every year a new challenge

i have been doing STILL for almost ten years. And this year has been the hardest of all to meet my daily STILL commitment.  i have been asking myself why. and i think the answer, in a word, is medical. between my 85 year old mom, myself, and my daughter…it has been a year of doctor appointments and hospital stays. medical events are often not scheduled. so, more often than any time in the past ten years i find myself nearing the end of the day without a STILL subject to photograph. this autumn was generous with its extended display of fall leaves in unusual colors. i am the primary caregiver for my mom. she is having coronary surgery on monday. i’ll be spending a few nights at her house. so, if in the near future, you see a tardy post or two, you will know why. i have not gone away. my schedule is simply less predictable than usual. but i am here and will be back soon.

frost-bitten fall leaf

old bones

photographing white bones on a white background is so hard. why do i keep trying? i know. i know. i do it precisely because it’s hard.

collection of found animal bones

winter medicine

we’ve enjoyed a mild and extended autumn, one of the more beautiful in recent memory. this leaf was crispy with frost this morning, limp with dew an hour later. that means all the remaining leaves will probably be down by the end of the week. and after that, we all get a little crispy with cold for several months. my medicine for the winter blues is a fire in the fireplace almost every night. my medicine cabinet is the garage, where four face cords of oak and birch wait to warm me, and cheer me.

red oak leaf

i can still surprise myself

well, it sure is fun to know i can still impress myself. i love this simple little composition. you could say i am tickled pink. much like these leaves are.

burning bush leaf cut-outs in late autumn

unified

there are any number of ways to make a grouping of disparate objects look like a unified whole. you can arrange by size, or type, or shape, or season, or place of origin. matter of fact, you can unify almost any grouping of found bits by simply putting a frame around it. but my favorite is color. unifying by color is probably the easiest, but also the most satisfying (imho).  try this: take a walk today and only pick up russet bits, or yellow bits, or red bits….you get the idea. take a photo, and post it to instagram. then feel the love. everyone loves a good color grouping. everyone.

nature assemblage in golden russets