Life as Paradox

Into Shadow - Lynda Lehmann c 2011

Light Play - Lynda Lehmann c 2011

Day's Aftermath - Lynda Lehmann c 2011

Every ending is also a beginning, and every beginning eventually culminates in some state of change and fullness before moving to its finish and conclusion.  Hence the cycles and paradoxes of Life.  A sunset is beautiful and inspiring, yet reminds us of Life's transience.  So it becomes bittersweet, taking on a yin-yang of both positive and negative connotations.  Maybe the best metaphors are like that, ambiguous but meaningful on multiple levels.  To me, a beautiful sunset suggests the cycles of infinite Life moving through time and space, seeking more of itself.  And we ourselves, are reflected in both the glowing waters of sunset, and in the ebb and flow of Life. 
Peace and joy to you.  - Lynda 

Awesome Sky - Lynda Lehmann 2011

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary site at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/gallery if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog!

Sunsets of the Heart

Clarity of Spirit - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Evening Enchantment - Image c Lynda Lehmann

What do you think of when you see a gorgeous sunset?  Do you feel joyous?  Or do you become a bit wistful, or maybe downright forlorn?  Maybe you feel regrets for the past or hopes for the future.  Or a nameless mix of strong emotions that you would not even try to identify....

For me the latter is the case.  So many attitudes, perceptions, and emotions seem to surface in the face of that glory: a brilliant, flaming sky that signifies the end of another day of the life cycle.  It's hard to separate or put into words what I'm thinking or feeling.  Yet I'm grateful for the inspiration and catharsis of it.

I will think of all my blogging friends when I bear witness to the sunset tonight, and wish for each of you to experience much beauty and peace in your lives.

All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission by the author/artist, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary art site www.lyndalehmann.com if you would like to see my paintings and more of my photography and digital art.

Sibilant Songs of the Shoreline: Surf, Shells, Seagulls, Sand, and Sky

Early Bird - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2010

Winging It - Image c Lynda Lehmann 2010

Feeding Time - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Alone Among Strangers - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Anticipation - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Blue Sky, Blue Water - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Nested in the Sand - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Gull Walk - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Beach Baubles - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

Inevitable Beauty - Image c 2010 Lynda Lehmann

What's sibilant at the seashore? The hissing of the foaming surf, the shrill screeching of gulls, the satisfying intervals of silence and solitude.

Okay, you've got me. The words I've used to DESCRIBE those natural phenomena are instances of sibilance, whereas the phenomena themselves, are not.

Nevertheless, every time I go to the beach with my camera, nature reveals her little secrets to me, sights and sounds and smells (there I go again) that fill me with joy. It seems that by looking through my camera lens, I've made a pact with beauty. Each time I see more than the time before. No exotic foreign scenes, just everyday sights of the shoreline. Each time, I feel so rich and enriched: my cup of beauty is full again!

I see the entire animal kingdom in the clannish squawking chatter of the gulls, moving mostly in unison against the waves, in vigilant outlook for their next meal. I see the cosmos in a brightly colored scattering of shells, the treasures of ages in a golden, iridescent conch half buried in the sand.

It's an addiction. Framing an image in your viewfinder or LCD screen can do two things. It can actually insulate you from the walking/hiking experience because you loose yourself in the intention of getting satisfying photographs to document the experience you're only HALF having, lol....

Or, by the concentration of your focus on aspects and segments of the surrounding environment, you actually sense and see MORE of it! Most of the time it's a wash (no pun intended) and what I lose in the directness of the experience, I'm compensating for by the poignant visual moments--those shining little moments of thrilling epiphany--in which I entirely lose myself. Nature spins its magic around me and I'm in FLOW for as long as I go with it.

At one point I had hundreds of gulls taking wing around me--and for a moment I was immersed in a universe of fluttering wings whose "whooshing" sound filled the beach and drowned out the crashing of waves and the hiss of sea-foam. (As you can imagine, I was immensely grateful that none of them dropped on me...)

I watched in awe (through my lens) as one sedate gull was knocked over backwards by a wave. He had to use his wings to straighten himself and scramble back into his sitting position. If a gull can look surprised and flustered, I think he did! But maybe I'm anthropomorphizing too much....

I've been carrying my tripod lately. It becomes quite heavy to lug over long distances on sand or muddy trails. But it's worth the benefit of better photo quality--and I'm finally training myself to carrying it religiously. I've been shooting at narrow apertures, as small as F 11 and even F 16 on sunny days, to facilitate depth of field. Although JPG noise continues to be a problem, even when I use a noise filter in the processing.

Here are a few of the many images I shot the other day. My favorite shots are "Anticipation," "Nested in the Sand" and "Blue Sky, Blue Water." My greatest joy is finding beauty and tranquility in everyday scenes, including local beaches and parks. Most of us are fortunate enough to have a park, or a stretch of forest, or a garden, somewhere nearby. Do you have a favorite sanctuary where you habitually go to find natural beauty and peace?

