Month: June 2023

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Photography: Petaluma

“I spry my closed vision
over the streets of this city and the shadows lurching within it.”
—Suman Pokhrel

I’ve spent the week in various places in downtown Sacramento and it reminded me how much I miss traveling. I used to visit new cities, exploring on my own, letting my curiosity guide me. I’d strike up conversations with strangers, share a bit of their worldview for a moment, and I always left feeling renewed. While I’ve not done much of it lately, there are moments that feed that creative energy. Little artist dates, as Julie Cameron calls them.

One such date was a quick stop in Petaluma on the way back from our Dillion Beach trip. The teens went one way and I went the other. Although it was quick, there was plenty for me to feast my eyes upon. Here are a few of my favorite shots. Let me know if you have a favorite and let’s travel together soon.

  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
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poetry: twisted

12/30

sunbeams trace old
memories. twists
delighted joy
with fractured limbs.
freckled shoulders
brush tenderly

against his rough
bark. together
we weather all
shadows. bright green
hardened layers 
protecting soft

insides. heal our
cracking skin. mend
bleeding sap. climb
higher into
branches, always
bending toward light.

More short poems:
1/30: not my cat
2/30: comfort
3/30: ache
4/30: remember
5/30: graduation
6/30: big love
7/30: Heavy and light
8/30: delicate
9/30: leaping
10/30: Dad gave me…
11/30: solstice

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Photography: Dillon Beach

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” —Mahatma Gandhi

Happy Wednesday! The last few months have felt like a blur, but maybe I’m coming out of this new phase of healing. I’ve had several wonderful conversations with old friends and made plans to meet two more later this week. I’m ready to trust and rebuild connections after feeling like my world was simply too tilted to stand straight. It’s a nice feeling.

These photos are from my trip last week to Dillon Beach. I’ve been here hundreds of times, but there’s always something different to see and photograph. Perhaps there’s a life lesson in there somewhere. Please let me know if you have a favorite photo and have a fantastic week.

  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
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If you are interested in seeing how my photography has grown, here are some photos I took at Dillion Beach last year.

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 25-Contrast Color

“Put light against light-you have nothing. Put dark against dark-you have nothing. It’s the contrast of light and dark that each give the other one meaning.”-Bob Ross

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to capture contrasting colors. I was lucky enough to spend a night at Dillion’s Beach and these photos are from that brief trip. I edited them using a softer light and hope it gives the collection a cohesive feeling.

I’ll be posting a few more photos from the trip later this week. I’m amazed at how I can walk the same beach for years and always find new surprises. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and I hope you have a fantastic week.

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  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract
Week 24: Reflection

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poetry: solstice

11/30

on longest day
tilt toward sun
find cypress trees
look close, closer

see soft feather
watch it tremble
remember flying clouds
forget sinking sand

notice sky change
gold, purple, pink
swallow it whole
feel forgiveness burn

dance around flames
emerge a phoenix
weave midsummer memories
into fiery wings

close your eyes 
take a bite
all my words
are still warm

More short poems:
1/30: not my cat
2/30: comfort
3/30: ache
4/30: remember
5/30: graduation
6/30: big love
7/30: Heavy and light
8/30: delicate
9/30: leaping
10/30: Dad gave me…

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52 Photo Challenge: Week 24-Reflection

“Women have served all these centuries as looking glasses possessing the magic and delicious power of reflecting the figure of man at twice its natural size.”
—Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to capture reflections. I went to Folsom Lake this morning at sunrise. The gusty winds made the water choppy and photography a bit challenging. As a result, most of these photos aren’t sticking to the theme. I’m learning to pivot when this happens and enjoy being in nature. I met a very charming fisherman and a beautiful grandfather taking his son and grandson out in a small boat.

Isn’t it remarkable what we can find when we stop to look? Let me know if you have a favorite photo and I hope your week ahead is filled with unexpected surprises.

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  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com

52 Photo Challenge
Week 1: Bokeh
Week 2: Silhouette
Week 3: Black and White
Week 4: Motion Blur
Week 5: Texture
Week 6: Framing
Week 7: Leading Lines
Week 8: Negative Space
Week 9: Patterns
Week 10: Symmetry
Week 11: Green
Week 12: Sidelight
Week 13: Sense of Scale
Week 14: One Lens
Week 15: Series
Week 16: Flat Lay
Week 17: Behind the Scenes
Week 18: Water
Week 19: Blurry Foreground
Week 20: Unique Perspective
Week 21: Shadow
Week 22: Food
Week 23: Abstract

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Poetry: Dad gave me…

10/30

Shakespeare’s measured love
Kubrik’s fractured time
Photography’s micro-moments
Nature’s meditative breath 
Animal’s magical simplicity
Book’s escape plan
Quiet’s unspoken pain
Legacy’s abandonment core
Love’s imperceptible gaze

This is me and my dad in the late 1970s. The books above are from a collection I won as a child with my dad at the Fair Oaks Shakespeare Festival. Although I’m always pushing for more, I’m grateful for my hippy animal-loving father. Happy Father’s Day.

More short poems:
1/30: not my cat
2/30: comfort
3/30: ache
4/30: remember
5/30: graduation
6/30: big love
7/30: Heavy and light
8/30: delicate
9/30: leaping

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poetry: building another new start

with picking out bright yellow sunflowers from Trader Joe’s and hoping my eyes aren’t still puffy from crying myself to sleep last night

with wearing my expensive Dior lip gloss 026, intense mauve shimmer, because it makes me feel fancy

with drinking water from the turtle cup with the metal straw, the one my best friend made for me, because it makes everything taste better

with seeing the text I sent my dad about my feelings was read on Sunday but he’s still not responded, and deciding not to send another one

with wearing the colorful flower dress my four-year-old nephew said was his favorite because it makes me look like a garden

with playing the absolute stupidest game ever on the Nintendo Wii with the teens, drinking Grimace’s birthday shakes, and laughing so hard I remember kegel exercises are important

with waking up early to water outside and saying hi to three bumblebees and one hummingbird who lingered close enough I could see how incredible their wings are

with moving my watermelon plant to another part of the yard because it’s getting choked out by the enormous pumpkin leaves and wanting it to have a chance to survive

with watching all 10 episodes of Drag Me to Dinner with my daughter and wanting to hug every LGBTQ person on the planet and tell them they are loved

with having teary conversations with my teens about respect and communication knowing they will always have me and each other in their corner no matter what

with replacing the bowl of old candy on the counter with a bowl of fresh apples because I can’t make others love me the way I want to be loved, but I can eat healthier

with turning to words again and not worrying if they are good enough because that’s not the point and I can show up exactly how I am