Something Old, Something New

  More from this shoot here.
 

This is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken. It features a 3 month Illusia and a 3 week kitten I was fostering at the time, Rainart. I just adore it. And you know what? It has very little to do with photography techniques, composition, color or tune. Those things play a small part, but the main thing that grabs me personally is the emotion that it encompasses.

I love to take photos. I have always loved to take photos. There are of course many people with better cameras, props, more skill than I have and may ever have and to be honest... sometimes that does bother me, make me feel inferior. I have to remind myself that I take pictures because I enjoy it. My life does not have less meaning nor are my memories less important because they are not taken with a $800.00+ DSLR and a custom lens.

I have to remember that I cherish the process of capturing a moment. Like a slip of perfection in a single second, now eternal. I love taking my photos and editing them, bringing out the hues and colors, the hidden loveliness. With luck and a little patience, the more I take the more I will improve. But improvement in and of itself along with the chase for perfection is not necessarily needed to find joy behind the lens.

As for that picture; right now, at this moment I am SO happy with the shot. It captures the beautiful delicacy of infants, the softness of sharing a sleepy-eyed moment and the heart-fluttering reverence of being alive and I can not think of a single thing to add to that.

Words + Wednesday + Linkies:

5 Minutes for Mom, Hobo Mama, Seven Clown Circus, A Lot of Loves + MUCH more.

Sense of Touch

Sense of touch: grass, woodchips & sand.
These are from a park visit a couple weeks ago.
Illusia loved feeling all the textures with her little fingers.

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wordful wednesday @

Behind the Fangs

Just felt today, like explaining the reason for the name of this blog. It stems from a dream. I dream I had while about 7 months pregnant when little Illusia was still in the soft darkness of my womb. In this dream of haze and incandescent, colorful images I saw as clear as day my baby as a beautiful faerie with clear blue eyes, chestnut hair and stunning blue wings.

 - a piece of digital artwork (photmanip) based on my dream.

She turned and smiled sweetly to me and she had two perfect, pointed little fangs like a vampire. Then I woke up. For being 'unreal' the dream was like the polished glass of a mirror and I can still picture her exactly as I saw her. 

I think she becomes more and more like that dream everyday. Both literally and figuratively. Her eyes have gotten lighter and more blue since birth and they are like the ocean, endless. I can look into her eyes forever and still see new speckles of color or radiant light that I had overlooked before. Now, she is even growing in her own fangs (canine teeth.)

Personality wise, she reminds me daily of the name of this blog. On one side she is spunky, fiesty and a big ham. On the other she is so sweet, sensitive, delicate and full of wonder. One might say magical.


I am just so happy she is in my life.

♥

Woolgatherer

She dreams of fire
and obsidian nights,

Blue cinder eyelashes
and kaleidescope eyes.


A walk through a stone path

A roll in the mirth's grass

And underneath petals she hides


She flutters softly inside me
like tragedienne wings,

Making all of the cosmos
an insignificant thing.


Her sonants through bluebells

a mesmerism she stirs well

her stars made of feathers to fly.

 - a poem I wrote that is also based on my dream.

Wonders All Around

You only have to look for them.

I think adults tend to dismiss all the great discoveries that are around them. Dulled by time and jaded by past experiences they forget the little things that happiness is all about. I am so lucky that I get to see the world through her eyes with a fresh, new perspective.

When is the last time you took such joy from the act of jumping? Got excited just to be excited? Had fun for the sake of fun and nothing else? What is her secret?

A window is what, a pane of glass that lets you look outside. Right? Or is it a portal to new and wondrous places!?! Are fantastic things out there if we stop and look, if we dare to dream? She seems to think so.

From Through the Pane

Easter Lillies & Hidden Treasures

Easter always reminds me of flowers.

I am not religious so I do not think of the holiday traditionally. Rather I tend to look at it as a celebration of the beauty of spring. And, there is so much beauty to celebrate! Everywhere you look life blossoms, from the baby animals scurrying about to the petals that adorn each tree. From the rain drops falling like crystals to the ground to the clear blue sky and luminescent sun, nourishing the Earth.

I am so happy to share this splendor with my lovely girl and she looked every bit the beautiful spring flower as any growing in the garden.

I think in these pictures, she most reminds me of a pink Easter lily. Soft porcelain skin gently flowing into her pale pink dress, just like the leaves of said flower. Her birth flower is actually the Lily and she perfectly captures it's innocent beauty.

She had a lot of fun hunting around the back yard for eggs and hidden treasures in her basket. She then came inside to nap, change and wreak havoc on a poor, sprinkled pastel cupcake. Then it was time for supper and she shared with me a cruelty free (aside from the fore mentioned cupcake ^_^) meal of Tofurkey and Mashed Potatoes with Vegetarian gravy.

♥ more images of beautiful Illusia

(-- I had a picture of dinner also but it did not turn out. These were taken with a cheap disposable camera, I am currently waiting impatiently for my battery charger in the mail so I can use my digital camera again after I lost my cable. ^_-)

Names in the Sand

We had been going on a lot of outdoor adventures lately. Illusia's uncle (and my long, lost brother) was visiting from nearly 3000 miles away and the temperatures have been beyond  nice. Perfect, ideal really and we have had a lot of time spent time with nature.

Here is an example of a tranquil park visit complete with images of the fun to be had with sticks, sand and a decent camera. :)