Unexpected Yellow - Lynda Lehmann c 2010
Arizona Mineral Abstract - Lynda Lehmann c 2010I love rocks. Rocks in any form. Little shards, rounded pebbles, mighty boulders, and vast canyons--they all resonate with me. It's as if I can feel their solidity, their might and permanence. They give me a feeling of being anchored to the great mysteries at our feet and in the more vaporous elements of the atmosphere around us. They make me feel strong. They are enduring and completely OF the earth!
In our everyday lives we may see rocks as inorganic, consisting of minerals steeped and birthed in the heat and power of the Earth. But if one believes in quantum physics and the concept that everything is energy, one must believe that rocks too, consist of and emit energy. (I am speaking of rocks in a metaphysical sense. As for the emissions of radioactive elements, now THAT is another subject altogether....)
Here are a few photos of boulders I took in Arizona's Tonto National Forest. Not only do the rocks resonate with me in some enigmatic energy way, but their surfaces are a feast of form and color. Abstracted realism is one of my favorite forms of photography, and these boulders make powerful abstracts in their own right. It's just amazing, how much beauty is embedded in flowers, plants, trees, animals, air, water, fire, and yes, rocks!
Again, my eyes rejoice in what my camera can take away from majestic natural scenes filled with mystery and surprise. Every day is a gift of vision and inspiration.
Layered Rock in Tonto Forest - Lynda Lehmann c 2010
Sanguine - Lynda Lehmann c 2010
Red Rocks Ridges - Lynda Lehmann c 2010Note: This is my first post in the New Year. I want to wish everyone health, prosperity, and happiness in 2010 and beyond. And for all of humankind, peace on Earth. May beauty fill your cup and lead you to your fulfillment, whatever its form. And may we find a way to justice, for all people.
All photos and text copyright Lynda Lehmann. All rights reserved.
Kyna:
ReplyDeleteYou have a very good eye for nature, and your artistic and technical abilities are without question. I've always admired your work. I also have an eye for rocks, and I love to see all the various shapes and colors. My sister lives in Arizona and whenever my Queen and I make the trip to visit her we pass by some of the most interesting rock formations imaginable. Beautiful pictures as always. I am look forward to seeing, and reading, some of your great posts this year.
Happy 2010.
Wow those rock!
ReplyDeleteThis summer I was enjoying the strata in the badlands of South Dakota...so amazing. I also challenged my claustrophic fears and went into one of the caves...eerie...did not appreciate being underneath tons of rock but it was beautiful...even though I kept wondering what I would do if the lights went out AAARRGGHH!
Happy New Year to you too. I love the photos and I love rocks too. Where I used to live there was this beautiful rock mosaic fence. I stopped and looked at it every time I walked by. So fascinating it had a life of it's own(I know you understand what I mean by that).
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you to! Beautiful photos..
ReplyDeleteI must say this post totally rocks! LOL. Now, like your images the Australian Outback with its many colors and textures, has given rise to the creation of unique paintings and artwork, especially by Aboriginal artists whom I am in awe of, over the millenniums. Yes, Mother Nature has it all and is seen by many as a palette for their inspiration.
ReplyDeleteTake Care,
Peter
I love the "unexpected yellow"! What I regret is that we have so few words for such glorious colors!
ReplyDeleteAmazing photos and great writing! A true gift to anyone who visits your blog. I share this love for rocks and canyons and mountains, their manifold shapes and textures. Everything about nature awes and excites me and opens my heart to the great mystery of life.
ReplyDelete"Yes" to everything you said about rocks. I can never get enough of them and I have hundreds of photographs collected for something down the road. Imagine the people who just see rocks as rocks. Their textures, colours, lines are so diverse when you take time to look.
ReplyDeleteDonnw/2nz - I get creeped out by caves too, although I can't remember the last time I entered one of any significant depth. But it's worth the slight angst. The odds are against them collapsing at the time you or I or anybody else enters. But, like you, I would hate for my flashlight to fail...
ReplyDeleteAs for rocks and crystals, I'm very comfortable looking at them ABOVE-ground!
Tangled Stitch - Happy New Year to you! I hope you had time to do some stitchery as well as enjoy the holidays, in the past month.
