Silhouette

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Photography: Dillon Beach

In 44 days, my book will be out into the world. A book with my words inside and my name on the cover. It’s a strange feeling still buried beneath all the details of self-publishing, but I wanted to acknowledge it here. With you.

This week, I got the Library of Congress number and started Instagram promotions. Next week, I’ll receive my proof copy, meet the bookstore manager to plan the book signing event, reveal the cover, and begin pre-orders.

It’s all happening.

It feels like it did when I published my first blog post—terrifying. Will anyone but my mom buy it? I recently came across an interview with David Bowie where he said, “If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel you’re capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth, and when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”

I’m going out of my depth, and it’s scary.

So for today, I’m going to share with you photos from a recent trip I took to Dillion Beach. Photos of water, birds, and starfish. These photos make me feel safe and I hope you like them. Let me know if you have a favorite, and I’ll see you next week with my heart in my hands.

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  • These photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

Over on my Instagram, I’m showcasing the vibe of each of the short stories in my collection. I hope you’ll consider checking it out.

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Photography: Harvest Moon

Today the heat subsided and the clouds arrived. I went in search of you. I found sunflowers, pumpkins, cornfields, and a bridge. You peeked out for a minute from the clouds but then ran from me. That’s okay. I don’t need to see you to love you.

Because I’m still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I’m still in love with you
On this harvest moon
—Neil Young

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I visited Bishop’s Pumpkin Farm with visions of taking a photo of the full moon over a cornfield, but the clouds didn’t cooperate. Instead, I had a lovely evening with my mom. I hope you enjoy these images and let me know if you have a favorite. As always, all photos were taken by me with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

My sunflower mom. I love you.

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Photography: Sunset Slow

You needed to see the sunset because the world felt too chaotic. We spent two nights together watching the sky become gold and then black. I couldn’t erase the pain behind your eyes, but I could remind you what was in the sky. It’s always there for you, as I am.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.”
—Rabindranath Tagore

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  • This is dedicated to my daughter’s best friend. Believe in yourself always, dearest. The sunset will always ground you as the ocean inspires you. I believe in you.
  • Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.
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52 Photo Challenge: Week 2-Silhouette

“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.” —Michel Legrand

A dear friend of mine invited me to participate in a 52-week photo challenge and I happily agreed. Each week a different aspect of photography will be explored. I’m excited to play along and hopefully learn as I do.

This week we were asked to feature a silhouette. As it’s been raining and stormy outside, I did my best to use a sliver of sunlight to backlight some trees and birds. I’m not sure these are successful, but I had fun trying. As I can only submit one photo to the challenge, I’d love to know which of these is your favorite.

Thanks as always for cheering me on and have a wonderful day!

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

Week One’s assignment was to create an image that shows bokeh or shallow depth of field. I used the freeway image from Stormy Downtown Sacramento as my first submission. It wasn’t my best bokeh shot ever, but I’m trying to stick to photos taken within the week of the challenge.

Finally, my camellia has its first baby bloom and it’s too adorable not to share.

  • If you want to join the 52 Photo Challenge, you can find all the information at nicolesy.com.