Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Simplicity

When I headed over to Becky's blog today for our next challenge in the thrive project it was simplicity. How fitting for so many reasons. What a wonderful word....simplicity. I love the way it sounds and what it means. Life is seriously nutty. But if I consistently remind myself to simplify, I find myself enjoying the small moments. The quiet moments that would have got lost in the shuffle. Maybe it is something as fleeting as my child's smile or laughing at their silly joke. I don't want to miss these things but unless I remember to simplify chaos will reign and before I know it another day is done.

Well now I know the same thing applies in photography. Don't clutter your backgrounds, pay attention to your subject, and tell a story with your photo. I used to only take pictures of people. As I have tried to branch out and look at things in a different way, it has lead me to take pictures of anything and everything.

A few years back I found this beautiful little nest in my topiary. I loved the little birds handiwork. What a beautiful, delicate nest this mama carefully made for her babies. It reminded me that as mothers we all have built a little nest for our babies. Some day they too will fly away. Love the moment...simplify. After the nest was abandoned I gingerly brought it inside as a reminder that today I still have my children under my wings. It will not last forever. Cherish them and simplify. So today it was fitting that as I walked around the house looking for something that meant simplicity this is what I settled on. So here is my picture for the week. Thank you again Becky for your explanations and for your project. I have loved to see what the challenges mean to everyone. It has been such fun!

Now for some technical stuff. Please help. I shot these using lots of different white balance settings. What white balance do you generally use? The auto setting or one of the others? On another technical note my aperture was wide open for these but how do people keep track of their shutter speed. I was on my canon's manual setting but I have no idea what shutter speed I was on. I just looked at my meter to make sure I wasn't over/under exposed. If you happen to stumble on my blog please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks so much!!

(Just as a side note I bought the eggs to put in my nest in a darling boutique in San Francisco. I had three but alas I found it smashed in a thousand pieces in my living room. )

After I took my picture of my nest I headed to Costco for my ridiculously long list. It was not long before these darlings caught my eye and I placed them in my basket. I just couldn't help myself. When I got home and put those perfect colors in my white kitchen, I just sat there staring at them... simplicity. So I added this picture too. :)



I am grateful for small reminders that consistently remind us to simplify so that we can cherish what is most important.

9 comments:

Farmgirl Paints said...

Oh my goodness! Do you ever take a bad photograph? You should be teaching me:) These are just perfect. So glad you are linking up!!

Amanda said...

hopping over from the Thrive Project. Wow, what a lovely blog you have!
The bird nest is wonderfully simple as it captures such fine details.

My boy and I said...

Your photographs are amazing Hilary! Seriously you inspire me.After seeing that picture of strawberries it made me want them! Oh and sadly the crazy SLC girl is still on. Maybe next week!!!

Nicole said...

Saw your picture at Farmgirl paints... I love the strawberry picture! So pretty.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE your pictures! The San Fran street shots are amazing! And the nest is fab.

About the white balance, I always use auto but I frequently have to correct it in editing.

I have a Nikon, in manual mode the shutter speed and aperture are pretty easy to see in the viewfinder.

Unknown said...

gorgeous photos! i have a thing for nests :) love it!

Leah C said...

Beautiful photos! I think you could teach us all a thing or two:)

Christy said...

your pictures are so beautiful and so simple! love them, especially the birds nest!

Dan Doxey said...

OK Hil...you're gaining traction. 8 comments? Are you kidding me? That was seriously one of your best posts. It's like getting to know a totally different Hilary--and I sort of have known you for the past 17 years. You're a great writer AND photographer! How come I've never known this?

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