Fallen Beauty

Canon 5D Mark ll, 100 2.8 macro, 3.2 aperture, 1/250 shutter 250 ISO

Kaleisocsope ~ “a continually changing pattern of shapes and colors.”  (Dictionary.com)  

Autumn is upon us in full glory here in Georgia. It is a feast for the senses. The brilliant colors seem to change in shapes and patterns right in front of my eyes. It is like being in the very center of a kaleidoscope. The breezes blow, and the colors begin their playful dance again. Another cold autumn night and the Crepe Myrtles are an even more delicious shade of red. Even the fallen leaves add to the shifting color cast, as they turn over and shine like stained glass in the sun.

It is glorious to behold.

As I have looked over the many blogs of this 365 Project I am amazed at the beauty in the seasons and I am grateful that I have been privileged to capture them and share them here. I am moved when I look back at the snow that created what looked like a glimmering lake on my neighbor’s pasture. I am taken back to that time and I can remember how I felt then as I knelt next to the fence line, the cold burning into my knees and the snow fogging up my lens. It was wonderful. I felt alive and part of what God was doing on the earth and in my heart.  I am coming to the last part of my project and moving into the colder season again. I marvel at the thought. How time has flown!  I am incredibly grateful that I have been able to account for every glorious and precious day here on this blog in some small way.

But I digress. For now I will focus on the gorgeous Autumn we are now having today in Georgia. Today. I have marked it, and I am counting my blessings on this day.

Psalm 90:12 ~”Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”

Shimmer and Shine

Singing to Me

Stained Glass Landscape

Crepe Myrtle Reds

Hickory Golds

Sugart Maple Crimson

Delicious Light

Our Drive in Autumn

Sweet Cowboy in Autumn Light

Waiting For You

Handful of Hope

Canon 5D Mark ll, 100mm 2.8 macro, 3.2 aperture, 1/160 shutter, 160 ISO

When life falls apart and away like leaves in the frigid wind, do not despair. His plan, his life for you is far from over. There is hope. He has left it for you like a trail back to Him. A beacon in the impending darkness. It hangs in clusters in the branches above your head, and falls to the ground for you to gather. It is the seed for spring’s glory, for life that is waiting, huddled deep in brilliant, secret places.

You may gather it by the handful, and place it in hungry pockets to save for the barren nights. It flutters up colorful around your feet, reminding you that hope is eternal, and the One who sows it ever-loving and compassionate. He knows the pain of grief, the sadness of loss, and the singular feeling of loneliness. Your God is not one so far removed from you that He does not know. He has walked this fallen earth, worn our flesh, and carried our burdens.

With a scarlet cord He has woven us into His own heart. You can trust in the hope He offers, and find traces of it everywhere, if you but open your eyes.

Psalm 62:5 ~”Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.”

Clusters of Hope

Colors at Our Feet

Eternal Reminder

Whispers of Encouragement

For Next Year

Romans 5:5 ~ “And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Beauty in the Extremes

Canon 5D Mark ll, 50 1.2L, 2.0 aperture, 1/500 shutter, 100 ISO

Ceasing efforts to sustain their outward garb, hunkering down to brave winter’s frozen edges, the plants withdraw their greens. And as the middle ground fades, the extremes begin to shine. Having waited through spring and summer beneath blankets of green, the other colors now take center stage drawing every eye to their fleeting but stunning glory. Autumn will now have her say as all of creation dons her brightest and best. She sings an aria of reds, yellows, oranges and purples as her audience draws in a collective breath of astonishment and delight. Like a burning ember, she is brilliant, moving swiftly from the inside out until she reaches the edges of her canvas. Passion. Glory. Brilliance.

This is Autumn.

Autumn Grass

Ecclesiastes 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.”

Reds, Yellows, Oranges and Purples

Edges of the Canvas

Here  it is. My prize. This is what I traded a glorious sunset for. A lamp. Oh how the metaphors are begging to be told even before I begin the tale!

I cried myself to sleep last night. So silly, I thought. But when I got up this morning and pondered the string of events that occurred the night before, not silly. No not at all.

