linda's goal to trek out once a month (a goal for herself; I was just tagging along) photographing the beauty of the new Mexico landscapes. If I'm lucky enough, I'll be able to join up on some of these trips. All will be posted under the label: "New Mexico Treasures" in case you want to check back.

But, hey, I really did sidetrack this time! The whole point of this post was for Shadows in participation of Shadow Shot Sunday (click on it to see other participants entries).

New Mexico Treasures: Quarai

Front View of the Quarai Church

In the threshold looking towards the apse

What you are looking at is the front and standing within the entrance to the Quarai Mission (this structure is a church). Isn't it amazing? I was awe struck just looking at the exterior of the church. The second image you see is what I saw as I stepped into the threshold of the church. I just stood there in awe and started to tear up from the sheer beauty of it all. Only to be interrupted by the Park Ranger advising me to stay on the paths. I thought that stepping into the church was not being on the path, but he said it was. I guess right outside of the church I was in the grassy area and that must NOT be on the path. Moving moment interruptus!

The construction and the architectural design is just a visual feast. I couldn't get over the enormity of it and the logistics of building something like this back in the early 1600s. As if that weren't enough of a feat, the Park Ranger did tell me that it was built entirely by women (as this was considered woman's work in the native culture). That made me more amazed when I thought I had maxed out on being amazed.

This venture was the tail end of a weekend expedition that Linda and I took down to White Sands National Monument. I have a lot of great shots of that too which I promise to post later. I guess I'm working my way backwards in time.

Back to this church. It is part of a cluster of missions called the Salinas Pueblo Missions. Earlier that morning we were at the Grand Quivira ruins. The third on is Abo and we didn't go there as it required more backtracking than we had time for. Make sure you click on all the links I provide to get more in depth information about these sites.

This mission site is one of many examples of the treasures that New Mexico has. I'm proud to call it home!

Buttons, Bobbins and Bingo!

Buttons, Bobbins and Bingo! But, no Bling...alas.

I had to draw the line somewhere!

The buttons are from my box of buttons that I go to when one goes astray from a garment. Some are old, some are new. I can never find one that matches exactly, but close enough is good enough for me!

The bobbins are quite old. I got those and the Bingo pieces from a woman in Santa Fe that sells 'ephemera' for those of us who can never seem to find what we want at those yard sales. Suffice it to say that most of her customers are artists.

I love the bobbins a lot. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them (as I seem to have many an object that I've acquired in hopes of 'doing something' with it). They fascinate me because I think about the previous owner(s)of those bobbins. I wonder how many articles of clothing were made with them. What kind of machine was it for? Growing up on Molokai, there were no clothing stores to speak of on the island. Traveling to the main island of Oahu to shop was prohibitive for my mom who had six of us at home. So, most of her dresses and outfits, she made. When I was old enough, I had to learn to sew. I've never been good at it, but learned it enough to make things. I jokingly say (but it's true) that I spent more time fixing my mistakes than I did in making the garment.

And, last week, I sorted through a bunch of boxes that contained my mother's dresses and outfits that she had made. I had forgotten about how everything we wore was hand made. Her dresses brought me back to my adolescent years. As I picked up some of the dresses, several of them felt so familiar. It took made a bit to realize why. I had made them for my mom. For the longest time after my mom died, it was so hard to let go of her. All the objects that bring back sentiments and memories are difficult to let go of. But, I've way too many boxes of things that sit in places and they are never seen. Their function and use have long gone. It is time to let go of those things. I hang onto to them to remember things about my mom, but really, there are plenty of enough memories that I have access to within my heart. So, I take a deep breath and let them go. Not all at once. But, I let them go to get recycled in this world.

I have plenty of memories. I shouldn't be so greedy as to hang onto everything that I think I need to remember.

Buttons, bobbins and bingo!

There are plenty more things to see that begin with "B". Visit here to see what others have posted!

The Art of Non-Doing (and Mindful Awareness)

A continuation of sorts, of last week's discussion (To Just Be), but in another dimension, perhaps.

I'm prompted to continue this discussion since my shadow here is a profile of a statue of a seated Buddha on a shelf on my front porch (which seems to yield me a vast array of shadow shots as you might come to realize over time-my front porch, I mean).

