life's passing seasons: an organic still life

a quick assemblage

of some

organic treasures

I found in a box

right in my own studio:

sea shells

gathered on a Scottish beach

+

a sprig of dried heather

from the southwest coast of Ireland

+

an old wooden bowl I got

on eBay awhile back

...

reminiscent

perhaps

of

some

past

stage of life

...

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours.

- Irish toast -

***

Notes:

CAMERA

Here is what I started with:

Canon EOS 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Manual Mode

no tripod

ISO 3200

f/4.5 1/160 sec

afternoon light

LIGHTROOM

I tried a couple different crops

to make the most of the pensive white space;

I wanted to de-saturate and cool the color a bit

so I played A LOT in the Develop Module

with HSL and Tone Curve panels

and fine-tuned Kim's Melancholy preset.

PHOTOSHOP

Lots of experimenting

with

textures, layers, layer masks

and adjustment layers

to get the feel

just right.

and with Kim's help

I've figured out how to

get my drawings

into my blog!

(I'll save that for another post)

***

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (week 18)

Friday Finds

Texture Tuesday

pink ribbon warrior: a still-life portrait

war·rior

noun, often attributive

\ˈwȯr-yər, ˈwȯr-ē-ər, ˈwär-ē- also ˈwär-yər\

a person engaged in some struggle or conflict 

 This week's Be Still 52 challenge:

create a

'still-life family portrait'

Today I pay tribute to

my late sister

Lissa

a

'pink ribbon warrior'

in the truest sense.

Back in 1995, when Lissa was diagnosed at age 40 with Stage 2 breast cancer

I embroidered this pink sun hat for her to wear.

Lissa endured surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

She won her battle with breast cancer.

Two years later

she succumbed to Leukemia -

a result of her chemotherapy treatment.

She won the battle

but lost the war.

I still have her day planner

with her last entries from 1997

in her own handwriting.

***

I still pray for understanding 17 years later, asking God the unanswerable question: Why? Why, dear Lord, did you take this young, brilliant scientist in the prime of her life, who obviously had so much more to give? (Lissa earned a PhD in Anatomy, had herself done cancer research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute before discovering her true calling as a teacher: of anatomy to medical and dental students, then biology to community college students.) Why did the very science that she loved fail her? For what purpose?

While not exactly getting an answer to this prayer, I have come to be at peace with it. You see, in 2006, I was diagnosed with Stage 0 LCIS. Because of my sister's medical history, I got a 'front row seat': extra-close scrutiny from that point forward, including treatment from Lissa's own oncologist, a simple biopsy, plus five years of hormone therapy, and continued vigilance with yearly mammograms. I've been free and clear for eight years. Easy.

Last month my annual routine mammogram revealed Stage 0 DCIS. You might say things are dialed up a notch this time. This time I was tested for the BRCA gene (negative, thank God), and my MRI was clean. It was recommended that I meet with a plastic surgeon 'so I could make an informed decision' (if you know what I mean...YIKES!). Well, we finally decided on a simple lumpectomy, which is scheduled for early next week. My doctor says I might not need radiation...just more hormone therapy and mammograms every six months for awhile...because we caught it early. Easy...again.

In no way do I consider myself a 'pink ribbon warrior.' My path has been easy because Lissa's was not. If not for her diagnosis in 1995, I myself might not have been as vigilant with yearly mammograms - which have since twice averted a much more serious diagnosis later on.

Lissa was both a pragmatic scientist and a devout Catholic. I firmly believe that she would see the good in this for her little sister - from both perspectives.

***

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,

who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

"Notice that the verse doesn’t say God causes evil and suffering, just that he promises to cause good to emerge. And notice that the verse doesn’t say we all will see immediately or even in this life how God has caused good to emerge from a bad circumstance. Remember, we only see things dimly in this world. And notice that God doesn’t make this promise to everyone. He makes the solemn pledge that he will take the bad circumstances that befall us and cause good to emerge if we’re committed to following Him."
Lee Strobel - Why Does God Allow Tragedy and Suffering?

Notes:

CAMERA

Canon EOS 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Manual Mode

Aperture range: f/5.0 to 6.3

Early morning 

in my

basement studio

with Lillian.

I kept her laser-light cat toy handy

'cause she just seems to know

when I'm ready to

press the shutter button.

Both hand-held and flash

were out of the question

with the available lighting
and subtle shadow-play I wanted,

so I improvised

to get a vertical shot from ground level.

Resting the lens on fabric

probably interfered with its focusing function:

out of over 30 shots,

only one was 'tack sharp'

even though I used the

10 second shutter delay. 

After that first photo session

hauling out the tripod

suddenly seemed to be

not such a bother!

LIGHTROOM

I am still working my way through

Kim's 31 Days of Lightroom class,

especially Custom Layouts

and Snapshots

at my own pace.

I love auditioning and fine-tuning

presets...I finally settled on

kk_breathe

for all photos.

PHOTOSHOP

Just this texturizing:

***

Linking up with

Be Still 52 (Week 17)

Texture Tuesday

a still moment: after the rain

It's amazing what you can find
when you step outside
and wander around
your yard
after
a
summer rain.

 I ended up 'rescuing' this sweet aspen leaf

from our driveway

so I could draw it later

(and I couldn't bear the thought

of backing over it

with my van)

 standing in the shelter

of a giant old blue spruce

looking out

toward the

late afternoon light

I truly do love

our aspens...

a beauty both

majestic

and

delicate

***

Notes:

CAMERA

Canon EOS 6D

Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 lens

Manual Mode

What better way to practice

focus and depth of field techniques

than with

tiny raindrops?

LIGHTROOM

Lots of fun

experimenting

with the

Develop Module

Presets (kk_gentle)

Snapshots

and

Print Module

as I follow along

in

Kim's

31 Days of Lightroom

PHOTOSHOP

Yeah, I know it would have been simpler

to mask off the textures

with a wider brush,

but I really wanted to emphasize

the water drops

***

Let My teaching fall like rain

and My words descend like dew,

like showers on new grass,

like abundant rain

on tender plants.

Deuteronomy 32:2

***

Linking up with
Be Still 52 (Week 15)
Friday Finds
Texture Tuesday

P.S.

If you get a chance, do sign up for

Kim Manley Ort's E-course

Adventures in Seeing

or at the very least

subscribe to her blog.