Tag Archives for horse

The Camino to Santiago de Compostela and Thich Nhat Hahn…..

Horse stands on the windy ridge of the Pryenees Mountains

Horse stands on the windy ridge of the Pryenees Mountains 

“The mind can go in a thousand directions. But on this beautiful path, I walk in peace.  With each step a cool wind blows. With each step a flower blooms.”  Thich Nhat Hanh 

I have been reading poetry by Thich Nhat Hanh and it often reminds me of the quiet days of walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. My mind could wander in a thousand directions, but it wasn’t until I focused my thoughts on the path before me, on the beauty around me that I truly began to enjoy the walk.  But if I wasn’t in the present moment I could walk and not see a thing, not remember the road I walked.

While on the Camino I learned that I had to stay conscous, I need to be thinking of what is in front of me, how it was shaped by the light, I and to think the story I wanted to tell, if I didn’t I was just getting snap shots or passing events. But it wasn’t work, I somehow managed to make it sound like work, but it wasn’t, it make the Camino, our journey, more enjoyable, more memorable.

This is a bigger problem for me at home, driving to work, thinking about all the things I have to do that day, and before I know it I am at the office, and I don’t remember the trip, what did I miss?  Did I miss waving to a friend, or the beauty of the sunrise.  Or while at work, getting caught up in the job, the chaos, going through the motions, and not really being engaged.

How about you, are you on a beautiful path, is your life blooming before you, are you finding small nugets of joy in your day/chaos?

 

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Remembering our Camino, our journey to Santiago de Compostella

Pyrenees Pony, Orisson France, Camino de Santiago

We are home now, after 7 weeks on the road and it is time to sort, keyword, and process the many photos taken during our time on the camino route from Saint Jean Pied de Port France to Santiago de Compostella Spain.  As we left Orisson the sun was just coming up, and as we walked towards Roncesvalles one of our fellow travellers that day commented that at the rate I was going I would never make it. Stopping as often as I did for one more picture, I was not making great time on the road.  Here the beautiful pony was standing watching the pilgrims pass by.

During October 2012 17,790 pilgrims were received in the Pilgrim’s office in Santiago Spain. Bill and I were among the 20.26% who travelled from St. Jean Pied de Port France, and two of the 631 Canadians to completed the camino. The Pilgrim’s office provides up to date statistics and you might find it interesting to see the who is travelling the camino.

I it is going to be both challenging and interesting to go back through the many photos and notes taken during our walk and hopefully build a complete portfolio. For this images I processed in Nik Silver Effects Pro 2, then reducing the opacity of the layer by 15% I was able to bring in just a hint of the colour that was in the original images. I think it adds a bit of depth, let me know what you think.

Curious George, A Pretty Grey Pony from Bruckless Donegal, Ireland

We meet Curious George when we visited Ireland a couple of years ago.  A beautiful grey pony that visited with us every morning, poking his nose over the fence to see if we had anything to feed him!  I have been playing with textures and grain on photos.  Textures from Kim Klassen’s Cafe, she has several wonderful collections, and e-courses.

I have several projects I want to work on, just finding myself pulled in several directions and a little disorganized to get any shooting in this week! I am aim for the weekend with my camera! Below are to previous images/posts that were processed using textures from Kim Klassen’s collection. I love her work, and her blog.

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Grand Torino in Black and White

Carly’s colt, Grand Torino, we got togethere in the summer to do photos.  I have been challenging myself to see things a little differently – trying a square format for some photos, and a lot more black and white images. On this photo we know the colt is with her mother, with the square format the mom takes on the role as background, with the standard ratio, the feelilng is quite different.

Carly’s friends, Keira and Reno

Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms –                                                                                                                                                                            George Eliot

I am still working on Carly’s photos, unfortunately there is only so much time in a day. It is wonderful to have these lovely animals to look at, and photos to post, as I try to keep up with the wordpress post a day challenge!

I used Flora Bella actions to give the image a warm, slightly aged look. They have great actions, on their blog they use mostly children photos for subjects, but I find they work well in a numer of different occassions and subjects.  They are quick to apply, and easy to use, in that the group can be opened and each layer viewed,  masks can be applied to any or all layers to enhance or modify the affect and personalized for the image I am working on.

At this point I am trying to decide if I should clone out the purple rope, and your thought would be appreciated. It would be a lot of work, but I think it would be worth it.

Carly and Grand Torino

The horse is God’s gift to man. 
                                                                                                                                              Arabian Proverb

Carly and her colt.  The colts official name is Grand Torino, but known to family and friends as Reno. Reno is friendly and a nibbler, and he likes his treats.  If I stood in one spot for too long he would come over to see if I had treats, or something to nibble on at least!