The state of enlightenment that all Buddhists aspire for is one where the world can be viewed without any preconceived notions. The prerequisite for achieving this state is called "satori". When your mind is free from all learned ideas of the world, it is then that you can see it as it is. It takes mindful awareness and non-doing along with a focus or devotion to the task at hand that satori can be reached.

As artists, I believe that we can come close to this satori when we get completely immersed in what we are doing. All the peripheral stuff disappears. There is no sense of time. When are completely absorbed in the task at hand and when we come out of it, we are truly in a state of euphoria. This only happens when all these elements are present along with the mind becoming quiet; the internal chattering quiets down. It is then that we are in the moment. But still, a long ways off to achieving the state of enlightenment that Buddha speaks of! If only it could be that simple.

I come close to this state when I work in a mode I call "spontaneous combustion". I'm creating in a moment something that I had no preconceived notion of. Things just happen (and later, I will not be able to recall the process by which I created said art). No expectations of the outcome. Just sheer joy in doing, or maybe, non-doing is more accurate since I didn't start out to do something.

So, doing nothing is doing something, really. Really.

This message of living in the moment has been a reoccurring theme for me. Constantly, I remind myself. It takes constant reminding. It's a message I repeat every year in the missives that I send out during the Holidays.

In your repetoire, be sure to include the art of non-doing (and mindful awareness)!

Be sure to visit Hey Harriet's blog for more beautiful shadow entries on Shadow Shot Sunday.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs!

Signs! Signs! Everywhere signs!

Don't do this! Don't do that!

Can't you read the signs???

(I don't know what song this is from, but I'm sure you remember it and now have it going around in your head! If anyone knows, let me know so I can post the credit! Thanks.)

To "Just Be"

I seem to forget constantly to set time aside to read books (other than art instructional related books). Consequently, I have a stash of books I’ve been working on for a while. I won’t even define publicly what ‘a while’ entails in this context! Too embarrassed.

I picked up one of these said books last night. It’s called, “Wabi Sabi the Japanese Art of impermanence”. Wabi Sabi isn’t something that can be explained by how you arrange your furniture or placing wind chimes in strategic places throughout your yard or having the right colors in the right places in your home. It’s a very evolved philosophical way to approach life. I find that the more I learn about it, the more I am fascinated and connected to it.

Here’s the passage that I started off with that really resounds within me: “To be at one with the Tao, one must practice wu-wei and refrain from forcing anything to happen that does not happen of its own accord. To be at one with the Tao is to accept that we must yield to a power much greater than ourselves. Through this acceptance of the natural flow of life, and by discarding all learned doctrines and knowledge, a person is able to achieve real unity with the Tao.”

Wow. It really rings true, but it really is a TALL order! I think the hardest part for me is the part about discarding all learned doctrines and knowledge. The not forcing part, I’ve learned to embrace that over these past few years and I’ve learned that there is more ease in life when I do (go with the flow). Acknowledging a greater being than ourselves? Piece of cake! But, I don’t’ even know where to start to discard all learned doctrines and knowledge. That one is the ‘tall order’ part for me. However, I’ve come to the conclusion that I shan’t fret over the part that I can’t get a grip on and focus on the parts that I have.

And I will continue to keep on learning how to “just be”.

Just like this feather.

Image is from my expedition to Bosque Del Apache (NM).

For more Shadow Shot Sunday images, click here.

Pale Heart

pale (payl) adj.

2. (of color or light) faint, not bright or vivid.

Another image from the trek to Bosque Del Apache. I found this along the bank of a ditch. Apparently, the water from this particular ditch must've been very alkaline as the ground was nearly white-very pale indeed. It was the slight color variations on the ground caught my attention. A track of these heart shaped imprints! I can only guess that these are deer tracks. You could barely see them as the ground was so pale!

It doesn't take much to please me as these little hoof prints made my day.

For more images relating to the word, "pale" click here.

Birds of a Feather

What's that saying? Birds of a feather flock together?

