A deep connection with the outdoors

From the time she was born she's needed to be outside. 

Everyday. 

Rain or shine, it doesn't matter.



 
Any excuse, just let her be outdoors.

She gets lost in nature.  Plants, birds, butterflies

To the moon and back...

I asked my daughter last night, as I tucked her into bed, if she knew how much I loved her.



With a little smile, she said,

"Yes.  To the moon and back a million times."

My heart melted.


© Photographer: Matt Antonino | Agency: Dreamstime.com




Then later, I found a little Valentine she'd made for me with a pop-out heart.

I love that she makes me little cards.  I love that she leaves them on my pillow for me to find after she's asleep.  

I was trying to think of something creative I could do for her, and leave a surprise on her pillow.  Her imagination is light years more advanced than mine.  My creativity ends at my camera.

Then it dawned on me that maybe I could find something online that I could use to make her a card. Check this out:
Hearts (a Dreamstime search)  Perfect!  If you haven't discovered the magic of stock photos, you truly don't know what you're missing.

Here's what I came up with...

A cute card and all I did was add the text.  She'll love it.  I better go slip it under her pillow.

The Ants go Marching...

I have no idea how he does it.
But, the current featured photographer on Dreamstime has an amazing collection of ants!


© Photographer: Andrey Pavlov | Agency: Dreamstime.com

© Photographer: Andrey Pavlov | Agency: Dreamstime.com

For some reason I find these intriguing, and not creepy like spiders would be.

I did it...

I stayed home.  I passed up a change to take pictures. Winter pictures of my girls sledding and playing in the snow. A drive to the mountains and a day in the cold.

Nothing.  No winter wonderland photos. No sledding.  No funny crash scenes, cold noses or sun shining through the trees.

Nothing. A break from everything and a quiet house.  Some time to work on some writing and relax.

But, even as I try to enjoy the solitude I keep thinking that I'm missing out.  Not on the cold fingers, or numb toes or wet clothes of course.  Missing out on the squeals of delight, the screams of excited kids and the opportunity to freeze those memories forever.

If only I could escape....

Sometimes I wish I could just leave.  Run away. Travel.  Escape.

It's not because I really want to run away.  More of just something calling me.  I want to be out.  Somewhere quiet and undisturbed.  If you've never seen Jason Bell's website, you should check it out.

http://www.jasonbellphoto.com/#/photographer/Jason%20Bell/Landscapes/

He's one of my heros.  Really.  The landscapes are particularly amazing.  They make me feel small and insignificant.  They show me that there is so much out there I haven't experienced (or photographed).

There's just something about his photography that is inspiring, and humbling.  It makes me want to go.  Explore.  And just be.

And, of course,  I'd take my camera.

For the love of a Corgi

Some times big things come in small packages.  This little pup came to us on a very large plane.  The kids still say that we got her from the airport, which is only partly true.  She came from a wonderful farm in Missouri arriving by plane and was just a tiny little thing.

Now she is more than a year old and full grown.  Spoiled for sure, Macy is a definitely a part of the family.  She is gentle with children and loves to play and run with other dogs.  Her favorite friend is our neighbors dog, a standard poodle named Jasper.  

  It's hilarious to watch them chase each other around the yard at full speed.  Jasper gallops like a horse and Macy loves it.  It often seems like they're playing tag.

But after all that running, Macy crashes and often sleeps for hours.  She loves to sleep upside down and isn't afraid to kick the big dog out of his bed.  Macy is truly a princess.

So excited!!!

Each month or so Dreamstime posts an assignment for their contributors.  The most recent contest is focused on going mobile.  Mobile cameras, mobile shots. You get the idea.  But not just any spontaneous shot will do.

The assignments have a theme, but as with all their stock photos the Dreamstime editors only take the best.

The editors at Dreamstime are particular.  Meticulous, really. They have very high expectations.  Ok, they're picky.

