Tuesday, October 27, 2009

All the leaves on the trees are falling....


Paris in the autumn is like no other season. Perfect weather, perfect light, perfect, perfect, perfect everything.... all the locals are back, everything is open; this is when you really want to be here.

I had an early (10am!!) meeting this morning and brought my camera with me. Unfortunately, once I turned it on, I realized I only had 4 minutes left on the battery!! Gasp! I managed to snag this shot just in time...

There is something about the light in Paris, once you know it, and its patterns, it's heavenly. I know that in mid-November, in the late afternoon, at a certain cafe... the light coming down the street is sublime. The first time I was there, that's all I saw... this amazing scene, and no camera. Lesson learned. Autumn in Paris... way more betterer than April in Paris.

Can I just have one more Moondance, with you... my love...?

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Dear Mr. Fantasy...


I took an afternoon walk... the clock has changed, fall behind, et al... needed some fresh air. I've also had the gauntlet thrown. Photographically speaking. Challenge? Nude. Parameters? Self as nude. Hmm... Let's see... fifty, fat, frightened... any more "f" words that immediately come to mind?

Nevertheless, I had the spark of an idea. We are allowed to have a bit of Photoshop freedom [amen] and so... this morning I did a test run for one layer of the idea. Those of you who know me know I have really long hair... I've been told it is always best to "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative"... okay, I thought, this could work... take that hair and strategically cover some bits and I can keep my dignity intact and yet show a little artistic flair! Ahhh, yes... artistic flair, add a textured layer! With that in mind, I went to the park this afternoon to see what I could find for layer two.

Here's the thing. I live in Paris. I walk to my destinations. Luckily the Serres d'Auteuil is close by; my layer two thought process involved trees... I thought about it all the way there. I know the trees, I know the layout of the land... but, once I strolled through the gates, I got hit with the autumnal afternoon light and the very sensual sculpture shown above... Rapture! Joyous Restraints! May I just say thank you to the Renaissance artists who beautifully depicted women as they are/were... no airbrushing, no getting rid of excess baggage, just real honest-to-God women. Women with bodies, reveling in their femininity. Woot! :-)

The tree/hair layer idea is officially off the story board. I'm not sure of the direction just yet, but with a bit of guidance and a whole lot of inspiration, I think I'll get it right... I just need to "feel the fear and do it anyway".

This is all to say that the final presentation will not be a Bacchanal orgy overdose, but, hopefully, something tasteful, that I can look back on ten years from now and say, hey... you weren't so bad after all!

Something to make us all happy...

Monday, October 5, 2009

Spellbound...


Seems like I've been in a bit of a daze... summer has rolled into autumn and I'm still trying to catch up with spring things. What has kept me going these last few months is the support of good friends. You know who you are! ;-)

At the age of 51, I am once again standing at the crossroads. People who I thought were true, weren't. Things I thought would work, didn't. You can take experiences like that and let them kill you, or you can glean what you can from them and use them as opportunities to learn, grow and move on.

And learn I did. To be honest, it has taken a few months to digest some of that learning and then, once appreciated, to expand upon it. Let's face it, this economy sucks, no matter where you are, no matter what you do. Any kind of learning you can undertake to better yourself these days is a plus!

This past month has seen an active revamp of the dusty, old resume, a new job proposal template, mega tutorials on anything CS4 and reconnecting with friends from the past. I think this is where I have found the most astounding revelations! I've had conversations with a few folks which have turned into deep and personal sources of inspiration; and even one-line comments have given me a great deal of insight... I thank you all.

These reconnections have not only shown me where I have been, but also, show me how far I have come and how much further I need to go. I'm turning pages, but with a new purpose and a revised, yet still undetermined plan. Life is too short to sit around and say 'maybe'. It feels good to say that... AND believe it!

We are spellbound...