One of the many glorious things about living here in NM is that the Rio Grande river offers a migratory path for wintering fowl. This past Sunday, I got to fulfill one of those things on my list, which was to do a photoshoot of these migrating birds. Linda was the one who thought of it and invited me to go with her. We chose this past Sunday since there was a full moon rising that evening.

We started off our birding trek at the Bernardo Waterfowl Management Area which is north of our destination, the Bosque Del Apache Reserve.

As far as I'm concerned, this is the only way to 'shoot' wildlife! You have to stay on the roads and cannot walk into the fields to get a closer view, so having a long lens is helpful. I didn't have a longer lens. A 300 mm lens is usually more than enough for me, except this is when I wished I had something bigger and better!

Shooting something that is flying up above and moving at a good clip is not easy to do! My lack of experience as a wildlife photographer (and I will never profess to be one) was a bit of a hindrance for me. I made a lot of 'mistakes' (the list is long like the litany of saints recited at mass during Holy Week) but I learned a lot about what to do differently next time.

I've been taking a lot of photos lately of just one feather stuck to a plant. I may have to post them as a group one of these days! This dead seedhead is from a wild sunflower plant.

The rest of the images are taken at the Bosque Del Apache site. (FYI)

If take enough photos of the subject matter, you do end up with some that are 'decent'!

When you hear the word, "corn rows" these days, this is not what comes to mind! This flock are geese, but I'm not sure what kind.

I wonder if those legs that this crane has to tuck under his body are relaxed or does it have to consciously hold those legs like that?

So, what do you do at the end of the day? Hang out and eat with your buddies! This is what I would call "happy hour"!

And they just keep coming in and coming in. In waves. Their honking announces their arrival.

And when the Snow Geese come in, they come in like a school of fish, no, more like a thick blanket of mosquitos!

And, they KEEP on coming!

The light kept changing constantly. It was a lot to take in visually.

We moved around from one area to another. This was the last pond that we ended up at to watch the sun go down and to wait for the moon to rise.

With the changing light came the changing colors. So rich, so warm. And those birds kept coming home!

More seed heads provide a wonderful silhouette against the red orange sky.

And they keep coming!

Such a perfect day!

The moon rise was spectacular too, but I've come to the conclusion that I suck at photographing the moon and will have to return to this place again next year and apply all the lessons I've learned.

Contradictions

Contradictions

I'm calling this shadow shot "Contradictions".

Why?

Hmmm....soft curves of a shadow that only exists when the sun is casting light onto the source of the shadow which is a wrought iron table. The soft curves against the hard, angled surface of the block wall which is always there. Dark against light. The shadow and the wall seem to be contradictions of each other on so many levels.

But the real attraction for me as it is in many of the images I capture have to do with texture and patterns from the light and from the surface. But, I think you already know that!

For more Shadow Shot images (from others around the world) go here.

Frozen In Time

How is it possible

That something could really be

Frozen in time?

When you think about it, the whole concept or notion that we have about time is so far removed from what it is. I'm not professing to say that I know what that is. I certainly don't!  

We treat it as though it were a concrete, linear thing that we have ownership of. We often think of it as a static thing, such as 'being frozen in time".  We moan that we do not have enough free time to get x, y and z done. Or that it is something that stands still, like having 'time on your hands'. Or, being 'on time'. Time keeps moving forward and never stops. Yet, we quantify it and measure so that we know where we are in this moving continuum. How can you be 'on time'?  OK, there has to be such a thing as being on time and being late in relation to this measured continuum. I'll have to admit to that. But it only serves to show us where we are on this moving continuum.

How I so wish I had Einstein's brain as I think he had a better notion than any of us as to what time really is. Talk about a very right brained dude...he certainly was to be able to wrap his head around so many abstract concepts such as time.

Alright, so now I'm 'out of time' (he he) and will leave you pondering this concept that we have of time.

Where Are My Crows??

(click on image for a larger view)

(The TWELVTH day of Christmas)

This time last year they were everywhere complete with all their calamity. It has been silent and I wonder where they are. What is causing their delay? Is it because there are still some winter storms to come that they want to avoid?

Perhaps they stopped for extra margaritas on the way up...

Nonetheless, I miss them. Where are my crows?

