Dream - Snow - Puzzle

Against my new year resolution ‘simplicity’, somehow I have already created a list of tasks and events to do for 2014. I certainly don’t live like a retiree. I feel no constraint because I do not need to go outside the house to work every day. But days are so short that I am constantly playing catch-up. I think I have finally come to a conclusion, it is my nature that I am fighting against, nothing else.   I cannot sit in front of TV without doing the second or the third thing. I either do ironing, folding the clothes, or cooking. If nothing else, I would try to organize something in my sitting area... endless.  I know the solution is to get out of the house.

Do one thing at a time.  This idea has not come across my mind much and certainly never embossed on me . Or if it did, it would vanish in 5 minutes. I have three photo books that I planned to finish by end of this month.  I thought I have one month, but due to an unexpected trip coming up towards the end of the month, I have to hustle them up now.  I am simply not used to procrastination. I would rather accomplish my goal earlier, not later.  So I spent new year weekend plowing through thousands of photos till past midnight, and, the pressure slipped into my dream…..

There was the checker board. Some of them are more visible than the other. My eyes did not see straight across, I viewed them from diagonal angle. It is easier to take short cuts and straight path, but I tend to choose winding roads. I seemed to have a plan and have all checkers placed, but my destination is cluttered and blurry. My goal post is far away and undefined.  My brain is stuffed, I cannot sort it out and I wandered into never never land…. I actually woke up with a headache and the whole room was spinning in front of me. I could not stand up. I had to lie down to balance myself. An exchange for a few late nights, I think.

I have little pressure wanting to keep up with my project, but it is not substantial enough to put me down. It is this drastic cold weather that kept me inside the house. I have only out walking twice this week. Temperature is low and it is foggy most of the time.  When road is icy early in the morning, I was afraid to drive down the hill to hit couple spots that I had in mind for foggy shots. Then couple hours later, the road is drier and so the fog gets thinner and soon disappeared. Here goes the ambiance. My neighborhood is hilly, but it does not have the layers of the timberlines, more like this one that I took last year. Fog is beautiful among green trees and it is even more amazing when it dwelled among white snow.  Honestly, as cold as I have experienced this year, I don’t mind to see more snow.  We don’t need lower temperature to have snow, what we need is more moisture to generate snow and make all skiers happy and so am I.

Just before last snow hit, we purposely filled up all the feeders. I was so happy to see many birds come around, not for my photography, but for them to have enough food in winter while the ground was covered with snow. All the birds are literally homeless though they are provided and fed by nature.  Looking at this lonely one, I feel he was asking me, "can I take a shelter at your house, even just overnight"?  I would love to host another bird overnight like we did for Baby Jay (B.J. Story) whom we missed so much.

This last snow sticks to the ground for about a week. No getting around by car, I took a walk nearby and ran into this 'phenomenon'. There were some kind of light beaming from the horizon (jet streams?), there was loose cloud and floating fog, there was sun reflection on my camera lens. Other than that, I cannot explain anything. I left the picture as is, no touch-up and hopefully, someone can give me some education on this.

Note:

I really had the messy dream resembles what I described.  But the image was taken in my recent walk at the park prior when I was testing a new lens that I got for Christmas.  For some reason, I was much attracted to the image and have looked at it repeatedly. Later when I had that dream, I have finally got my answer.

Life is good and life is full of surprises. Photography has become an indispensable part of my life and through it, so my discovery journey continues.

       

What next? after dream come true....

Being the last child of the family, I am certainly not the spoiled nor the dependent. The oldest child in the family, my sister, is old enough to be my mother and most of the time, I lived under the jurisdication of the older siblings who liked to tell me what to do. Generally speaking, I was obedient but it only meant that my rebellious cell had yet matured and I was brought up to show respect to the older.

I have always wanting to be a journalist, but I did not dare to enter that as my first choice for college. I did what would please my parents, became an English major.  It was glamorous in my days (in my hometown) to be an English secretary fresh out of school or a flight stewardess who proudly spoke English in the air.  How things have changed, and my dreams have been crashed many times.

Up to this point, I am barely close to do what I want to do in my life, but gradually I got to do a few things that were just my dreams, big or small. I wonder what’s next when one dream becomes true, dream the next dream? When my life spam is going downhill and I still keep building my dreams uphill? I think the answer is YES! Dreams are timeless.

Among all pets, I only like birds. On my usual walk path, I heard this beautiful and crisp sound many times, but I could not figure out the owner of the voice. How can I miss this bird? I thought I am fully aware of the birds dwelling in our neighborhood. Maybe it is one of the birds I’ve known but I never heard their voice. Who are you, bird (it sounded like from one single bird)? I have heard you for months, show up and introduce yourself. Otherwise, I am going crazy. 

A flock of sparrows flew for lives when one day I suddenly decided to walk a different path  and they were apparently shocked by my unusual presence. Just sparrows, sparrows have been around since I was a child, no big deal. But, this bird landed on the brush by me, just 2 feet away and IT started to sing. OMG, can you believe it? Listen to its voice. This is exactly what I have been hearing for months. A little dream of mine just came true.  It is the golden-crowned sparrow. Go to the link below and click the Voice.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/GOLDEN-CROWNED_SPARROW/id

Scandinavia was only a geography term to me for more than six decades. It is not a common tourist destination, but I wanted to be there and this desire was getting stronger. My sister Grace has travelled around the world in the last 6-7 years and Scandinavia is one of the very few places she has not been. So, we made the trip and made my dream come true.

I love Norway. Though I could not take quality shots from our tour bus, I have since gone over the images tirelessly. I wish Norway is not so expensive and Oregon has fjords to enhance its beautiful nature. 

In the past, I have often dragged about the thought of getting on a cruise. I thought I would rust my brain staring at water and  feel   bound and restricted in a confined area. Endless food supply and dress-up formal nights are not temptation for me. But I was obsessed with this image I took.

This is exactly what’s missing in major part of my life. I always have a full schedule and I am always looking to do something. Confined in the ship, I was forced to nap and dream a few day dream.

So many photographers shoot Space Needle. I am gaining interest to do night shots, but Seattle is not an easy destination for me, and I had no clue where to find a right spot for the shot.  Thanks to my husband who maintained his ultimate patience while trying to find me this spot in Seattle. Getting around in Seattle and Los Angeles is surely a task. Bottom line is, I got my first night shot of Space Needle. It is nothing spectacular, but I did it. It is the thrill of dream-come-true that makes me excited like a little child.

By the time when you read this article, I am on my way to another journey, a trip that has been overdue and I wanted to do it since long time ago. I expect lots of photography opportunities if time permits, and I will surely share some with you.

 

I captured this airplane in night sky on the way back from Seattle.  I only had my 200mm in hand.  The jet showed up so suddenly, I was caught unprepared. Not a good shot, but it happens to well describe my current status: I am taking a long distance night flight crossing Pacific Ocean. I publish this post from my phone before I board the plane.

I am aiming for more journeys and therefore more discoveries, dream more dream, and make dreams come true.