Photography-Video Fun

I think anyone who is interested in Photography or Videography will enjoy and appreciate this short video. It is catchy, fast-paced and delightful.” For more information and to understand how it was made, see the original website posting at PetaPixel

I have always been fascinated by Kaleidoscopes and, as mentioned below, this video employs similar techniques!

“Photographer and film director Naren Wilks created this mind-bending music video by arranging DSLRs around a circular green screen room. When the perspectives of the cameras are combined and synchronized, a ‘rotationally symmetric, kaleidoscopic world‘ is created… Only 5 people were involved in the production of the music video.”

STATUS QUOtes — 20150130

“All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it.” — Samuel Butler, British writer

“It’s not where you take things from – It’s where you take them to.” — Jean-Luc Godard

“The passions are like fire, useful in a thousand ways and dangerous only in one, through their excess.” — Christian Nestell Bovee

“A pitfall of throwing tantrums is that sometimes, people throw them back.” — Seth Godin

The Majesty of Trees

As readers of JBRish know, my wife and I enjoy hiking and one of the things we appreciate is the beauty of trees. Trees have always fascinated me. To think that there are trees alive today that have been on earth during some of the most historic periods such as the American Revolution, The Renaissance, etc. is awe inspiriing.

Beth Moon has created a wonderful book detailing a good number of these stoic trees in her book, Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time.

(Above)“Avenue of the Baobabs. Elegant in shape and form, these strange and magnificent baobabs seem to rise effortlessly to heights of 98 feet, found only on the island of Madagascar. Beth Moon

Kapok Tree,  Beth Moon, Ancient Trees: Portraits of Time

(Above)“Kapok Tree. Palm Beach, Florida, 2004. Kapoks of this size usually inhabitant the rain forest, but Moon found this one in Florida on a private estate, with roots that rise 12 feet above the ground. Beth Moon

More modest appreciation, however, comes from the beauty and majesty we have witnessed on our walks and hikes. We often wonder how a few of the trees we saw managed to survive in some of the most unusual ways and perhaps in less than ideal conditions.

Even in death, trees have a majesty about them. The picture below was taken at Monument Valley, UT.

dead tree, spooky, Monument Valley, Utah

While hiking Point Reyes National Seashore, CA last summer, we came across this Bay Tree with a cluster of branches and roots at the base. I was interested in the unusual girth.

“Northern

Another tree we found of special interest this past year was at the Grand Teton National Park. Trees will often gain a foothold and because of their “ill-chosen” location, the earth around their roots is washed away. These are sometimes called “walking trees” because it does appear as though the trees have legs.

This tree, as you can see, lost its foothold and will probably not survive too much longer although it is hanging in there.

tree Grand Teton National Park Walking Tree Tree roots exposed

Read More about the book and Beth Moon at the Huffington Post: The Most Ancient and Magnificent Trees From Around the World. More of Beth Moon’s pictures can be found at the above link.

STATUS QUOtes — 20150129

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” — John Dryden

“I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.” — C.S. Lewis

“To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.” — Eva Young

“The axe forgets what the tree remembers.” — African Proverb

Bart is back – Life after death!

Bart the cat after being hit by a car!

(Photo: Tampa Humane Society)

Apparently there is life after death. Bart the cat was thought to be dead after being hit by a car and summarily buried. Five days later, Bart had apparently clawed his way out of the grave and showed up at a neighbors house looking for food.

Bart is going to lose an eye, but being just a bit worse for the experience, he is expected to make a full recovery.

Listen to the news story:

STATUS QUOtes — 20150128

“Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” — Jim Rohn

“Your life is your story. Write well. Edit often.” — Susan Statham

“It is a mistake to look too far ahead. Only one link in the chain of destiny can be handled at a time.” — Winston Churchill

“This wasn’t just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible, this was terrible with raisins in it.” — Dorothy Parker

Sunrise, sunset, swiftly flow the days*

My wife and I are classified as “senior citizens,” but in spite of that title we still like to hike. We do have our aches and pains so several years ago we decided to hike in as many places on our bucket list that our knees, hips and other joints would allow.

Last summer we chose to hike along parts of the northern California coast. It was such a beautiful trip along route 1. Nearly every turn provided a post card-like scene. We stopped many times to take pictures.

The Timber Cove Inn located in Jenner, CA is one of the nicest places to stay in the area. The two pictures below show a scene from the rear of the inn. One was a sunset and the other a sunrise of approximately the same area. It was beautiful indeed!

Timber Cove Sunset, Jenner, CA

Timber Cove Sunrise, Jenner, CA

* Title of this post from the song, Sunrise, Sunset – Fiddler on the Roof