...and sometimes you catch lightning.....

I was originally going to title this "Why you don't want to ride in a car, go for a hike/walk, or basically go anywhere with me" but that was a little long...

Many years ago I survived high school photography with James Haddy at Robert A. Millikan High School. (Not going to say exactly how many years, use your imagination...) Anyone who survived Mr. Haddy's class knew the difference between a "snapshot" and a "photograph." Turning in your weekly assignment was always a terrifying experience. After he hung over your shoulder in the darkroom while you were developing your film and creating your prints, as you handed in your assignment, he looked at your work, looked at you, looked at your work, and then put it in the pile with a sigh saying "that's the one you want to turn in??" (And to think I took photography because it counted as a science for graduation and would be easier than biology....yeah, right....)

I see pictures everywhere I go. The only difference is that now I am compelled to take the time to stop and actually take the pictures.

OK, so back to the part about why you probably don't want to go anywhere with me....

This is me the other morning:

Open the blinds, just about sunrise. AHHH!!! Look at the light on the clouds! This is going to be a great sunrise! (Grab my camera and step out on my patio.) Crap! Wrong angle - gonna miss it! Wait - over there would probably be a good angle!  (Throw something on so the mosquitoes don't eat me alive) Hurry up - the light is already changing!!!

Here's what my neighbors see if they look out the window:

A crazy woman in pajama pants, a hoodie up over her head like the unibomber, with white crew socks and flip flops, running around between the bushes and trees, and then climbing/hanging over the fence behind the apartment complex with a camera.


Me driving home from work the other day:

AHHHH! Look at the clouds and the angle of the sun! Gonna be a great sunset! Storm coming in fast. Can I get a shot from the car? Crap. (Me then holding my phone with one hand shooting random shots out the driver side window while looking ahead so I don't crash my car.) Shit! This is a GREAT sunset! Look at that storm!  AHHH!!! Traffic!! No exit for another mile - you're killin' me Smalls!!!  Finally an exit! YAY! Crap - nowhere to pull over. Wait - over there! Vacant lot! Take about a hundred pictures from as many angles as I can while the storm blows in. (The photo with the lightning and colorful rain above is from one of those shots)

What other people see as they drive by:

A crazy woman wearing nice work clothes in a dirt lot next to a construction truck and a port-a-potty, running around in the wind and being pelted by rain while taking pictures with her phone as traffic speeds by.


Me on a hike or a walk:

What a beautiful day! Look at that! and look at that! Lynette, don't you already have pictures of that? Yes, but the light is different this time! And look at the shadow! (Walk about 10 feet.) Ohhh look at that! That would make a nice picture!  (Walk about 20 feet.) Oh, there's a bird! Can I get a shot? Yay! Coming back - Oh! look at that! Wait, didn't you take a picture of that on the way out? Yes, but it looks different on the way back in! OK - just put the camera away and enjoy the walk/hike. About about 10 minutes later....Ohh look at that! Camera comes back out....


Basically me anywhere:

Oh, look at that! Pulls out phone....


It is such a beautiful world around us - we need to stop and experience it. We are all so focused on what's in front of us, the challenges we are facing, and what's coming up next, that we rarely take the time to actually see what's around us right now AND enjoy it. I happen to enjoy photographing it as well. I'm also happy to see that some of my friends are posting photos of the things around them as well.

Please don't speed by the sunsets without seeing them. Please don't race home to beat the storm without seeing the beauty of the storm. Look at the clouds - I can't tell you how many cloud shots I have. Be in awe of what's around you. 


Fast forward those many years - I can still hear Mr. Haddy as I take my shots. What's in the foreground? What's in the background? Are you sure that's the best angle? Where is the light source? Where are the shadows? Can you frame it better? 

Thank you, Mr. Haddy, for teaching me how to capture what I see.

From my sunrise excursion when dressed so delightfully...

The full lightning shot from my vacant lot vantage point

Various other shots from the road....

