I See You

Those true eyes    Too pure and too honest in aught to disguise    The sweet soul shining through them ~ Owen Meredith

Playing in the Street

I still get wildly enthusiastic about little things… I play with leaves. I skip down the street and run against the wind. ~ Leo Buscaglia

It was a warm rain last night so I decided to go out and play in the streets with my camera. I don’t know much about street photography or night photography so it was mostly a fun experiment…

I started my journey wandering over a bridge.

The shiny wet guard rails created some nice reflections.

I waited for a big bus to go by to get some cool streaks of light.

Once I crossed the bridge I was excited to see these lovely ladies walking. I’m getting braver about taking photos of strangers.  I’ve read about street photography and was relieved to learn that many of the best street shooters don’t worry about permission. I have mixed feelings about this but have decided to take on a new mantra recommended by Eric Kim… “I am a street photographer here to capture the beauty in the mundane and I mean nobody ill will,” When I’m at ease and full of gratitude shooting something that I find interesting or beautiful… like this matching umbrella with her bold black & white dress, I’ve found that I can kind of disappear.

Here’s a view of the bridge I walked over from the 10th floor glass elevator. It’s such a cool elevator with glass & mirrors, I’ll have to go back and get a better self-portrait… another area of photography that intrigues me…

I got a little wet in the rain but it was worth it.

Yes, I definitely need more practice with self- portrait… this was the only way I could get enough light on my face with out a flash…I’m looking straight up into a big street lamp. It was a fun evening but I sure prefer taking shots of natures tiny treasures in the golden light.

I’ve been taking photography seriously for a little over a year now and my favorite subjects so far are tiny treasures. My style seems to lean towards finding beauty in mundane bits of nature like a lonely decaying leaf. Yet it’s so exciting to try new subjects & styles. Traveling has been one of the best inspirations for me to grow and expand, it’s been a great trip here in Austin so far.

What type of photography do you love to shoot or view?

Travel Tips

To travel is to live. ~ Hans Christian Andersen

My husband is a road warrior. Travel is second nature to him. He’s an expert at all of the nuances that make his adventures run a little smoother. He has very specific routines like packing the same bag the same way each time. This helps him find what he needs so quickly, he even zips each bag the same way so if he needs to get at something in the middle of night, he can do it all by feel.

I’m so impressed when I ask him for something and he has it in 2 seconds flat. I’m too random to adopt this routine but I have adopted a few of his travel tips. I roll my clothes to fit more in my carry-on. You can squish undies and socks into so many spots, even inside your shoes! Sometimes when I’m too stressed about fitting everything I want to take, I hand the task over to him. It’s like packing the car, he prefers to do all of it… his way. When I let go of my control issues and let him have at it, we both win

A few more tips that have made my trips more enjoyable…

• One of my favorite app’s for travel is Gate Guru. When you’re on long layovers you can enjoy decent food at most airports using this food finder, it’s like a mini yelp for airports.
• The Art of Non-Conformity is my favorite blog to read about travel. Today’s post inspired me to write about my travel tips, he has some great recommendations about which cards to use to get more frequent flyer miles & hotel perks.
• When I travel with my husband, I get to use his noise reduction headphones and relax in the sky club enjoying free food & drinks in a comfortable setting. I even took a shower on a long layover which was so refreshing after an all night flight. It’s just amazing how these two things make traveling calmer and quieter. They are expensive for those of us who travel here and there but if I traveled more, I would spend the money on both.

I’m soaking up the warmth in Austin, TX for a few days, it’s so nice to be hiking in a t-shirt this time of year. Here’s a few shots from the flight…

this is a view inside and out from the delta sky lounge at our layover in atlanta

wet & warm

i could not resist taking a shot of the reflection in the laptop screen of this beautiful girl relaxed & reading as her neighbors are busy chatting and getting thing done on the computer

once we got above the rain storm it was beautiful

castles in the sky

beautiful layers of blues & whites

even some god’s light as the sun began to set, it was an easy travel day

Do you have any tips that have made your travel more enjoyable?