THE PENGUINS - EARTH ANGEL

FLICKR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK

homage, originally uploaded by smoocherz1.

Shades of Grey:

That is what moods are about for me. Love , hate, desire, greed, lust, despair, exultation, contemplation, polarization, exaggeration ....get a big cauldron, add a pinch of this, a dash of that, stir well. This can be served hot or cold, fried or boiled, maybe a touch of soul sauce for flavor and serve in generous portions. Whatever you do, do not kep it all for yourself, share your moods with the world.

"We should live simply so that others can simply live". Dr Trudy Thomas, originally uploaded by ilsebatten.

I live in a very beautiful country, South Africa, surrounded by an extraordinary and bountiful nature, and a people who are characterised by their great hearts. Despite this there are many, a great number of these being children, who need our love and concern. In my area there is a wonderful network of caring people who work for an organisation called 'Loaves and Fishes' who have taken such children under their wing. These children are affected by poverty, violence and AIDS. Life is not easy for them. They don't smile that often. I spent a brief morning at their creche and this little girl just stole my heart. I think the photograph speaks for itself.

FLICKR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK Wednesday, December 12, 200712, 2007

"It's What's Inside That Matters" is one of my personal favorites, from my Holy Cross Abbey set. It's straight out of the camera (with a vignette applied to enhance the reflections), which is rare for me, and I was thrilled to have captured the light from inside the Abbey while I was shooting the exterior of the Abbey. It was one of those times when I thought "Wow. I cannot believe how absolutely beautiful that is."

The day trip to the Holy Cross Abbey in Canon City, CO was spent with flickrfriend K Kay. K Kay and I had been corresponding via flickr, but had never met in person, until that day. It was a wonderful afternoon spent tasting wine, and shooting a great, historical Abbey and it's outbuildings! In addition, it was the beginning a true friendship. K Kay and I continue to take day trips to shoot, always seeking a new adventure and recording it with photographs. You'll see shots from our adventures throughout my stream.

I bought my Canon Rebel xti this past summer while recovering from surgery. I have always "dabbled" in photography and felt a need to do "something creative" during my recovery as I couldn't hike, bike, or go to work for six weeks. In a past life I had a commercial art business and you'll see that influence in my work. Typically, I will process the heck out of an image because I am drawn to photographs that are more like works of art. I have a true appreciation for photographs in their purest form; post-processing is simply part of what I love about the hobby.

FLICKR PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE WEEK Wednesday, December 5, 2007

, originally uploaded by jmvnoos.

When friends view this picture and share their reactions
and feelings with me, what usually comes first is the
variety of colors, the symmetry, the gentle flow of complex
curves. It is uncommon, it is beautiful, they say, but what
is this?

Well, to me, this photo has a story. My wife and I were
touring the beautiful city of San Sebastian, on the
Atlantic coast of Spain, not far from France where we
reside. As a plush sea resort, a chic city where real
estate prices of apartments with a view reach the highest
levels in Spain, it is also rich with high quality shops,
bars, restaurants that cater to local residents as well as
vacationers.

One of these shops was a furniture and design space, spread
over several levels, and I came across a splendid lamp,
about 2 meters high, with these incredible forms and
colors.

I have shots of the lamp itself, but I found that the
close-up made a better photo. Mystery is there. We can
infer that it does not come out of a paint program. But,
generally, whatever effort is made by my friends, they do
not think of a lamp.

Now then, the beauty originates in the creativity and
artistic sense of the designer of that lamp. I was just
there by chance and now am piggybacking on the talent of
this artist. I regret now that, at the time of my visit, I
did not jot down his name, because I cannot give credit to
him and I would like that more people could discover his
work through my picture.

I was also interested in seeing the variety of reactions
from Flickr members, coming from many reams of the
community, some being color lovers, others fans of
abstraction.

I am 56 years old, a French citizen, now residing in Paris,
married to a Japanese lady. This explains that I also lived
15 years in Japan. My career brought me to live a few years
in Seoul, Korea and we also resided nearly 3 years in New
Jersey, USA.
I use a camera since the age of 15, but never studied
photography. It is a nice hobby, shared with my wife. With
age and a little money I succumbed to the Nikon siren and I
use a D200 with the convenient 18~200 zoom. My wife now
enjoys my previous camera, the D70, also with a kit zoom.
It is fun to see, when traveling together, how different
photos taken by each of us are .

http://flickr.com/photos/jmvnoos/

Flickr Fan

I'm a Flickr Fan. Can you tell? Actually, I noticed there was a group called Flickr Fan Art and being the Ham-I-Am, I just couldn't resist dabbling in flickr art. Who knows, this just may be the wave of the future (where have I heard that before). Look out Andy Warhol, here I come.

Judgement

Judgement, originally uploaded by smoocherz1.

Who shall stand in judgement
Who shall sit and cry
Who will seek to repent
Who will live or die

Who gets to decide who is right and wrong. Who grants people the power over life and death. Can one human being judge another? Can presidents, senators and congressmen declare war and send innocent young me to early graves. In the end, if their is a judgment day, who will be the innocent and who will be the sinners?