Before I could get off the freeway to find my vacant lot

Waiting at a signal on the way to work

AHHHH!! Pull over!! Pull over!! On the way home from work

From various hiking delays....

From hanging over the fence, standing in the weeds,

 at the dog park at my apartment complex

What ya looking at???

Yup - gonna be a good sunset!

And for every good photographer looking 

for the perfect shot.....sign? what sign?

"Things are only as important as I want them to be....."

"Things are only as important as I want them to be....."

Thank you Jon Secada

"I'm Free" (YouTube link)

In my previous blog I borrowed from David Bowie, and today I'm passing along a song I rediscovered a few weeks ago by Jon Secada. When you have a couple minutes take a listen - the lyrics are really good.

So it was a long, somewhat challenging week, and last night I was tired, hungry, and frustrated. After eating some dinner I felt somewhat better, but by bedtime I was starting back down the thought trail of "I'm frustrated with this" and "that should have changed by now" - you know, basically, "why aren't things the way I want them??" Old habits die hard.....

Finally kicked myself in the ass - "just knock if off and go to bed."  Had a restless night, and when I woke up I was still fighting it off. OK. Time to get serious. "You are NOT getting out of this bed missy until you get your head on straight." (good thing it's Saturday - it took a while, and I would have been very late for work on a weekday....) 

"You are going to appreciate everything today."  Everything?? "Yes, EVERYTHING."  "Do you have arms and legs that work?" Yes. "Then get them moving and appreciate that they work." Oooohhhh. OK. I see your point. "And be thankful that you are moving that lazy body out of a very comfortable bed."

Rain is in the forecast this weekend, so wanted to hit the trail this morning. Went to fix a quick breakfast so I could get out the door, and when I opened my pretty empty fridge, I regretted not stopping by the store on my way home last night. Kinda grumbled as I pulled together what I could that would feed my body for the hike. "Did you just open a refrigerator with food in it?" Um, yes. "Think about that. Do you appreciate your beautiful working refrigerator in your beautiful kitchen??" Um, no, I hadn't thought of that. "Well, that's something to appreciate too."

So you get the idea...

I stopped fighting with myself and started to open up and settle in to this appreciation game for the day. (The whole day??? "Yes, the WHOLE day.")

Threw on my trusty old tennis shoes I use for hiking, my trusty old hat - and glory be! It's only 65 degrees as I leave the house. YES!!! I'm actually wearing jeans!! (of course, half way through the hike I'm thinking shorts would have been a better choice....)

Jump in my trusty old car, roll down the windows, turn up the music, and head to my trail. Get to the park - nuts! Everyone else thinks it's a great day to hit the trails too. There will be several people on MY trail. Pick the route I want to take and head out. Yup, people, and many mountain bikes. Hmmmm.... OK, turn this around Lynette - you are appreciating everything. So, I smiled and wished a good morning to everyone I crossed paths with. And you know what? They all smiled and wished me a good morning too. I gave encouraging words to one bike rider who was really struggling to get up one of the steeper parts of the trail. She laughed, said thank you, and seemed to brighten up. 

When I stopped at one of my favorite spots to sit and meditate, I was annoyed when I heard voices coming up the trail. Nuts, I wanted the quiet, and noisy hikers are coming by. Can't they hear how loud they are being? Sheesh. As I'm sitting there thinking that with all the people and activity, I'm not seeing the wildlife I normally see, I turn around to the voices...and I get the best surprise! The "hikers" were on horseback, and I got to meet some absolutely beautiful creatures! They paused so I could take photos and meet each horse, give them treats and get nuzzled. How awesome was that??!! OK, so maybe it's not a bad thing to have people on my trail...

I spent the rest of my time on the trail truly in appreciation for everyone and everything. 

When I got home, I got a glass of ice water. Wait - did I appreciate what I just did? There is clean water for me to drink whenever I want it, and there is a freezer where I can have ice whenever I want it. How often do I appreciate that?

