Here are some of my favorite photos from my birthday trip to Dillion Beach. This trip was about connection and reflection. Cloud cover allowed for only one sunset and it was an odd one. The sun flattened to a bowl shape and was swallowed by the sea. I found it inspiring and somehow fitting for the place I am right now. Bring on weird!
Let me know if you have a favorite photo.
“I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.”—Franz Kafka
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These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
The power of the pink moon wakes me. Stumbling out of bed, I wander barefoot through half-lit rooms looking through distorted glass while my eyes attempt to adjust. What if I let them stay blurry? What if I simply see what’s there? Maybe beauty does exist in the imperfections. The flowers tell me so. I follow the sounds to the beach and surrender.
“Oh moon, I have begun to envy you your terrifying powers” —Henry Virgin
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The fourth full moon of the year arrived on my birthday while on vacation at Dillion Beach. The moon proved elusive and all my photos turned out distorted. I had no choice but to embrace the imperfections and play with them.
Let me know if you have a favorite. These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
Last week I took a much-anticipated trip to visit my mother, connect with a dear poetry friend, and show the city of Seattle to my daughter. It was a feast for the photographic eye. Please join me for a series of posts (6 total) exploring the Pacific Northwest and let me know if you have a favorite photo.
“Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.” —Rainer Maria Rilke
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These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
“I am a tiny seashell that has secretly drifted ashore and carries the sound of the ocean surging through its body.” —Edward Hirsch
Sometimes a place can be familiar to you but still hold secrets. People are like this too. I look for what is true. What is real. That’s where magic lives.
On this beach trip, the ocean was angry. It pounded the shore and never receded enough to reveal the tide pools. The beauty took my breath away. Come with me.
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Photos were taken with Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
“Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” —John Muir
This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to take photos of the sunrise/sunset. This aligned perfectly with a very rare week of double travel for me. Not only did I visit Tahoe for a few days, but it was swiftly followed by a quick trip to Dillion Beach. I feel so lucky!
Both trips provided such incredible views to photograph. My selection of images includes both locations at sunrise and sunset. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a wonderful week.
If you want to read the short story I wrote this time last year: Week 47: Chalky Hands
#1#2#3#4#5#6#7#8#9#10#11My friend Heidi took this shot of me in Tahoe.
Photos were taken with 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
“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 Dillion 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.
“Hark, now hear the sailors cry, Smell the sea, and feel the sky, Let your soul & spirit fly, into the mystic.” —Van Morrison
This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to create something with a flat-lay setup. It’s supposed to be an image where you lay objects out on a flat surface and photograph them from above. I wasn’t thrilled about this idea, especially since I was spending the weekend along the beautiful California coast. So, you will see the first few images are sort of my attempt at this (the sand is a flat surface, right?) #4 might be the closest I got and it’s not my favorite.
Instead, I offer you mostly shots from my weekend away. Let me know if you have a favorite and thanks for the birthday wishes. I’m feeling full of saltwater kisses and ocean breezes.
i’ve been to this beach before but i’m thinking of that one time when i cried into the wind begging spirits to save my trapped soul and something answered. not mermaid
goddesses wrapped in shimmery light, but a sea hag draped in foggy sadness. “you want out?” she hissed through cracked lips. i nodded feeling the air leave my lungs. slippery
quick, an eel through water, my knees buckled as knarled hands placed a rotted seaweed crown upon my matted hair. “i deserve nothing but pain,” i managed to say. manic
laughter roaring with the waves, calling me a liar. red-bearded pirates pointed rusty blades at my pale neck. i ran. and ran. for years. and years. jellyfish growing fat
within my belly. sharp spiny barnacles grow under my breasts and between my thick thighs. ice forming heavy around my heart, protecting soft starfish memories from spilling. but now
oh now
my seaweed crown is slipping. walking in my old footsteps, i sing “you are special” under my breath wondering if i believe. a lilting voice joins mine and I follow
into a narrow rocky cave. here a siren gently whispers seashell songs which vibrate through my body, rocking me like golden sunset waves. warm fingers find my face. “you are
loved,” she sings. “time to forgive yourself.” salty tears fall from hazel eyes as slimy seaweed slips onto the cold sandy ground. i see not her beautiful garments nor her
phosphorescent glow, but feel her spinning me around. and around. strong hands pluck hardened crusty foulers from my body and smashes them hard onto the uneven stone walls. powder turns
powerful. light burns brighter. i shudder as the foggy vines the sea witch weaved deep within me unwind faster. and faster. healing. releasing. forgiving. without a word, the siren leaves.
