Life I love you, all is groovy

Time for a photowalk, with images that caught my eye and made me happy today.

Gray morning, after a windy, rainy week, but a few leaves are still clinging on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fuzzies and bright leaves on one branch

 

Would you like an apple, little girl?

The WonderPup, although she makes me happy every day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why, yes, Bliss is spelled Cupcake! And the other sign…Books. Cats. Life is Good. Why, yes it is, especially when you have all those things!

 

I can not properly explain how much I love streets like this!

Top of a birdhouse. I would be pretty darn psyched if I was a bird.

Ha! A rather ineffective sign, it would appear

Free wireless with hookah session. Good to know.

The writing is on the wall. Even if it is a very small wall.

MUST. EAT.HERE.

Side of the wall of the above restaurant

Yes, please. Times 50,000.

Ha!!!!!! You want a piece of me? David’s ear, $29.99 Ha!(my father-in-law, shouldn’t that be van gogh? Double Ha!)

Fresh pita from local, organic ingredients. Just because I can’t eat this doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the awesomeness.

The sign is empty, but still so beautiful!

Thanks for coming on my happy trip today!

Read Full Post »

Photo happiness

The past month, and longer, I’ve not been myself, trapped in being unwell, with no energy left for anything I normally do. The fog is lifting, sun is breaking up the shadows and I am feeling much more like my usual mermaid self.

Some recent-ish photos that I love, and that make me feel happy, just because. Small slices of happiness are worth sharing! And the story of what’s been going on with me will be coming soon. It’s nice to feel I’m coming out the other side of it now.

 

Spiderwebs and glowing light. Nature’s art.

 

I adore old books!

This was actually set up for a photo shoot I was working on with Husband, he was doing an interview and thought he wanted the chair. I just loved this shot I took as I was setting up. No reason. It just spoke to me.

 

playing around, waiting for another photo shoot to start. I think I want to get this one framed.

Rich color and contrasts. Swoon.

A happy little flower, content with its face in the sun, and not afraid of the dark behind it. Yes.

yes please – sunshine and green and a proud little flower.

Read Full Post »

Tales of a weekend getaway

Hubby and I needed a recharging weekend, he’s been very stressed at work, and I needed some relaxing, outdoor time.

I found Pilot Knob Inn, a charming B&B located about two hours away from home, out past Winston-Salem.

Before checking in, we went to Hanging Rock State Park, hiked up to the bouldering field and got to try our first attempt at outdoor bouldering. Now because we didn’t have any bouldering pads or anything, we stayed really low to the ground, so we wouldn’t get hurt if we fell. It was frustrating, because we very much wanted to climb higher and play on the rocks more, but we were suitably wary of broken bones or worse.

The bouldering field was incredible, I described it as a giant’s playground. Huge big rocks, climb a little path and find even more around the corner. We will definitely be going back!

Then we went to check in to our little log cabin!

Isn’t it darling? We completely fell in love with it. It was the honeymoon suite 🙂

Our front porch! We stood out here and watched an awesome thunderstorm.

There were four kittens who lived under our porch. They were happy to sit on the porch with us, but wouldn’t let us pet them. Their mom checked us out, and decided we were mostly harmless.

I love pink kitten feet

Kitten pile!!

Isn’t this peaceful and beautiful? I felt so relaxed staying here.

Our birdhouse at the cabin

Hubby and a pup who lived on the property, love at first sight for both.

A rare mermaid on a bridge sighting

Hubby on swinging bridge

Some of the  yummy fruit spread I had for breakfast today

Today, we drove up to Pilot Mountain.

Then went to a nearby vineyard

I didn’t know there were fast grapes and slow grapes

But even though they are slow grapes, they are hard workers

And they make lovely wines!

And that was our weekend! We came home feeling relaxed and that we had a chance to unwind, and really get away from everything, even though we were only gone for two days.

Hooray for mini getaways!

Read Full Post »

An engagement session

Some photos from my recent engagement session with my good friend Eva and her fiance Tim. I will be shooting their wedding in October, and I am so honored and excited! Pictures were all taken at this great little park practically across from our downtown Durham, NC office.

It was actually their idea to do a gum-kissing shot but I love how it came out.

You can see the full session over at flyingmermaid.zenfolio.com under Engagements.

Read Full Post »

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Read Full Post »

old barns

“There’s beauty in the breakdown”

Read Full Post »

let’s get macro in here

Flowers. Macro. Love!

Read Full Post »

Lovely, delicious blooming

For Savannah, Brandi, Lira, Jess, and all the other lovely souls who are blooming into themselves and beginning to tap their great potential — including me!

Read Full Post »

Fall on the Eno River

Would you like to come on a sunset hike along the Eno River? Yes? Good!

Capture the glowing light all around

I find this so sweet. The girl was so excited about the hike (we walked by her at one point when she was digging with a small stick, and she exclaimed happily that she found buried treasure. What more can one ask of a hike than to find buried treasure?

Everything was just glowing lovely

Isn’t this an amazing nest? I imagine that in bird currency, they pay a high price for such a swanky home on the river.

Sometimes, you float along and ride the current, and sometimes, you try to fight the current for a while, and where it is taking you

I love living in a fall painting

I think this is what melted gold would look like.

Just a small waterfall, a baby really, but still very pretty

I love this tree. I love the bark. I really like this photo, and I can’t explain why.

Ever feel like  your world has turned upside down and nothing is quite the way it should be? Life in a reflected world.

Change your perspective from time to time. Maybe upside down is actually correct?

Ahhh. This feels peaceful and soothing.

Thank you for joining me on my sunset hike!

Read Full Post »

Food for thought

Something I just started thinking about — photoshopping, photo editing, touching up.

I read about a bit of the furor recently over a Sarah Palin Newsweek cover, a very close-up shot of her face, and the uproar was that it was unkind and unflattering to her because it wasn’t retouched and showed some lines and light facial hair and pores.

I also read and visit a lot of photography sites, and I know photoshopping is very common. My questions for you: Do you think people should be retouched in photos? Do you think it’s bad to let people look how they naturally do? What kind of photoshopping do you do? What kind of photoshopping would you like photographers to do to pictures of you? Do you think good portrait photography has to show the completely perfect part of us — no wrinkles, no zits, a little thinner? Do you like portrait photography that shows someone as they are, not photoshopped?

I would very much love to hear your thoughts on this!

Read Full Post »