Freezing Time

Wouldn't it be great if you could freeze time?

If you could stop everything, but were still able to think, so that you could observe every drop of water, every ripple. Then, once you've marveled at every little detail and taken note of all the beauty in that moment, you can go back to your life in normal speed.

Or, if you were able to see the things that usually happen in a blink of an eye. To actually watch it take form and then disappear, and then to be able say, "I saw you, I watched you come into existence, and you were precious."

Of course, if you could do that, if you could actually stop or slow down time, maybe it'll be so ordinary that you would fail to recognize the extra-ordinariness of the moment. If that's the case, I'd rather not have a special power at all. I'd rather keep my ability to appreciate the beauty that surrounds us each and every day of our lives.

Hydrangeas!

It's hydrangea season! These are my absolute favorite flowers. One reason being that they start blooming around my birthday, but I also love the unique variations of colors, sometimes even within just one bush. They also makes me think of Japan, even though they're pretty common everywhere. They're the one beautiful thing to look forward to during the gloomy rainy season in Japan.


I definitely plan on having them in my backyard if we ever tear out the old wooden deck that's there, but for now, I have to admire the ones in other people's yards. The thing is, they tend to be hidden in corners or right next to a house, so I was having a hard time finding one to photograph. I finally found some in the garden of a local museum, so here they are...

Before I go, I have to thank my husband, without whom, I wouldn't have been able to post these pictures! I shouldn't be surprised at all that it happened, but my son tried to jam a memory card into the camera last week and bent several of the pins in the slot. I honestly thought that I would have to shell out $100+ to replace the part, but my hubby worked his magic fingers and fixed it for me!

I ♥ B&W too!

Many of my 52 week challenge photos so far have been full of color, so this one might look like I'm doing something out of character. But the truth is, I'm a fan of black and white photography too. I just find them hard to do because color is such an important part of my life.

I do think black and white photography brings out a different level of beauty though, and had always wished that I could do it well. As I mentioned earlier, I was also having a hard time taking good photos of flowers, so I somehow managed to overcome 2 of my challenges in this one shot!

I don't know if this was just a fluke or me getting over the initial hump, but I know for certain that I'll keep trying to do more of these :)

You Know What They Say About Apples Falling...

A couple of years ago, I got this set of craft scissors because I'm a sucker for crafty things, and I'm a TOTAL sucker for crafty things that come in a rainbow of colors!

I don't scrap book, so I haven't used them for much - other than just cutting paper for the sake of cutting and marveling at the neat squiggly cuts that they create! I'll admit it, these scissors are in my possession for the sole purpose of making me happy. Just being able to look at them and play with them makes me happy!

Well, recently, I decided my son was old enough to handle scissors, so I handed him a pair and some paper destined for recycling.

Let me tell you, he is just as enamored with these scissors as I am! He has to play with them at least once a day, and he'll arrange and rearrange the scissors until he likes the color combo. Then he'll cut, and cut, and cut until the room looks like a parade went through and dumped a boatload of confetti.

Sure, clean-up time is a bit overwhelming, but he's pretty good about helping me pick up. Plus, I'll take confetti over endless hours of cars and trucks and trains any day!

52 Week Challenge: Week 17

This week, I was determined not to scramble on Sunday to shoot a photo for my 52 week project. I pulled out my camera on Wednesday with an image in mind. The condition was perfect. It was a sunny day, so there were plenty of natural light, which I prefer to use. My son was taking a nap, so there were no distractions. Yet, in the end, I didn't like any of the photos that I took.

The one above, on the other hand, was taken on a whim. I had brought the camera upstairs to recharge the batteries and had forgotten all about it. I only saw it when I went back up to help my son go to bed. I picked it up and took a few pictures in very dim lighting (only 2 nightlights), and I didn't think much of it while I was taking it.

It was only when I started changing the orientation of the photo in Photoshop that I finally saw the archway. The gateway to heaven.

And I don't mean that in just the literal sense. When things suddenly click like that, I do feel like I got a chance to glimpse heaven. Because the joy you feel then is not tainted by any expectations. It is just a pure delight.

52 Week Challenge: Week 16

This is a perfect representation of what last week felt like. It just flew by in a blur!

The weird thing is that when I look at the individual things that I did last week, it's not that much different from any other week. But it feels like all those things happened 2-3 weeks ago, rather than within the past week. Strange!

Don't get me wrong, quite a few good things happened last week and I wouldn't change any of it, but I do feel a little off kilter... like I time traveled and skipped a few weeks without ever knowing it!