NOTE: I would like to thank all those of you who voted for my photo in the Newsday photo contest. I believe the winner had literally thousands of votes, and was a shot of a child hugging a marine mammal. I haven't been able to find it again to verify this, but it was an adorable and heartwarming photo, well deserving of the votes.

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

The Devil's in The Details, And So is Sublimity

Light Play, Sweep of Clouds

Little Secrets of the Forest

Water

The Details

Bark Abstract

Primeval Patterns

Barkscape

Lichen Painting

Textures in nature abound. To me it's a miracle just how many variations on a theme exist on every tree, every boulder, every expanse of water or sky. Infinity is manifest on so many levels. The details are there everyday to please our eyes and lead us to the recognition of forces so much greater than ourselves. Like variations on a theme or algorithmic permutations, the symphonic display of colors and surface markings is the calligraphy of the cosmos. Above you see sky, clouds, water, rock, and several views of bark and lichen. Each entity carries endless potential for changing form, surface character, or other properties. Our cup is always full with dynamic and ever-changing forms of beauty--if we will see them.

I can't begin to imagine how much more beauty and diversity of form exists in the vast world that is beyond my little sphere, but that makes the excitement and promise of mysteries to come, even greater.

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Serene Lake Scenes, Seen from the Shallows

Glory

Heading Out

Pointing West

Preening Loon and Mate

Reflections of Heaven

Where A Tree Grows

Heads Up

Tendrils

Emerging Lilies

A Whisper and A Prayer

Emerald Grasses

Cove

Yesterday we worked until 4:30. It was time to call it a day, a bit earlier than usual. We needed a break so we took our small aluminum boat out. It's well-suited to shallow waters, and easier to handle than a canoe, when encumbered with a camera and bag.

We headed into the fresh-water marsh at the near end of the lake, and here are a few photos of the delightful sights we saw. I didn't get a good shot of the new beaver lodge--last year's is abandoned--but I'll post it when I get one.

As you can see, the most elegant and luminous golden grasses sparkled in the sparkling water, while emerging, fresh (as yet uneaten by beetles) lily pads with unfurling scalloped edges floated in the sun. In the photo above, what you see sprinkled in the water around the lilies, is pollen. Pollen was everywhere, in staggering amounts, washed into long necklace-like strands that coated plant life, boulders, and fallen snags. It seemed a fitting counterpoint to the ice lines etched on the flanks of rocks protruding from the water.

The globes of yellow lily flowers poked their heads above the water's surface like little echoes of the golden sun.

A large turtle basked on a sunken log, and he stayed still as we cut the engine to float nearer to him. When finally I made the mistake of moving my leg over an oar--we always take oars in case the engine fails--he disappeared.

We saw a Baltimore Oriole singing on a bush, seemingly a song of joy. Unfortunately my shots of the Oriole are blurry, so I left them out.

At the far end of the marsh we cut the engine again and sat transfixed and awed by the symphony of bull frog and peeper calls that echoed out of the shallows, filling the world and transforming it with sound, as the gentle breeze rocked the boat and caressed our cheeks.

Shadows of clouds in the water made an alluring parallel universe of ripples and reflections.

I just wanted to convey some of the splendor and pouring forth of new life that we were able to partake of. It's not easy to get quality shots from a moving (and rocking) 17-foot boat, but I try.

Being in Maine makes me feel at peace. It's like being on another planet, a planet once lost and forgotten but forever imbued in our consciousness... All my dreams return to me and come alive when I'm here. I LOVE the deep, resilient silence of the starlit night, and the infinite shimmer and flux of the lake by daylight. And the cries of the loon....

I only wish I could share it all with you in real-time.

I wish you peace and joy on Father's Day!

All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.

Ode to Earth: Peace on the Lake

Almost Twilight - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Crimson and Indigo - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Sky - Image c Lynda Lehmann

The Poetry of Twilight - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Beneath the Surface - Image c Lynda Lehmann

A Pristine Land - Image c Lynda Lehmann

River Winds Towards Twilight - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Autumn Bliss - Image c Lynda Lehmann

Path of a Cloud Shadow - Image c Lynda Lehmann

O crystal blue sky dome,
fill my lungs with fresh air.

O sparkling clear waters,
dazzle my eyes.

O lush, waving grasses,
cushion my feet.

O fragrant soft blossoms,
delight my nose.

O gurgling river,
sing joy to my heart.

O steadfast boulders,
inspire my strength.

O crimson sunset,
stir me to prayer.

O precious Earth Mother,
nurture my life!

Image and text c 2009 Lynda Lehmann


All images and text c Lynda Lehmann. If you would like to view more of my art or make a purchase, please visit Lynda Lehmann Painting and Photography or my gallery at Imagekind, where you can choose from several sizes and paper types or buy my prints plain or matted and framed.