Mental Margarita - Grupo

Most often, something catches my eye because of its singularity, or its color or shape. But it's usually a single flower or leaf that jumps out at me. Here, it was the overall pattern of these little succulent stars that grabbed me. And I liked that even though there are numerous plants in this group (grupo, en Espanol), a few of them seemed to glow just a little brighter than the rest, giving the eye a resting spot, if you will.

Now regarding the singularity theme, I have been experimenting with isolating subjects in a light box. This does seem to allow their essence to be brought forward with no distractions in the background. And another benefit in creating studio shots is that I'm no longer limited by the weather, the light, etc. I create my own conditions, which on a blustery day like today (when a flower wouldn't be able to hold still for me to have its picture made) is the difference between getting the shot or not. But my preference is still to find that little piece of nature right where it is and to share it with you. I'll be creating and sharing more of these studio images soon. Stay tuned!

Phoenix in the the Spring (inside joke, not a typo)

I must thank Shirley, Tara, and I think there was one more person for PRESSURING :-) me to go see the Dale Chihuly exhibit at the Phoenix Desert Botanical Gardens while in Phoenix. (It runs through the end of May dbg.org)


It was a lovely coming together of my old home and my new home, as I grew up loving the desert, and now I live in the land of Chihuly. His studio was right down the road from my Mom's old place. His glass art is very aquatic, generally, and for me, very evocative of the NW.

I really loved how he got inspired by the desert flora.


This is a pretty good representation of the wicked pure heat that is a Phoenix summer:


My friend Dory and I had a great time at the gardens, and most of the rest of the weekend was spent with the family. It was great to see all the little ones of the youngest generation tearing it up. So glad we could be there. And yes, again, we hit the Barrio Cafe for Mexican food and came home with about 10 pounds of freshly roasted green chiles from Food City. Ahhhh.....

Mental Margarita - Vivid Blue

Everyone keeps going on about what a cold winter it was, but being our first, we had nothing to compare it to. We loved the snow and ice (well, we loved it except when one of us had to slog uphill to catch the bus in it...) but it's official: spring has sprung!

I took this and many other images at the Conservatory at Volunteer Park in Seattle. The greenhouse rivals the one in Golden Gate Park but it's free. So these plants and flowers on my new page, had they been out in the elements, probably wouldn't be doing their spring dances quite yet. But things are blooming all over and the sun's been out and it's been lovely. I know we may get more cold weather yet but I don't care. Spring is here!

I also shot a bunch of succulents and cacti at the Conservatory (I will never tire of them as subjects, apparently) and I'll be sending those in the next Mental Margarita. We're coming home to the desert for a family reunion next weekend, so I suspect I'll be in a desert plant mood when I prep the next batch of images.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out all the new images at fotos de karina - new.

Mental Margarita - Ice Swirl

God is in the details.

I've been pondering that one lately, especially as I witness winter's effect on nature. As a desert-dweller for most of my life, I didn't get to see much snow and ice. Here in Seattle, winter is hanging on and everyone's talking about being ready for spring, including me.

But the upside is that I'm still learning about and discovering the interplay of light and snow, or ice, or frost, and it's gorgeous. (Granted, I do have to go outside when it's really cold out, but I'm learning how to dress right!)

So as I become transfixed by the winter beauty sparkling around me, I am reminded that God is in the details. And really, when I look at most of my images, that's what I see. It almost feels like cheating because I'm simply finding and capturing some aspect of nature that God already perfected. There is so much beauty around us. We just have to look.

Kitten Yoga

OK, so this has nothing to do with photography -- I just had to share.

I had the pleasure last week of kitty sitting our neighbor's kitten, Max. One day I did some yoga, which as you know is about both strength and relaxation. Having a kitten tearing about, leaping from couch to chair to table and back again, attacking everything in sight, makes the relaxation part a bit more challenging.

My yoga pants have a draw string on them that was fun to bat at while I was in an inverted pose. The yoga mat was great to chew on and attack and kick. I took out my ponytail holder to do a stretch on the back of my neck and it was immediately reassigned to "toy" status.

And of course the final pose, called corpse pose, where you lay on your back under a blanket, consciously relaxing every part of your body, is particularly interesting when each part of your body is being systematically pounced upon. (I don't know how Max's people sleep at night!)

This is my no-longer-relaxed foot under the blanket. At least laughter is good for relaxing!!!

Mental Margarita - Pink Star

In the spirit of the new year, I've been organizing, culling, sorting. (If you weren't aware, my former career was professional organizing, and you can take the girl out of organizing, but you can't take the organizing out of the girl! Which is a good thing.)

I went through my photos from last year, revisiting hundreds of images, and found several that with a little cropping or a fresh perspective, really caught my eye. This tiny succulent flower had such a metallic sheen to it, it was almost blindingly bright. I like how the soft focus around the stamens balances the shine on the petals.

Going through all those images from last year made me so ready for spring. Although many trees are still bare, some are now sporting buds, promises of flowers to come. I cut a forsythia branch and forced it to blossom, which only intensified my longing. Although I love this chilly and sometimes snowy weather, I want my vernal equinox! But, in the spirit of being here now, I am working on images of ice and frost -- probably my next Mental Margarita.

Stay tuned!

Mental Margarita - Dewey Grass

I was making brekkie when I looked out the kitchen window and saw how magical the morning sun was making the dewey world appear. Got belly down in the wet grass to get this shot.

We've been out of the desert for three years but I'm still not over my water fascination. Still getting rehydrated, I guess. The fun thing lately here in Seattle is the crazy cold weather we've been having. Last Saturday night we got a few inches of snow which stuck around through today, and we're getting more tonight. I find myself wanting to honor my ursine nature and hibernate for a while... but it's so beautiful out!

On Saturday, the night was so bright from all the light bouncing off the snow that I was inspired to go out and try to capture some of the sweetness of it. I was juggling tripod and umbrella when Raymond came out and held the umbrella for me, saying, "I'm earning good husband points." No doubt -- it was chilly.

Here's our neighbor's tree at about 10 p.m.:


And here's a Buddha I saw in the ice the next day on my walk:



However you celebrate, I wish you and your family the best. Here's to 2009 being a year of hope and change for all!