My Reflections and Expressions
For this week’s challenge, share an image that depicts transition. Let life itself be your muse.
There is a mango tree and a jackfruit tree in our backyard. We heap all the fallen dry leaves together and burn them. Later the ashes are spread around other plants and trees. They are good for the plants.
These photos show the transition from dried leaves to ashes.
I have been lucky to read two wonderful books this month and the thought that came to mind as I reached the last page was this quotation by someone unknown, “ Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book.’ Books which we love take us into another world and the characters in the them become real people for us.
I am now reading ‘In memory yet green’ by Isaac Asimov. It is his autobiography. He is one of my favourite writers and I am living every moment of the book. A few years ago I had read his Foundation series. They had been an exciting journey into the far future. The author imagines a very changed world but human nature has not changed. I don’t think we would be humans if that changed.
The far future is unknown to us but recent events of violence and bloodshed make us realize that even the very near future is unknown to us. The very next moment can be so different from what we imagine. Did those people attending the concert in Paris imagine that life would change so drastically? They were enjoying the music and then everything changed. Natural calamities or man-made ones, they do take us by surprise. We like to believe that we are prepared. In our own lives, something happens and the course of our life changes. We are left thinking ‘we never dreamt that life would change so much.’
In my country many firmly believe ‘what is to happen will happen, we have to do our best and leave the rest to that higher power in which we believe.’ In a way this belief helps people to accept whatever comes their way. This acceptance makes it so much more easier to face the unknown future.
Writing about the unknown future reminded me of these lines written by Gerald Massey. I had read them long back in a Mills and Boon book by Essie Summers. Those were the days of Mills and Boons. :)) But Essie Summers is still one of my favourite authors.
‘Not by appointment do we meet
Delight or joy,
They heed not our expectancy.
But round some corner
Of the streets of Life,
They of a sudden greet us with a Smile.’
This week’s topic is Kids or Pets with Toys. And yes, I suppose the “kid” could be any age as long as your photo shows the enjoyment of toys.
These photos are of my children, sometime in 1988. In those days we did not have digital cameras. A few years ago I took photos of the old photos with my digital camera. They are playing Lego 🙂
My father and son 🙂
This year in May, our son and grandson:) playing Lego 🙂
My father and our grandson 🙂 May 2015
‘There really is not a lot to say about diagonal lines except they appear to be more dynamic. Depending on the type of diagonal line you have, it can add tension to your image. In addition to this, diagonals can serve the same purposes as horizontal and vertical lines in that they can guide the eye, and act as frames for a specific area of the photo. Diagonal lines can be placed in any direction in your photo.
Another fun thing about diagonal lines is you can break the horizontal and vertical rules. Sometimes you can really create an art piece by making an item run diagonally. Just make sure that your photo makes sense. ‘
Reading about diagonal lines, reminded me of our grandson on the easy-chair:)
Another fun photo of our son and grandson, who is sitting on a sari and wants to be pulled around:)
The branches of the tree make diagonal lines.
My father-in-law trying to drop coconuts using a bamboo stick:)
The pulley of the well, used to draw water.
These photos are in the Home for the Mentally Challenged. I go there every afternoon, five times a week. Our festivals are celebrated by all living there, the teachers and other staff, with great Camaraderie.
What comes in threes? Submit an image for this week’s photo theme, Trio.
A Tricycle 🙂
This photo was taken in 1984 or 1985. My son and his cousin:)
Vertical lines are the natural compliment to the horizontal lines we talked about last time. Like horizontal lines, they have a significance and meaning of their own that can be quite powerful when used intentionally in a photograph. Vertical lines can create a strong focal point in a picture. Strong vertical lines show height, strength, and power. You can emphasize those characteristics by using your vertical lines carefully.A vertical line doesn’t necessarily have to be a structure like a flagpole or a building. It just has to be something that creates the illusion of a vertical line, like a furrow in a field or a line of trees in a orchard.
Show us 4 to 6 photos show strong vertical lines, using both portrait and landscape.
The mustard plants in the field stand upright with beautiful yellow flowers. This is in Rajasthan.
In the courtyard of a palace, the old buildings on either side. Good examples of strong vertical lines.
Another old fort and we are in the balcony:)
The temple of Lord Brahma in Pushkar, the beautiful blue pillars.
The awe inspiring Mehrangarh fort 🙂
IN A NEW POST CREATED FOR THIS CHALLENGE, SHARE A SERIES OF PHOTOS THAT TELL A STORY.
These photos are in the temple square of our town. During our festivals, devotees who are interested make rangolis on the ground near the Temple of Sri Krishna. This person was making the picture of a mythological hero.
We call these flowers ‘Kiskaara’ in out language, Kannada. They remain in bloom for many days. The orange flowers and the green leaves are contrasting and beautiful:)
My father-in-law was with us last week. He is a very family person. He loves to keep in touch with all his relatives and friends. The days of letter writing have become history, but in those earlier days, letters were the windows opening into the lives of others. He used to love writing letters to all his near and dear ones. They used to wait for them and replied without fail.
My grandfather too had been the same. I remember going to the post office with him to buy cards. When he was away from us we used to write regularly to each other. They were not the days of instant communication but he was in contact with all his relatives and friends. Trunk-calls and telegrams were received with great anxiety as they were used only during emergency.
Times have changed and we have to change with the times. Over the years letter writing has been replaced by the telephone, then mobiles, emails and now Skype. Our daughter called us on Skype when my father-in-law was here. This was the first time he was experiencing this ‘means of communication’. He was filled with wonder seeing his granddaughter and great grandson. She showed him her home and also the outside. It fascinated him. It was as if a window into a faraway world had been opened to him. He kept saying that in his younger days no one would have even imagined in their wildest dreams that such a thing would come to pass. He is ninety. When our daughter called the next day he came immediately, the experience was not to be missed. He did not talk much but just kept on looking at the screen, watching his great grandson. We loved his expression.
There are windows and windows and we see what we want to see. The internet is one such window which has opened the world to me. Sitting at home it has made it possible for me to come into contact with people from different parts of the world. Many of them are kindred spirits. Long back, during school vacations we used to stay with our maternal grandparents for two whole months. We used to visit our relatives and stay with them for some days but now things have changed. Facebook has made it possible to be in some contact with relatives and friends and when we meet, we do not feel that we are strangers. It is a good feeling. The internet is a welcome change.
“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”
George Bernard Shaw