52 Week Challenge: Week 15

There's one thing I've learned in the last couple of weeks - It's hard to take good photos of flowers! Seriously, I keep taking picture after picture of flowers in the neighborhood, but once I come home and look at them on my computer, my first reaction is, "Eh..." They all end up looking ordinary at best, down right boring at their worst.

It's like they emit this charming energy that can't be captured in a photograph. You have to be there in person to experience it. Though I have managed to take a flower-related photo that I liked this week, it's still not the actual flower. Just the petals.

The pear tree in front of our house is shedding its flowers now, and there are literally pools of white petals where we normally see puddles of rain water. As I crouched down low to inspect them, I noticed that a lone petal from a cherry tree on the far end of the street had somehow found its way and settled on top.

I just found that to be such a soft, lovely sight even though many of the petals were getting old and shriveled. It's a sure sign that Spring is not going to last too much longer, but it was gorgeous while it was here!

52 Week Challenge: Week 14

I'm getting later and later in posting these 52 Week challenge photos, but I do take the pictures during the allotted week ;)

This week was a bit of a struggle though, and I had to make do with a photo I took Sunday night. As late as it could be! It's a left over slice from my hubby's ice cream birthday cake. Thus the water droplets on the sprinkles...

Since I wasn't too happy with the original shot, I played around with it in Photoshop and turned everything sepia except for the sprinkles. In the end, I don't think you could really tell that I did all that work. Oh well! You can't hit the ball out of the park every week.

52 Week Challenge: Week 13

Whee! Yesterday, I actually got a chance to walk around and take photos, without my son OR my dog tagging along! I definitely enjoyed the fresh air, the warm spring sun, and most of all, freedom. I know, I know, the photo doesn't show any sign of spring at all, but it's what caught my eye...

About 3 weeks ago, we had a massive storm that took down numerous trees and did all kinds of damage. Ever since then, I've been noticing many strange sights. Clean up have been very slow, so there are still trees down everywhere, and random objects sitting around on sidewalks. The shoreline, especially, have a treasure trove of old rusty things and other astonishing collections of human pollution.


In spite of that, though, Mother Nature is showing her tenacity and spring colors are everywhere. Check out these daffodils! The tree right next to them was uprooted in the storm, lifting them up in the air. But they're still blooming as if nothing happened. Aren't they amazing?

52 Week Challenge: Week 12

I found this shiny bauble in the most unlikely place - on a car! It's the tail lamp, to be exact.

I never thought I would take pictures of cars but here it is. I saw it glittering and shimmering in the sun and was attracted like a crow who loves collecting shiny objects!

It's finally spring!

Looks like the long snowy winter is finally coming to an end. Don't get me wrong, I actually love snow. But this winter, it snowed a little bit too much. Even for me. And I used to live in Rochester, NY. Of course, back then, I never had to shovel the snow...

Anyway, back to the point! The weather has been just about perfect for the last couple of days, and I'm starting to notice little buds on branches. Everyone seems to be out and about, from kids running around in playgrounds to just people in general coming out of hibernation.

Yesterday, my son and I were playing outside when this lady bug graced us with its presence. I don't know where they go during the winter, but I'm definitely happy that this one came out to enjoy the spring sun. I can't help but feel lucky that it allowed me to take a picture like this!

Glass Half Full?

Is the glass half full or half empty? You hear that question a lot when someone's talking about optimists and pessimists. I've never bought that as an accurate way to judge someone. Maybe it's because the first time I was ever asked that question, I answered "half empty," and was made to feel horrible for being a "pessimist."

But really, people are so much more complex than that, and just because you lean towards "half empty" doesn't mean you are an Eeyore. Take, for example, a person who says "That glass is only half full," and a person who says "That glass is only half empty." Which one is an optimist now?

Personally, I think I'm still a "half empty" person. But after I look at the glass a little while, I'm likely to say "But just look at the light dancing on the water! It's really beautiful." Or "Wow, it's amazing how the water distorts the items behind the glass. If the glass was completely full or completely empty, I probably would've never noticed it."

Yup, I may be a bit of a pessimist at first, but I always find a silver lining in the end. And I'd rather be the that way than be an "optimist" who always says, "That glass is half full, but I wish it was completely full," or "I'd rather it was filled with soda than water."

Anyway, what triggered this little rant? My 52 Weeks Challenge photo. I think it's a perfect example that sometimes, you'll run into a silver lining if you just stick it out. This week, I was having trouble finding something that inspired me. Finally, I just stacked two of my son's toy cups on the floor, just like the picture on the left. I wasn't expecting much, but when I got close to it and played around with the camera setting, the result was breathtaking!

