IMG_5477 (3)

Images born
On wings of hope: May there be beauty!
Some find their mark bringing both joy and relief.
While others, finding their mark still, cause anguish, dismay: Please. No….
The truth hurts. Seeing it squarely in front of you, yes.
But being made aware that these images of light match – with such painful certainty
That what was painted
Sometimes, it’s more than I can bear.

IMG_5889

I was playing with my new macro the other night and trying to get a straight on shot of some ‘volunteer’ pansies growing at the base of the stairs leading up to the deck. Unable to get down low enough – or rather, if I’m honest, unwilling to get my favorite pair of black leisure pants dirty (but I digress) – I simply placed the camera down low, at ground level, and hoped for the best. I was amused to discover I’d missed the flowers entirely but thought the resulting image was interesting nonetheless!

I belong to a couple of special groups on Facebook, one of which is a group that features photos of all things Iowa. On Monday I noticed a post asking if anyone was interesting in joining a group for women to meet occasionally on photo shoots and to also provide ‘photo partners’ since, let’s face it, going it alone to pursue the hunt for great photo ops can be a little scary and even dangerous depending on where you want to venture out, whether it’s in the woods, or downtown or traveling the back roads and stopping wherever inspiration calls your name.

So I was thrilled to meet up with a small group of women last night for our first photo shoot. We met at the state capitol grounds which looks westward toward downtown Des Moines. The camaraderie was great and it was such fun to meet other like-minded women for whom photography is so much a grand passion.

Here’s one of the better outtakes from my attempt at a little night photography – still so much yet to learn, no doubt about it. I’m really looking forward to future endeavors whether with the whole gang or even with one or two new ‘photo partners’ the next time hubby wants to hit the driving range and I want to prowl for opportunities to spark my imagination!

IMG_5877 (2)