September 9, 2025 by Bridgette

Photography: Corn Moon

A crane sat staring at the moon. I couldn’t stop my van to take its picture because several cars were behind me, but I saw how it lifted its elegant white neck to show reverence. A few minutes later I found a spot to pull over and startled a field of crows who took off noisily, letting me know I’d disturbed their quiet sunrise.

My camera helped me worship the full corn moon, to capture it sitting on branches and bobbing between power lines. I was struck by how much of an outsider I was to this scene, but also how much I long to remember my connection to all things.

As the bright moon faded into the blue morning, the sun took over the sky. It blinked over the horizon blinding me temporarily, and my eyes fell on the plastic Superman dangling from my rearview mirror and it reminded me I’m doing my best. We all are.

“That is where you’ve always been wrong about me, Lex. I am as human as anyone. I love, I-I get scared. I wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other, and I try to make the best choices that I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human, and that’s my greatest strength. And someday, I hope, for the sake of the world, you understand that it’s yours too.”
—Superman

Let me know if you have a favorite photo and I hope you have a fantastic day.

Photos were taken with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW
See more photos of the moon
Also, read my favorite poem I’ve written about the moon

October 28, 2024 by Bridgette

Photography: Road Trip and Update

After years of regularly posting and commenting here, I think I’ve reached a place of burnout. I haven’t been fully present like I used to be. It’s not fun.

To get myself out of this slump, and at the advice of my wonderful writer’s group, I’ve decided to self-publish my 52 short stories into a collection available by Christmas. Having a physical book, my book, in my hands will be a dream come true. I need this to move forward.

In the meantime, thank you to those who continue to show up and cheer me on. Your comments are what keeps me going. I hope you’ll consider ordering a copy when it’s available. I can’t even tell you what that would mean. I’m giddy thinking of it.

While I do the hard work of making it happen, here are some photos from my recent road trip. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a fantastic week.

#14, my friend’s dog Paris. Isn’t she the cutest!

As always, all photos were taken by me with an Olympus OM-D and edited with ON1 Photo RAW.

December 4, 2023 by Bridgette

52 Photo Challenge: Week 48-Lens Flare

“If it is time that you are talking to
Don’t forget the path you are walking through
Sudden flare of past might stalk you
Never allow moments to mock you”
—Munia Khan

This week’s assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to capture a lens flare. Still craving water and a beautiful sunrise, I woke early and drove to Folsom Lake. It was chilly and cold but incredibly peaceful. I hiked for a long time to reach the water’s edge, and then I savored the sound of the waves. If I closed my eyes I could pretend I was still at the ocean.

Not all of these photos stay on topic, but I’m okay with breaking the rules a little bit. Well, I’m trying to be. Let me know if you have a favorite and have a fantastic week.

If you want to read the short story I wrote this time last year:
Week 48: Under the Sign

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

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
Week 25: Contrast Color
Week 26: Think in Threes
Week 27: Starburst
Week 28: Low Perspective
Week 29: Macro
Week 30: Backlight
Week 31: Big Sky
Week 32: Dominant Color
Week 33: Fill the Frame
Week 34: Spot Metering
Week 35: Handheld Long Exposure
Week 36: S Curve
Week 37: Shoot Through
Week 38: Faces
Week 39: Blossom
Week 40: Environmental Portrait
Week 41: Texture Overlay
Week 42: Details
Week 43: Season
Week 44: Fog & Steam
Week 45: Nighttime
Week 46: Analog
Week 47: Sunrise/Sunset

November 27, 2023 by Bridgette

52 Photo Challenge: Week 47-Sunrise/Sunset

“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

My 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

August 10, 2023 by Bridgette

poetry: daybreak

16/30

earbuds in place
i step outside
dance the sunrise
drumbeats say love
or maybe move
see myself stretch
sway warm awake
toes touch dirt
skirt twirls free
eyes open wider
life is poetry

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
12/30: twisted
13/30: starving
14/30: open up
15/30: lines

July 10, 2023 by Bridgette

52 Photo Challenge: Week 27-Starburst

“I became the fractured shell of a mustard seed to dwell for an eye-blink amid a starburst galaxy of broken dreams.” —David B. Lentz, The Fine Art of Grace

This week my assignment for the 52 photo challenge was to capture a starburst. I spent all last week sick with a pretty awful cold, so I didn’t get out to take pictures until this morning. I hiked my favorite neighborhood trail and I’d forgotten how wild it can feel this time of year. The turkeys were up in the roosting tree, a pair of large hawks kept their eyes on me, and the dead leaves and grass made some parts of the trail slippery.

Although I went to find starbursts, I found lots of other things far more interesting. Let me know if you have a favorite photo and please forgive me for being so behind in reading other blogs. I’m finding it hard lately to keep up with everything, but I’m trying. Hopefully this week things will slow down a bit.

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

June 19, 2023 by Bridgette

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.

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

August 22, 2022 by Bridgette

Photography: Neighborhood Sunrise

“The morning steals upon the night, Melting the darkness.” -William Shakespeare

A gorgeous friend of mine writes and talks a lot about joy—seeking it out, the importance of recognizing it, and fighting for it even when it feels ridiculous. She inspires me all the time and this morning I did something purely for the joy of it. I hiked to a park by my house with my camera to capture the sunrise. It felt luxurious and I basked in the beauty of the world for an entire hour alone.

My mother-in-law has entered hospice care within the home of my kind, caring, and incredibly giving sister-in-law. This time in our lives is hard. Watching a woman of immeasurable strength and love fade before all our eyes is beyond difficult. While I don’t know what this next part looks like, I do know that even within these hard moments we can find gratitude and even joy.