I go to take a shower to change from a hot sweaty mess into a presentable human. Again - I can have a hot shower whenever I want AND change into clean clothes.

Then I start making my list of other things I need to get done, like laundry and grocery shopping (to replenish the earlier mentioned empty fridge). Kinda start to grumble about that - wait...

I have a grocery store walking distance from my front door that is full of thousands of choices of food and household items I use. Do I really appreciate what that means?

I have a washer and dryer in my apartment. I can do laundry whenever I want. Do I really appreciate what that means?

Hmmmmm.....this appreciation thing is starting to get out of hand.....

People who know me know that I really have very little in the way of possessions. Had a hard lesson early last year where I learned that stuff really is just stuff. But apparently I'm still learning the lesson of how to truly appreciate my life, the people in it, and my experiences. The value of the God given talents that I either downplay or don't recognize. Isn't that part of appreciation too??

Let the ass-kicking begin. None of the conditions of my life have changed, but the way I think about them is changing. There is so much to appreciate, I don't know how I have the time to find the things that I waste so much energy being unhappy about. Sheesh. 

"Things are only as important as I want them to be....."  

Choose what's important....

Choose what to focus on....

Choose to appreciate...

Have a great day....and here are some photos from my appreciation hike:

Turn and face the strange ch-ch-ch-changes.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPPSu0vaNWA

Thank you Mr. Bowie....

So if you follow my Instagram account (arizona_lynette) you know I mostly post photos of my desert and my desert animal friends (used to be the ocean when I was laguna_lynette), and lots of sunrises, sunsets....and lots of clouds. 

Last night I was driving home, see an inspiring sunset forming, and practically run off the road (why am I always driving when I need to take a picture??), so I decide that it would be a good idea to pull over and THEN take a picture. Duh. Got the shot I wanted (well, actually took about 20), then got back on the road. I'm sure the drivers around me appreciated my getting out of their way this time....

Then as I get back to my apartment, I can see the sunset shifting again - and changing completely. I race to park my car, run to my apartment, throw my stuff on the couch, grab my actual camera, and DAMN!!! the batteries are dead!!! AAAHHH!!!! How did I let that happen???  So, back to my trusty phone, and out the door I go. Went to the end of my building to the dog park (yes, they let me in even though I only have a cat) and the view, once again, was spectacular. And it kept changing. I think I was out there about 15 minutes, and probably took about 100 photos BECAUSE IT KEPT CHANGING.

Got me to thinking about how quickly things can change. And that things are changing all around us all the time. And we go kicking and screaming and dragging our feet into the future. Why?? What occurred to me then is that life is nothing but a series of changes. So why do we make such a big fuss? Why do we expect things to stay the same and then get upset when they don't? Fascinating thought.

I also thought about how when I fall into pity party mode, it's because things aren't going the way I wanted or expected. Duh. Welcome to life. Some changes we have control over, and some we don't. Changes are going to happen.

I've chosen to make some big changes in my life. Basically took a sledge hammer to my comfort zone a couple years ago and stepped out into the unknown. I don't necessarily recommend that others do it the way I did, however I do recommend becoming more comfortable with change. Focus on the changes you do want to make, and see what can happen.  

I recently had a conversation with someone who is working through some issues, and I asked him "what would make you want to jump out of bed in the morning to start your day?" He said he didn't know.  

Hmmmm....so then I asked myself the same question, and was surprised by the answer that came. It wasn't "the perfect job" or "my purpose" or any of the things I used to think. Instead I got: What if I were excited just because I had another day to see and experience everything around me? We are here such a short time - what if I could just focus on having fun no matter what I was doing? Wow. That is not the answer I was expecting from myself.

Since that conversation, I have been doing my best to just enjoy my life and experience as much as I can. Am I always successful? Oh, hell no. But I'm doing it more and more, and I have to say, I do get out of bed faster, looking forward to my day a lot more often. 

The point of all this rambling? Who knows...I'm just enjoying writing it....