Yesterday, around 3:30 or so, I looked at the sky and knew in my heart that there would be a beautiful sunset that night. Not just any sunset. A glorious one. I felt it so keenly that I tweeted it to the world. I was at a doctor appointment over an hour from my home, and hoped I would see it on my way back. And yet, my spirit was growing agitated. There was a store on that side of town that I wanted to visit, and I knew traffic would be bad at 4:00  so I planned to stop in there until the traffic receded. When I left the appointment, I saw the clouds gathering as if being pulled like a blanket into the horizon. More agitation. I got into my car and drove to the store. I kid you not, the whole way from the parking lot into the doors of the store I felt a tangible tug of war going on inside me. “Should I just drive to a higher place and see the sunset? I do have my camera with me.” “No, who knows if there really will be any fireworks, and besides, I need a new lamp, and I never get over here.” On and on it went. Even after I got inside while circling the lamps I found myself peering out the store windows. I finally gave up as it began to get dark outside, and continued my shopping, but the irritation would not go away.

It was about that time that Chris called and asked me to dinner. I felt frustrated, but agreed to fight the traffic, (which was still there), and meet him for a date. (He later told me he was staring into a beautiful sunset at work when he called me.) I put my lamp in the cart and checked out. I felt disappointed.

Before I got on the road  I checked my twitter account and saw that one of my sweet friends had read my tweet about a beautiful sunset and sent me an iphone snapshot of it. My heart sank. It was glorious! And on a phone photo! I began to cry. “Wow”, I thought to myself.” I am really tired or hormonal or just plain silly.” It seemed so trivial, but felt so profound.

Chris and I had fun laughing together over dinner, but as I left the restaurant, I felt the same sadness return. Again and again I dismissed it. Until I went to bed. I opened my computer and saw a much larger photo of what she had taken. The tears came again. Not the hard-cry tears. The soft, hot tears that slip down cheeks, with one not yet gone before another follows it’s trail. The tears of grief. I felt I had ignored the voice of my God. He had told me something. Just for me. He had given me a gift, and I had trivialized it. And now, it was gone. Forever. I was not grieving about missing the gift of the sunset at all, but for not listening to the voice of my Father. This hurt the worst of all. I had been asking, begging even, for Him to speak to me this week in particular. This is how He did it. I went my own way. I missed a sunset and bought a lamp instead. Ouch. May I never do it again. Never.

This chain of events, though seemingly insignificant, keenly divided the voices I heard inside of me. I had chosen the wrong one.

Voice A :  There will be a beautiful sunset tonight. Go and enjoy it. Find a place and soak it in. Photograph it if you wish.

Voice B :  (much more verbose) There may not even be a sunset tonight. Who says that is right? You might miss going to that store and you will get into traffic if you get back on the road. There are a million sunsets anyway! What if you wait for one and it doesn’t show up? Then what? Means you don’t know anything and you wasted your time. Just go get what you need.

Voice B will be shunned if possible from here on.

I have also learned some valuable lessons in this one event:

• Never forsake a sunset for a lamp. This pretty much says it. To think that I would forsake a piece of eternity and glory for a man-made light that I can plug into my controlled environment is ridiculous. And yet I have, and I did.
• Do it now! If you see the glory, the light and the beauty, chase it now! There will always be a world full of voices and agendas telling you to keep moving. Run to the highest point and find the shot!
• Listen You never know when the King of Glory will speak to you.

Thankfully, I am learning. Below are some images I captured last Saturday when Chris and I took a day to be together at Amicalola Falls State Park.  I tried to listen that day. I hope He will speak to me again soon.

We had so much fun shooting the Riley Family last week when the Sugar Maples were at their glorious peak in the season. Looks like fairy princesses were at their peak as well, as we stumbled upon a beautiful one with a lolliop as twilight began to settle in. What a beautiful day for a family shoot. I think they will have some wonderful memories from this season in their lives together as a family when they look at these photos.

Thanks for trusting me with your magical memories, Riley Family. Much Love!

This is my sister’s family. Aren’t they lovely? As I was putting together a book for her today, I found myself wanting to blog these photos again. So much has changed since we took the time to photograph her beautiful and fun family. Her older two are now in colleges  far away from home and her youngest is in his senior year. Things can change so quickly in such a short amount of time. I am so glad we took a lovely fall afternoon to capture them all together.

Aren’t they wonderful?