Pictures of a Thousand Stories

Gideon's Rose

This is the rose I've been looking for ever since I first saw All That Jazz.

In one scene, a hospitalized Joe Gideon is delirious-dreaming, flirting with the Angel of Death, the beautiful Angelique. He tells her:

"Nothing I ever do is good enough. It's not beautiful enough, it's not funny enough, it's not deep enough, it's not anything enough. Now, when I see a rose, that's perfect. I mean, that's perfect! I want to look up to God and say 'How the hell did you do that? And why the hell can't I do that?' "

I've carried this line with me for years. Always on the lookout for Joe Gideon's perfect rose.

I don't nurture Joe's wish to be able to "do that." Instead, my craving is for the glancing, ephemeral moments of recognition. I live for that glimpse when my breath catches and my heart skips a beat. Those are the moments when God's Communication/Goddess's Love actually reach me and I See.

And it is those glimpses that I hope to share through these pictures.

By the way, there's a common mis-perception that has ruined many a life. Truth is, Flawless is a lousy substitute for Perfect. In fact, they're not even related. Just sayin'.

This Holiday Season I wish you many precious moments of Perfection, be they of a rose, a dew drop, a poem, a secret chord, a loved one's smile, or a child's laughter. Namaste.

And please, please Love one another. Please.

Nice Hiding Places #9 - Above, Below

I forgot all about this picture. Check out the birds on the fence - right along the bottom edge of the picture. I don't think they're real but I can ask our host that evening, the picture is from in front of his place in eastern Ontario. 

It was a wonderful evening with great food and great conversation, lots of cats feeling cuddly in front of a fireplace, and some wonderful wonderful nooks and crannies and breathtaking pictures within twenty steps of the front door. This was one of them. It has a feeling of safety and security, of being sheltered and provided for.

Nice Hiding Places #9 - Above, Below

What Others Say

~ by K.P. Henley
 

As a photographer, Lauren has an amazing eye. Everywhere she travels she brings a mini camera, and to that camera she attributes the depth and breadth of her photography.

But don’t let her fool you; it is in fact her magic eye which sees the story each time she blinks, the weird and wonderful in the everyday world. The story may be an enigmatic one, in fact sometimes the viewer has a choice of stories, and a different one emerges each time your eye falls on a picture. Her imagery reflects the poems she has written and read, the drawings she has penned, and the music she has loved as well.
 
She titled her last exhibition The Paradox of Seeing. Martyn Lee, her curator, remarks: “This suggests to me ambiguity, significance, maybe symbolism, tension-harmony between culture and nature, deeper forces underlying our world. In short, photographs that are pregnant with meaning, even if the viewer doesn’t know what that meaning might be; it’s simply the hint of something deeper and more profound than the basic simplicity of her images.”  

Her vision, I think, could be attributed to the multiplicity of cultures that she has absorbed in her peripatetic life. Not just the ethnic or geographic ones, Czech, American, Jewish, Hawaiian, Californian, Canadian, urban, rural, mountain, etc.  There is also the intellectual culture, the artist’s culture, “geek” culture, hippie culture, carnie culture, street culture, various musical cultures, a broad range of natural and holistic medical apperceptions, the culture of the entrepreneur and the networker, and more and more and more. 

But who is she? Lauren is hard to describe. Eccentric, empathetic, eclectic. There is a magic about her, strangers smile at her, dogs piddle at her feet and to children (young and old) she is something of a Pied Piper. She makes you believe in rainbows, if not in fairies and tree goddesses. But the best way to learn her is to look through her eyes at the photos she presents here.

 

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~ by Mary-Jane Irwin

What I love about yours is the simplicity and the intimacy. You have an eye for the obscure and have a way of turning the banal into something interesting and pleasing. You learn to view the world more intimately through the lens, I feel, and your eye tends to train in on things that others mostly just don't see. Go for more walks :)

 

About This Place

I go for a lot of walks. Sometimes a scene, or a shadow, or a flower or a tree calls out to me. I am being asked to stop, to notice, to reflect, to take note.

These are stories that want to be seen. I don't always know all of the story, they're ephemeral, always changing. But they'll speak to your heart, tell you of the places you have been, places you have yet to discover, and they'll leave you feeling like a slightly better person.

On your right is where I'll be posting my photo albums. I hope you enjoy their stories.

I will be adding regularly, so you'll want to check back every few days. As soon as I figure out how, I'll be able to let you know whenever I update or add an album. Meanwhile, make a note to come back this same time next week.

I love hearing the stories my pictures bring you. You can leave a short note in the shoutbox on the right, or leave me comments. I promise I read each and every one. And to the best of my ability I respond to them all.

Many Thanks for being a part of my storytelling.