Here are some of my favorites from last night:

Have a great day, enjoy the changes, and be excited for another day whatever it may bring ....you might just see a spectacular sunset!

Incredible??

Recently I was given the gift of the word "Incredible." It was given in the context of a group exercise, and it was to represent me. I was a little taken aback and kind of dismissed it at first. I have made some big changes in the way I live my life, but I was not convinced that the word really applied. 

Along with the word came an assignment - research the definition and true meaning and then share it with the others:

Word Root of incredible:
The Latin word credere, meaning “to believe,” gives us the root cred. Words from the Latin credere have something to do with believing someone or something. Something credible is easy to believe, while something incredible is so out of the ordinary that it is difficult to believe. Giving credit to something someone says is believing that it is true.

Definition of incredible
1: too improbable to be believed

Synonyms:
fantastic, implausible, inconceivable, incredulous, unbelievable, inconceivable, unconvincing, unimaginable, unthinkable

After finding out the true meaning of the word, I had to rethink how it applied to me. Light bulbs went on as I looked at some of the things I have done over the past couple of years that, yes, even I don't believe I have done them. If someone told me three years ago that I would be living where I am now, doing what I am doing, I would have told them they were insane.

Has the path to my new life been easy? Bwahahaha! No. Goes something like this:

I'm going to make big changes! Yay!
Shit, making changes is hard, I think I'll make some little ones.
Little ones added up make big ones, right?
Moving along my path - Yay!
Crap, which way do I go now? Left? Right? Straight? Go back? I think I'll take a nap.
Ok, back on track.....
What's that over there? Crap, I'm in the rocks and weeds.
Think I'll invite myself to a massive pity party.
Wait - this isn't any fun either. Damn, guess I'll pull myself out of it again.
Yay! Moving right along and loving it!!!
Squirrel!!! What's that over there? Shit - I'm doing it again!
Re-routing.....
Loving it, challenging but loving it, challenging but feeling challenged, challenging and hating it....hating it, but seeing light at the end of the tunnel..
Woohoo! Out of the tunnel! Love this! 
Keep moving forward!
Ouch! Where did that big rock in the middle of my path come from??
Maybe I need a different path. 
Eeewww - this one is worse. OK, back up and start over.
Fun! This is fun!
OK, not so much fun....
Refill the tanks, hit the gas
Yay! Back to fun!

And it just keeps going......fortunately while there have been MANY lessons, they are just that, lessons. We are all doing a similar dance, and we all need to just hang in there, find the lesson, find something to laugh about, and move on.

My new goal is not just to share my word, but to help others recognize my word in themselves.

ALL of us are doing incredible things, and we need to recognize them instead of discounting them. 

Incredible = Unbelievable 

This month I am focusing on my beliefs - which ones serve me, and which ones I need to change / let go of / replace. It is a fascinating process as the old, crappy beliefs start bubbling up to the surface to challenge me. "But we are old friends! I'm a belief you've had for years! Surely you don't want to get rid of me??"  Yes, yes I do, and I'm ready to replace you with something new.
  
Question: Which beliefs do we need to change to create our truly incredible lives?

Let's get started! Nice wide trail, beautiful day...

SQUIRREL!!

Crap! Where did all the rocks come from??

Whew, smoother trail with a little shade...

Don't mind me - just a squirrel relaxing on a branch....

Great! Another smooth trail! Wait, are those rain clouds??

Have a fantastic, fun, incredible day!

What do you see??

So yesterday it was my great fortune to take part in an online photography master class taught by Jim Jordan - world renowned fashion photographer Jim Jordan. Really??? Holy shit! Me?? Actually, he opened up this class to the public, and I have no idea how many people attended the class, but from his comments I do know that there were people attending from all over the world.  

It was the introductory class for a year long series of classes, and I found it inspiring.  He told his story, and it speaks to how you can take a set of horrible circumstances, turn them around, and live an incredible life in spite of what the world might tell you, AND in spite of those little voices in your head telling you that "you can't" or "you're not qualified" or "you're not worthy." So what does that have to do with photography? Everything. He lives an authentic life, and that is what comes through in his work.