So please, don't judge me on the first impression! I'm really an optimist at heart, but sometimes, I need a little more time to find that optimism within! :)

52 Week Challenge: Week 8

This photo was nearly impossible to take! Even though my son was sitting down, when you get that close, any minor movement completely throws the focus. And for the same reason, I couldn't use a tripod, so I had to hold the camera as steadily as possible. As if that's not frustrating enough, my camera has been acting up lately, and it doesn't always take a picture when I ask it to!

I've always loved my son's eyes, though, so I was pretty determined to get a good picture before he grew up and his eyes matured. In fact, I've been working on the concept for months. I'm pretty happy with this one, but I may try it again later with a different lens.

Flickr is definitely bringing out the camera geek in me! :)

52 Week Challenge: Week 7

Snow!

Although we definitely didn't get as much as Washington D.C., we did get about a foot of snow here in Staten Island yesterday. My son wanted to shovel the snow from the moment he woke up, so after a quick breakfast, we headed out.

At that point, the snow still wasn't that bad. We had maybe 2 inches or so, and we shoveled our sidewalk as well as our neighbors' on either side. (Mainly because I couldn't get my son to go back into the house.) Then, it started snowing more, and more, and it never really stopped until almost midnight. Thankfully, my husband came home early, so I didn't have to go back out there again, but he had to shovel 3 times during the evening hours!

But we're actually lucky compared to our neighbors across the street. We live on a narrow one way street, so when the plow comes through, they always push the snow to the opposite side of the street. I swear, their snow piles are always twice as tall as ours! You don't really think about things like that when you are buying a house, but it does make a HUGE difference!

By the way, the footprints in the photo are mine, not my son's. That's right, I have hearts on the bottom of my boots! I'm only 4'10", so I wear size 2 shoes. I try to find as "adult-looking" shoes as possible, but sometimes, my footprints give away my secret :)

Oh well. At least I got to take an appropriate picture for Valentine's week!

E x h a u s t e d !

So, vacations are supposed to be nice and relaxing, right? Well, not when you travel with a 3-year-old boy!

My husband recently won a free trip to Las Vegas, so we thought maybe it'll be a nice break from the snow. We flew back from Las Vegas on Tuesday morning at 7:30 AM (Great idea Hubby!), and let me tell you, I'm STILL exhausted!

Las Vegas is tiring enough when you are by yourself. There's a lot of walking from one place to another, and all that noise, smoke, and flashing lights can sap the energy right out of you.

But I also had to share my bed with my son, which meant getting kicked in the head, back, and chest all night long. Then, on top of that, he never adjusted to the time difference, so we were up at the crack of dawn.



I could go on about having to carry around a mountain of extra stuff, but let's just move on to the good. I'm not a gambler, so the highlight of the trip for me was going to Red Rock Canyon. It was just Gorgeous! There's a 13 mile loop that you can drive through, and the scenery changed every minute! One minute the mountains were red, then yellow the next, and then striped after that. There was even a little snow on the ground, which is very rare in Nevada.

My son enjoyed going to the Children's Museum, and he also loved the dolphins at the Mirage. By the way, have you ever seen a dolphin from the front? They look pretty funny don't they? Like a funky starfish! :)

Spoon Monument

Spoon Monument
Originally uploaded by SonoSono Studio

My photo for week 3 of the 52 week challenge.

I took a picture of a spoon in a coffee mug. It kind of reminded me of the Washington Monument in DC, so I'm calling it Spoon Monument.

The spoon is actually from my paternal grandparents' house, both of whom passed away when I was still very young. That means the spoon is at least 30 years old, probably much older.

I guess it's kind of appropriate that I made a "monument" out of it!

Blueberries

Blueberries
Originally uploaded by SonoSono Studio

Now that I've joined Flickr, I'm hooked! :) I even decided to give myself a bit of a challenge, and joined a group called 52.2010. We're supposed to share 1 photo a week, which is much more do-able than 365!

So here's my entry for Week 2. My son is in love with blueberries right now, and will eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if I let him.

Flickr

Paper Whites
Originally uploaded by SonoSono Studio

I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I finally opened up a Flickr account! Now, I'll get to share not only my newest jewelry, but also some pieces that I made a long time ago, and not available for sale.

Plus you'll be seeing some photographs of Japan and Tucson that I've taken over the years! They've been sleeping in my super old computer, so it's about time they saw the (virtual) light of the day!

First up, though, is the newest photo of my Paper Whites. I planted them just before Christmas, and they are starting to bloom already!

You can view my Flickr account here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sonosonostudio/