I am genuinely appreciative of the many talented and kind and creative folks who send newsletters. So much of what I want to read rests behind the paywall, and I understand that writers and photographers and other creatives need to earn a living. I respect their work and pay when I can. But those that give of themselves and their work freely add a dimension of joy and wonder to my life that cannot be measured.

One newsletter that I especially adore is Still by Paul Sanders. I can’t figure out a way to share the newsletter by link, so I’m just going to post an excerpt here.

“I like to use gratitude as my guide in all aspects of my life but especially my photography.

Judgement usually yields disappointment, whereas gratitude often brings a surprise and joy or at least a sense of contentment.

If you view each trip out as a unique adventure, open in heart and mind to the multitude of experiences that await you, things never before seen or experienced by anyone ever - because each day is unique, everyday everything has changed, grown, died, moved - even a minuscule amount - everything has changed in someway.

Can you open yourself up to that type of photography, or do you think what I am talking about is just junk?

Creativity comes from an open mind, a willingness to accept that playing, experiment and making mistakes is the way forward, stumbling before you walk or run.

Does gratitude lead to award winning images? I'll be honest . . . I don't know, but is photography about winning awards, or gaining kudos? Personally I think photography is about a personal expression of a unique experience, that you have felt moved by to spend time being part of and enjoyed what it has offered enough to try and record the moment forever.

For those type of experiences I am truly grateful and they have yielded some of my most interesting and successful images.”

Thanks to my friend, Kate, for sharing this poem that feels right in so many ways.

I’ve been considering how my next collection of work might come together, and it strikes me that this one simple poem might be the framework for an entire project.

Where the lines of the poem are interspersed throughout a book with photographs that are felt rather than thought.

“Still, what I want in my life
is to be willing
to be dazzled—
to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even
to float a little
above this difficult world.
I want to believe I am looking

into the white fire of a great mystery.
I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing—
that the light is everything—that it is more than the sum
of each flawed blossom rising and falling. And I do.”
― Mary Oliver, House of Light

“Your intuition is simple, and sure, kind, and calm. It’s the calm things you can trust.”

—Caroline Dooner, The F*ck It Diet

I find so much overlap in my life these days and I take this to mean that things are coming together for good reason. Setting healthy boundaries while still being kind, following the principles of intuitive eating, focusing on movement, sleep, rest, play and rebellion as pillars of well-being. Caring without caregiving. Saying goodbye to people-pleasing, over functioning and hyper-responsibility. Who knew life could feel so relaxed and easy? The work I’m doing on myself shows up in the pictures I make.

I had finished this post and moved on to my next activity, watching Part 3 of FRAMES Artist-in-Residence program with Robert Clark. I love these lessons which feel like one-on-one coaching with a master photographer. Looking at Robert’s examples for this segment, I was inspired to go back to make a black and white version of my photograph from Slaughter Pen Farm. I’m looking forward to the next segment, hoping Robert will delve into his post-processing—and opening the door for me to see the potential in landscape photography as a part of my creative work.

As much as I adore a beautiful still life photograph, the character and style of an authentic space can’t be staged. Life is a lot more about mix than match.

On every photo walk I choose scenes colorful and considered.

And in many ways, warm and familiar.