Navigating the Voyage of Discovery

(The ELEVENTH day of Christmas)

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." (Marcel Proust)

If you've seen the same things repeatedly each day, there can be no discovery in these things. True or false? How does one maintain a fresh viewpoint when surrounded by the same things day in and day out? In order for us to preserve our 'sanity' our brains deliberately ignore things once it's seen the same thing a few times.

Wouldn't it be nice if you had a tray full of different colored glasses at your disposal that you could change out whenever you wanted to see things differently? How easy that would be! Or, maybe just carry a viewfinder in your pocket! Why not? Viewfinders have an almost magical way of presenting a different perspective immediately. Let's all keep an imaginary viewfinder in our pockets! That way we can traipse about our day pulling it out whenever we want to see what else there is to see.

Marcel is so on target with his observation of what it takes to discover. I think having the mind of child is helpful too since children look at everything with new eyes. And, a never ending state of curiousity.

So, I give you a challenge to spend moments through your day looking at things with those new eyes. Whether it's the article of clothing you are wearing or the furniture in your room or what you are about to eat. Trust me, even if you've seen it a thousand times, there really are new things to discover. I dont' know how many times leaving my front door in the afternoon I failed to notice these lovely shadows. Until I went looking for them. You have to look.

Take a moment to stop and be curious!

You can see more of Shadow Shot Sunday particiapnts here.

The Window of the Soul

(The TENTH day of Christmas)

Are we looking in or are we looking out? What is there to see? Are adjustments made to let in as much light as possible? I love how windows easily lend themselves as metaphors for how we look at life.

Do we fix the curtains so that no one can see in? How much can we see out? Do we open it from time to time to let in fresh air, more light; a new or different viewpoint? Do we spend more time looking out than in? Or, do you rarely look to see what's going on out there? Is it scary? Is it exciting? Can anyone see in?

What kind of a window does your soul have?

On Being Mindful

(The NINTH day of Christmas)

I can't do resolutions. Too much pressure. People are watching (well, or so it feels like it). You know how hard it is to do something if you feel like you're being watched? It's only me watching me, but somehow or other, it paralizes me.

Instead, I create goals for myself. Some of them get created at the start of the year, but most are created on a rolling basis. Some of them have rolled over several years! But, that's OK. I haven't lost sight of them, it's just that some need more time for it to happen.

When I left UNM in September of 2007, many asked me what I was gong to do with myself. My reply was to 'catch up on life'. Instead, I ended up jamming way too many projects in one year. So, I really don't feel like I've 'caught up on life'.

I think that NOW is the time. I swear, I'm going to SLOW DOWN. It takes mindful decision making on my part to do that. I can only take one day at a time on being mindful of slowing down.

And, today, I did. And, because I did, I was able to enjoy lunch with my husband. At the spur of the moment, I made pizza from scratch (and a loaf of bread). Helped my teenage son do a home version of chemically straightening his hair (oh the looks I would get from him if he knew I posted this!).

And, it gave me the gift of time to find this happy accident of a rose amongst my image files. At the time when I took it, it wasn't the image I was after. In hindsight, I rather like this accident.

So, perhaps I will go out on a limb and call this mindfully slowing down a resolution. It's a good place to be.

The Spiral

(The EIGHTH day of Christmas)

I can't think of a better image to start off the New Year with than a spiral. A universal symbol that has been seen throughout time and in just about every culture. It represents birth, regeneration, fertility, power, transformation.

Oddly enough, I wasn't sitting here racking my brains trying to think of what to use for my first image of 2009. I was going through my images that I had 'stashed' for the December Views postings for ones that I didn't use that might tickle my fancy. I spot this one remembering that I liked it and hadn't used it.

As an artist, I have very little trouble in seeing the potential within the smallest or most mundane of objects. As a person, I do have trouble in seeing the potential within myself. I flinch and want to cast my gaze away from seeing the possibilites that lie within. I think many of us are like that, right? If someone asked me to name what my potential would be, I would be at a loss for words. I guess I'm going to have to 'work' on that one!

Spencer Johnson, M.D. (of "Who Moved My Cheese?" fame) sums it up the best by posing this question:

"What would you do if you weren't afraid?"

I call that a seed for transformation.