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This one is a departure from my "nice" photos. I have a secret desire (well, not so secret any more) to have my artwork on the cover of a Stephen King book so I'm playing with dark/ambiguous/menacing/creepy images. I have a way to go. This one is only my first stab and I haven't any idea what to title it.

Stable in the Afternoon

Ok, I go through my list of photos for the week and this is today's. I haven't actually ridden a horse in over 20 years. Pitty, I enjoy (or I did then) riding horses. There's a wonderful sense of power and strength in a horse, and personality, and attitude; just like people.

My friend owns a horse and this is where she stables him. Well, ok, not this specific row in the photo, he's over on the north/west side where the shadows were. This side was more picturesque (sorry Moo). The smell of the place was very comforting; soil, hay, horses (and yes manure, but not as much as you'd think). It was definately not a sanitized, perfumed, recycled air kind of scent we smell in our offices and malls. It spoke of...oh, I don't know what it spoke of, but I kept noticing it and being comforted by it.

I think the last time I was on a horse was on Catalina Island. It was an early morning ride and I remember coming around a bend on the top of a hill and all of Avalon harbor was laid out before us. It was beautiful!
They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I think this photo, with it's long shadows and golden afternoon light is beautiful. I know not everyone will agree, but it is my blog, after all.

Fountain

I've been playing around with having the camera on or very close to the ground for some shots and so far I like the results. Kind of makes this fountain look like ancient ruins in the jungle.

Experimentation

Just experimenting with bits of this and that I have laying around. I might try this with sand underneath instead of a mirror, although I do like shooting on top of mirrors. I also like shooting with candlelight.

At The Stables

A friend of mine owns a horse so I went over to the stables to see it/them the other day. She was giving him a bath so it wasn't the time to take photos of him (beautiful as he is). It was late in the afternoon with golden sunlight and long shadows so I wandered around and found some interesting shots. This was one of them.

Labyrinth

I walked a Labyrinth for the first time on New Year's Day. I didn't even know there was one around until I got an email saying there is one at Glendale Forest Lawn. Apparently it's been there since the 90's. It is a copy of the one in Chartres Cathedral in France. Apparently this one was originally done in marble, but as that becomes slippery when it gets wet they remade it in some other, non slippery material.

If you have never seen or walked a Labyrinth, it is basically a walking meditation with 11 winding circuits from entrance to center. You walk the path with an open mind, cleared of thoughts and clutter, expectations and worries and you listen for whatever speaks to you - the wisdom of the ages, the spirits, your inner voice, god. I thought it was a good way to start the year.

Snowy Mountains

The sight of snowy mountains in the distance always makes me happy.