There, I said it.  But, I'm glad they are.  Here it is....

http://www.dreamstime.com/-rimage27577788-resi3427385

my first assignment photo.








This is as "mobile" as it gets.  Gooey, sticky marshmallow smore's and a five year old in heaven.

A new collection

My daughter sings in the Oregon Children's Choir.  I try to capture the feeling, the emotion, the power of their songs.  Yet, it's one example of when photos just don't do justice to the whole experience.

Here is my latest Dreamstime collection of choir photos.
http://www.dreamstime.com/childrens-choir-singers-rcollection19429-resi3427385

Summer travels

This last summer we took the girls on a vacation to California.  

Yes, we packed up the travel trailer and spent two weeks "camping."  Which means hours upon hours of driving and a daily dose of Dramamine for the youngest who never fails to get car sick.

In case you were wondering...  we must have looked like tourists.

In other words we had the GPS on the dashboard, a stack of maps in hand and a panic stricken look as we drove for hours on end through places we've never been.

The highlights?  The Redwoods, Disneyland and California Adventures, and Yosemite National Park.  

If you ask our kids what they enjoyed most it was campfires and smore's, meeting the Disney Princesses, and swimming in the river.

But the photographer in me was in heaven.  I created a memory book of photos for my daughters on Snapfish, and built a collection on Dreamstime titled "All Things Disney!"  http://www.dreamstime.com/all-things-disney!-rcollection18857-resi3427385     

So many memories.  I wonder where the journey will take us next.

Dreamstime Milestone

I joined Dreamstime in May of 2011.  In the year and a half since then I've hit several milestones.

My first accepted stock image was a photo of a herd of bison. It hasn't sold, but hey, I've learned a lot since then.  

The first image I did sell was of an African Ostrich.

© Photographer: Cheryle Myers | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Recently I celebrated hitting some other new milestones. My 100th sold photo was of the Oregon Children's Choir Junior Academy Singers.

© Photographer: Cheryle Myers | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Plus over 200 approved Stock photos in my portfolio, and total sales of over $200.  This photo of an Amtrak Train has been one of the best selling.

© Photographer: Cheryle Myers | Agency: Dreamstime.com

Dreamstime has given me an avenue for sharing my passion.  And, even though I only have a limited amount of time to focus on my photography, I love every minute.

Animal Whisperer

Since our daughter was tiny, family and friends have called her the animal whisperer.

 

There hasn't been an animal yet that hasn't been drawn to her.
She' s been saying she wants to be a Veterinarian since before her second birthday.








I guess we'll see about that, but I love to capture these moments.

The inner journey

These are a few of my favorite quotes about travel.  They express what I think about exploring the inner journey through the outer world.

“Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by.”

~Robert Frost

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” 

~Henry Miller

“You don't make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
~Ansel Adams

My photography gives me an outlet.  A place to share my inner journey without completely putting myself out there.  Simply because, “Photography is all about secrets. The secrets we all have and will never tell.” 

~Kim Edwards

Random is not always unpredictable

"Creativity is the ability to introduce order into the randomness of nature." 

~Eric Hoffer 

If it happens, it must be possible.

Right?

Sometimes, I wonder. 

 Occasionally my life feels random.  Or if not random, much like a circus act.

Random stunts and tricks that seem totally out of place and unreal.  

“CIRCUS, n. A place where horses, ponies and elephants are permitted to see men, women and children acting the fool.”
~Ambrose Bierce

Beauty is Everywhere...

I always have my camera with me.  My daughters even tease me about it.  I can't help it.

I see the world through a lens.  I see beauty everywhere.

On the rare occasion I don't have my camera handy I always regret it.

What am I afraid of?  I know I miss things.  They're are so many awe-inspiring places, structures and landscapes.

    My dream?

   To be able to travel and take pictures.  It's the outdoors that appeal to me.

Too much time inside and I have to escape.   The walls close in on me and I get stressed and anxious.

The best medicine is the beauty of the outdoors.  Nature is my therapy.

As long as I have my camera along...