Flutter

this place is trouble waitingthe light hangs so weakly on to the quiet 
drag myself in a long line in a long linein a lonely line 
and i jealously want the ocean's deep nerve
i am a red flame hanging low to be close to it 
hanging low to be close to you
from Songs: Ohia's "The Ocean's Nerves", lyrics Jason Molina

This is a photo of a piece of sea fan from my mom's marine specimen collection. Her collection is pretty extensive and I hope to keep taking photos of it. My husband said this was like a natural Rorschach. What do you see? 

Tonight we fly

‘Dear little Swallow,’ said the Prince, ‘you tell me of marvelous things, but more marvelous than anything is the suffering of men and of women. There is no mystery so great as misery. Fly over my city, little Swallow, and tell me what you see there.’ So the Swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at the gates... (excerpt from "The Happy Prince" by Oscar Wilde)

"The Happy Prince" is one of the first stories that I remember falling in love with. My mom had a lovingly-tattered illustrated copy of Oscar Wilde short stories. I used to ask for them as bedtime stories until I could read them on my own. The story of the sparrow, the statue of a prince and his endless concern for others is the story that stays with me the most. It is a story of friendship, sacrifice and selflessness that I still can't read without getting a lump in my throat. The Literature Network has the whole story right here

Sometimes

At times I see you
You silver rider
Sometimes your voice is not enough
Your face in windows
Outside forever
Nobody dreamed you'd save the world

The march is over
The great destroyer
She passes through you like a knife
Oh take me with you
You silver rider
Sometimes your voice is not enough

"Silver Rider" by Low

Two of my favorite things about photography are the opportunity for storytelling and the different interpretations that viewers bring. This image has a specific meaning to me, but that's between me and the twister. Is he returning home from far away or preparing to leave somewhere he's been far too long? Is he a hero facing his fears or a coward running from something unbearable? Maybe he's ready to be swept away. Perhaps it's just a dream.

I want to extend my thanks to Jo of Desire to Inspire for her post about me today on her incredible design blog!

Chambered nautilus

Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
As the swift seasons roll!
Leave thy low-vaulted past!
Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
Till thou at length art free,
Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!

From "The Chambered Nautilus", Oliver Wendell Homes (1809-1894) 

The Crossing

"When I'm at the pearly gates

This'll be on my videotape 
my videotape 
When Mephistopholis is just beneath 
And he's reaching up to grab me
This is one for the good days 
And I have it all here 
In red blue green 
Red blue green"from "Videotape" by Radiohead

The photo above is the second image I made in my ongoing series featuring miniatures figures. A pretty determined looking man crossing through a field in the dark - I wanted to leave it up to the viewer to imagine where he might be headed.

When posting photos on Flickr I frequently pair them with song lyrics, poetry or prose. I'm very inspired by music and literature and like adding the extra narrative to photos. I've been a Radiohead fan since the early 90's and have enthusiastically followed the band through their sweeping changes. While I enjoy their most recent release in its entirety, "Videotape" is the track that sticks in my head. The simple yet haunting melody is enough to suck me in but it's the lyrics that really grab me. I've heard several interpretations of what the song might mean from the hopeful to the morose. I like to think it's about holding tight to the memory of a perfect day, the immeasurable value of that special person who keeps you balanced, and that holding onto that feeling can strip away our earthly fears, if only for a moment. "You are my centre when I spin away."

Ice Swimming

For my birthday late last year I got a macro lens, the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro. I purchased some HO scale train model figures to practice focusing at a short distance - this diver is approximately one inch tall. I made the "iceberg" in a plastic container in the freezer. I had so much fun creating this little scene that I'm working on a series of images with miniature figures in dreamlike settings.

( )

)when what hugs stopping earth than silent is
more silent than more than much more is or
total sun oceaning than any this
tear jumping from each most least eye of star
and without was if minus and shall be
immeasurable happenless unnow
shuts more than open could that every tree
or than all life more death begins to grow
end's ending then these dolls of joy and grief
these recent memories of future dream
these perhaps who have lost their shadows if
which did not do the losing spectres mime
until out of merely not nothing comes
only one snowflake(and we speak our names
ee cummings