Category Archives: Photography
Weekly Photo Challenge: In Respect To Numbers
Do numbers even exist in Nature? I don’t think so. They are human concepts, to which humans have attached meaning. In Nature, things simply are as they are. For example, there’s a tall flowering plant growing in the woodlands and by the freeways, blooming with pink to purple flowers in profusion right now. Is it Wild Phlox or is it Dame’s Rocket? The two look very much alike. Wild Phlox, however, has 5 petals on each flower. It is a native wildflower. Dame’s Rocket has 4 petals to a flower, and it is an invasive species. One is celebrated, the other ripped out at the roots in great handfuls and left to wither in the sun.
We make a lot of judgments based on numbers. What’s your SAT score? Your credit score? Your cholesterol level?
Does it matter? We live; we make choices; we die. I think numbers are immaterial. I think character is everything. A growing thing, no matter the number of its parts, is alive. It deserves respect.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Spare Me!
“…Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of these, the least of my Brethren, ye have done it unto Me.” Here’s an opportunity for some deep questions: Who are “the least”? Who are “Brethren”? How do you treat them? And who is “Me”? There can be many answers to these questions, and they all help us to understand what is meant by kindness and mercy. At this stage in my life, I am trying to expand my concepts of Brethren and Me, to be more inclusive, more at One with all kinds of beings. Here are some of my new friends:
Spare
Poem in my pocket
I think I just wrote a poem. It has only 3 words. It goes like this:
“Now
See
Hear…”
It keeps running through my head.
Text and photographs © Priscilla Galasso, 2016. All rights reserved.
Lilac season
There is a fragrance that stays in your memory if you live in the Midwest. When late May comes around, it awakens on the warm breezes and carries pure, sweet delight to every inhaled breath. Yes, it’s here. Lilac season!
Do you smell them?
Weekly Photo Challenge: Jubilant Wedding
Going through my memory card files, I came across this photo from my daughter’s wedding. Perfect for this theme! There’s only one problem – I don’t think I took this shot. My camera was handed off to my son, who handed it off to his girlfriend, and I think SHE took this picture of him. Hats off to you, Daena Wallace, for this great capture! Here’s one I did take that day…
Weekly Photo Challenge: That Marvelous Face
First Face:
My Mother’s Face had to be the first face I learned to love. I am sure that I gazed at her for long stretches while nursing. I learned to get over my teen-aged embarrassment at her lazy walleye, her “long Celtic chin” (as she called it) and the fact that she never wore make-up. Her face is particular and characteristic. Her prominent eyes and small nose and mouth have been gradually swaddled by more wrinkles and folds as she ages. She is now 81; this photo was taken 3 years ago. What I love most about this picture is that she is in her natural state – enjoying life!
Second Face:
This is the face I see continually in my dreams, the face of my true love. He was 19 when I took this picture with the camera he bought me – a Canon AE-1. We were married for 24 years and had 4 children. He died in 2008. This face has echoes in the living expressions of my kids, and I love that they inherited his warm eyes, his strong jaw, his brilliant smile.
I have what might be called a photographic memory. I close my eyes and see faces. Sometimes they are faces that I don’t recognize. I used to play with that ability to imagine crowds of strangers with particular faces and wonder if I had actually seen those faces in passing or if my brain was just making them up. I do know that I pay close attention to faces and always have. Perhaps I do carry those faces within me and always will. No matter how many I collect, I think these will always be #1 and #2.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy Earth Mother May Day!
What a perfect topic for a photo challenge! Mother Earth is my favorite subject, and I’ve got LOTS of nature photos featured on this blog. Check out my Wisconsin Outdoors and Wilderness pages in the header above for some of my favorites!
Since this is the beautiful, lusty, bright month of May, I think I will highlight one of the woodland ephemeral wildflowers that emerge in my neck of the woods at this time: the Mayapple. Yes, the tiny bud eventually becomes a little green fruit rather like a crab apple, but I hear it’s unwise to eat them in any quantity…because…well, you know… Anyway, here’s one small citizen of Earth, from bud to maturity.
Mayapple
Mayapple
Weekly Photo Challenge: Admiration
“Guess what, Mama! I got another scholarship!”
My middle daughter was battling major depression at the beginning of the year, experiencing crippling panic attacks and an ED that was out of control. What did she do? She quit her disastrous job, went back to school, and found a new job. She enrolled in Communications and Psychology and did a PowerPoint presentation on Depression. Her school essays have all earned A+ grades and have been used as examples for her classmates. I am incredibly proud of her and in awe of the personal reserves of strength she has had since she was a baby! There was never something too difficult for her to tackle, once she put her mind to it.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Abstract Earth Day
Today’s challenge is “Abstract”, and it’s Earth Day. So many beautiful textures and forms in nature that may be completely unrecognizable close up although familiar at a distance. 
One definition of “abstract” is to remove, as in remove it from its context.
When you abstract something, you may consider it theoretically and separately from its surroundings. This is something that scientists do particularly.
And then the challenge is to put it back into context and look at it holistically, as a whole, interconnected thing.
This is exactly the way we need to look at our Earth. Parts are interesting to study, but the whole, living thing is what we need to protect.
The complexities of our planet, the delicate balance and harmony of its interdependent eco-systems, are perhaps far beyond our capacity to understand. Therefore, it’s important to respect them and strive to preserve their integrity. And it’s equally important simply to revere them and enjoy the awe they inspire.