lavender flowers fall around me. “goodbye” i say under the golden sky. four sandpipers watch me walk across the beach. lighter. they don’t run but i do. time starts again.
sandpiper friends.my cave.the view looking out from the inside of the cave. do you see the siren?
Note: I celebrated my birthday today by spending hours wandering the beach taking photos and writing poetry. I hope you enjoy this poem of healing and that it helps you too.
The song I was singing is “Special” by Lizzo. Watch the music video. It will do your heart some good.
“Behind the camera, I was invisible. When I lifted it up to my eye it was like I crawled into the lens, losing myself there. and everything else fell away.”—Sarah Dessen
This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to use one lens. I only have one and was originally going to try and modify the challenge by setting it at only 50mm. However, once on the trip, it felt like one too many things to worry about. Instead, I focused on capturing things I love—lichen, moss, and the dark greens of the Oregon and Washington coast. I spent time as a fairy sitting in the woods and as a romantic staring at the ocean waves.
The cemetery shots are from one of the oldest in Washington State, Oysterville Cemetery. The broken wagon, chuch, bible, and roof photo are from the Oregon ghost town of Golden. It was established in the early 1840s and some of its buildings were restored in the 1950s as film sets for the TV show “Bonanza” and a few Western movies.
Wouldn’t it be nice if every day could be filled with mossy adventure? Let me know what photo you like best and have a wonderful 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
“It’s OK, you’re a Goonie, and Goonies always make mistakes.”
When I was a small child I’d always watch “The Goonies” when I was sick or sad. It was my comfort movie and I can practically recite it for you word for word. This week I moved my mom from northern California to a small town in Washington very near Astoria, Oregon. When I found out it’s the home to several filming locations for “The Goonies” it felt right. I’m sad and I need my comfort movie.
After taking two days to drive here and get my mom settled in her new place, we spent the day exploring all the filming locations around the area. We had deep conversations about our connection and my mom told me she was proud of me. It feels like a big moment in my life. We always want our mom, but she needs to do this for her.
“Don’t you realize? The next time you see the sky, it’ll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it’ll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what’s right for them. Because it’s their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it’s our time. It’s our time down here.” —Mikey, The Goonies
The jailhouse from the opening scene. It’s now a museum filled with artifacts from the film.I was just a wee bit excited! “Out in the garage, ORV, four-wheel drive… …bullet holes the size of matzo balls!”—ChunkChester Copperfield’s wallet, the skeleton key, doubloon, and a Lou Gehrig baseball card.They had Data’s complete outfit including his pinchers of power! Data is played by Ke Huy Qua who just won an Oscar for my new favorite movie “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”“Yo. Hi guys. How’s it going? This is Willie… One-Eyed Willie. Say hi, Willie. Those are my friends… the Goonies.”—Mikey“Goonies never say die!” The actual house. It was less than a minute from our hotel.This is the window at the beginning of the film where Chunk presses his pizza and milkshake against the glass to watch the police chase the Fratellis. The building is now a bowling alley and was closed but we all took turns reenacting it on the outside. Isn’t my mom cute?This coffee shop is featured during the opening scene when Rosalita is crossing the street.The Flavel House Museum is where Mikey’s dad waves to the kids when they are riding through town on their bikes.It’s an interesting and slightly creepy house. My daughter did some research after we left and found out they left out some big parts of the family history.What a thrill to stand here.Beautiful beach. Not sure if those are the rocks that lined up with the doubloon, but I choose to believe they are.My daughter and mom.After our Goonies exploring we visited two spots my mom loves.Flying together down the path in the wild winds.
Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
Bridgette Tales 