Part of the message yesterday was to take a different perspective, to see things that others don't see. To see light in a different way, to use it and play with it. To capture moments because they change so quickly.

Sooooo, then what happens last night? I get some spectacular examples of light when an unexpected storm rolls through....

One of the suggestions from the class was to take something completely ordinary, something you probably look right at every day without really seeing it, and take a photo and show the beauty of the object.  So, what do I see this morning staring back at me? My teapot. My pretty teal teapot, shining at me and showing its beautiful reflection in the stove top...

The cat sitting on my lap....

Got up too late to go hiking this morning, and besides, with the weather the way it is, I wouldn't want to be out on a trail when one of these rolls in...

But I needed to get out of the apartment, so I decided to take a 20 minute walk down a nearby street. Uh huh. 45 minutes later, a hot, sweaty, very thirsty me came back to my nice air conditioned apartment. On my short walk, everywhere I looked, I saw something that caught my eye, so of course, my trusty phone and I went to work....need to go back another time (when it's not so frickin hot) with my actual camera.....here are just a few of the, oh I don't know, 50 shots I took:

A splash of red catches my eye - a shy Cardinal that flew away when I tried to get closer  (yup, next time I need my camera)

Then a splash of pink catches my eye - there is a long, boring wall around the neighborhood, however this flower wanted to be seen

Then the beautiful Palo Verde - don't ya love the way the branches just seem to be curving and dancing to their own tune?

 Light and shadow showing the texture of the pods that have fallen

Then I see something sparkly and think what the heck? Get closer and see that the light is shining on the old dried sap and it was sparkling like diamonds

Always love sunlight through the trees....

My connection is with nature - it is part of my being, and I love sharing my perspective through the camera lens. This is another "self portrait" taken a few weeks ago - me communicating with a tree....

What do you see around you? What would you like to capture? Again, it all changes so quickly.....

Me? Get up Early??

Been a busy month with ups and downs (fortunately more ups!), and just realized I had not written a post for June - but hey! today is still June!! Woohoo! Just under the wire to meet my commitment to myself to write at least once a month....

Hot here in Arizona (duh, it's summer...) so not spending as much time as I'd like out in nature or out with my camera. When the low is 77 degrees, you have to get out pretty early to enjoy the desert rather than survive the desert - and I'd much rather enjoy. The problem? Anyone who knows me knows that getting up early is not something that comes naturally to me. Love me a lazy morning of sleeping in on the weekends.

Soooooo, here's the interesting thing. I was on my computer one night a few weeks ago and was going through and sorting some photos. As I looked at my hiking photos, my heart began to ache. It had been weeks since I'd been on a hike, and man, did it hit me that I needed to get back outside. The problem? The excuse that it was too hot and that I'd have to be out there really early. 

Kept looking at the photos, looking at my camera sitting on the shelf, felt how strongly I was being pulled, and decided I was being an idiot. So, the past two Sundays I have rolled out of bed, thrown on my "play clothes", some sunscreen and a hat, packed water and a snack, and have gone to my happy place at Cave Creek Regional Park. 

I have had some incredible experiences connecting with nature on these early morning adventures, and I plan to continue doing it. 

I came back from those hikes hot, sweaty, covered in dust, and invigorated rather than tired. Looked at the photos I had taken and smiled to myself. Thought about the exchanges I had had with the plants and animals and felt fulfilled.

My two cents? Take a look at where you are shutting yourself off from what calls you. Really take a look. Why? What is the excuse for delaying doing something that you would really enjoy?


I've got a whole pile of excuses I am working through that I am learning to change and make new choices. Easy? No, but it gets easier as you see your life start to change.



On my hike last Sunday, I focused my camera on the texture and shapes of things - here are some of my favorites:

And, by the way, you can see/feel a lot in an old "dead" tree

My meditation buddy.....

My happy place.....