Arcade Fire - Headlights Look Like Diamonds

My friend Lauren turned me onto this song, and I keep coming back to it.
Have a lovely weekend, friends!

A darkness shining in brightness which brightness could not comprehend ...

It's a line from James Joyce's Ulysses, and it's always stuck with me. Buried in a myriad of wandering thoughts, much like the entire book, it almost pretends to be unimportant, forgettable. But it isn't forgettable. You know what it means, even if you can't better articulate the feeling it is trying to convey. You have known such moments in your life that have fit these words perfectly. A darkness shining in brightness which brightness could not comprehend ...

A Theory

My friend Jane and I were talking the other day about starting a new photography group with the idea of shooting with a particular concept or theory in mind. The initial idea was to shoot with a song (or songs) in our heads, with the end result being a collaborative book. Choose a song and try to think, "what does it look like?" I think this is such a rich idea, but I started thinking about more possible themes, and more books. What it would look like if we chose a theme like stillness, bliss or mornings? There are so many ideas we could play with. Maybe 'song' could be just one book. What do you think?

I have songs for each of these pictures. Can you come up with any?

Spring, in Earnest

It was unseasonably warm in Central Ohio yesterday, giving us the opportunity to make serious headway in cleaning out our gardens and doing a little wandering. My weeping cherry just exploded with blossoms in one day, and today's rain washed all the blossoms to the ground. Ah well, you take the good with the bad and look forward to many warm days ahead. After such a long winter, sleeping with the windows open feels like some magical, unreal dream. It's like going from a black and white television to a color one ... you can't help but be mesmerized.

White Friday

Pictures and words each have powers all their own, each diifferent. They conjure memories and cause us to reflect on things both conceptual and corporeal.

The bottom picture is of one lilly among many that I bought for my husband's surprise birthday party last week. It's brought me immense pleasure that my house has smelled like lillies all week. This image will always remind me of the kind friendships, good food, and warm laughter that surrounded my husband on this special day. A gift I'll never forget.

Purple Thursday

Thursday feels purple, don't you think? Lavender, eggplant, periwinkle, violet ... whatever you call it, it manages to come off as both elegant and quirky at the same time. This is for my friend, David, who's current favorite color is purple.

Monday and Tuesday

Since I didn't post Green Monday and Yellow Tuesday shots, I'd thought I'd share two now. I simply cannot wait to plant my herbs this year!

Pink Wednesday

I've been doing Spring Colors Week here, and thought I'd post some Pink Wednesday pictures for you.  The top one I shot at a banquet hall when I was waiting to do a group photo of a work team. The previous day, the banquet hall held a funeral celebration of sorts. I do not know who passed, but I thought the lonely, abandoned rose was poignant in its context. It reminds me of this song.

Even More HDR

Before I was married, my next door neighbor was this wonderful man named Ted.  We still enjoy a fond friendship, even if much of it takes place over email. Today, after browsing through my entire Flickr photostream, he sent me this magnificent poem about my photography. Isn't it amazing when you
meet people who really get it?

Buildings and plants
and textures and tiles
and vines all twine
in my mind
along with city walls
bricked and mortared
with crumbled signage
of ages past
and cusps of
rusted locks and colored rocks
enmeshed in lichens
and mosses
and bursting plants and pods
thrust upwards and out to the light.

~ Edward Beardshear