ReplyDeleteI DO know what you mean, of course. When I was in the fourth grade my sister and I used to explore a steep, 45-degree hillside (it was in the foothills of the Poconoes). We called it "the mica field" because it was full of all sort of specimens, esp. mica. We loved combing its surface, picking up rocks which we wanted to bring home (but didn't dare).
It was a challenge to keep our balance, though, as the slope was so steep. But the place oozed a strange sort of energy and sense of wildness that kept us going back there for years!
Peter - Everything I've seen of the Outback (in movies and magazines, etc.) makes it look like it's fresh out of the primordial cauldron. I would LOVE to see it firsthand.
ReplyDeleteA lot of Aussie photographers I've run into have gotten loads of fantastic shots there.
Hey, CONGRATS on becoming a Grandfather! She is just adorable! I wish you all the best!
CONDA - You're right! We should have more words for different shades of meaning, just like the Chinese do!
ReplyDeleteI guess we'll have to settle for the limitations of English for our descriptions, although our perceptions and emotions remain inadequately conveyed....
Happy New Year, dear Conda!
PAINTER OF BLUE - I have thought of you often, Sybil, and have been meaning to come over. Happy New Year to you, too. I hope you are well and finding lots of time for your spiritual and artistic growth, as you have in the past.
ReplyDeleteI'll be over soon! xxxx
The Arizona mineral abstract is stunning. It's like an earthtone abstract. Just beautiful. I also like the way you capture the different layers in these pieces.
ReplyDeleteI loved Arizona the most of all the States we were visiting on our travel. The red rocks are MAGIC, I agree so much with you, Lynda. We were even thinking seriously about to be living in Tuscon.
ReplyDeleteAnd we are back now to - cold - Florida...smile...
Nice post!
Lynda you have an excellent eye for these 'rocky' formations or patterns. I enjoy them too. Too bad that my time in Vegas was short, so I only saw Grand Canyon for 1 hours. May be one day I come back, you just inspired me. Great narration, and I do to believe that rocks emit energy, and powerful one too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts again Lynda, hope all is well, and happy new year 2010. Anna :)
ReplyDeleteMargaret - Again, we're on the same wavelength! It amazes me how much commonality I've found with blogging friends. Bloggin is really a great way to communicate and share. Thanks for being a welcome presence in my teeny part of the Blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year to you!
POETIC SHUTTERBUG - Thanks! I just LOVE the patterns and colors I find in nature. Doesn't it make you feel rich every time you discover beauty in your every day?
ReplyDelete:)
NOTHING PROFOUND - Bravo for you and your passion for life. I totally relate to what you have said about how you experience the world. Aren't we so blessed, to have our eyes and hearts open and have such a sense of discovery and joy?!!!!
ReplyDeleteSusanne - Ah, you are back in COLD Florida and I am back in COLD New York! It's so bitter that I think I froze the surface of my eyeballs the other day, trying to take my daughter's dog out for a walk. I need my aqueous humor to do photography, so they'd better thaw out!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, they DO feel uncomfortable but I'm sure it will pass.
I would like to move to AZ one day. I'm in love with the mystery: all the forms of life in the desert, the canyons and red rock and ruins and monuments. So much to see and photograph.
Maybe one day we will be neighbors?
ANNA - Hello and Happy New Year to you, your husband and Matthew. How are you?
ReplyDeleteHa, I thought I was the only one to have spent only an hour at the Grand Canyon. lol... We just about had time for lunch and a short walk there before we had to drive all the way back to the Phoenix area, where I was staying with family.
Guess we'll both have to re-visit. It's a marvel. I've heard that you really have to do multiple hikes to see it, because the grand-scale overview is simply too overwhelming.
My love to you. I hope you're not too cold up there. We're still freezing, here on LI.
I'll be over to visit....
Lynda, you have an excellent eye to make of a nature detail, a splendid photography. I wish you a Happy New year... Happiness and Tenderness
ReplyDeleteto you and your family...! ;)
Lynda, I'm a rock fan, too! And I do mean the geological kind you photograph so stunningly. Seeing your close-ups inspired me for my next trip to red rock country, my favorite place in the world.
ReplyDeleteP.S. Why am I asked to sign on to Twitter each time I visit your site?
Wow that lichen on the first photo is really something! And that beautiful shot of the rocks and valley makes me want to go for a hike.
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