In my spare time, which is rare these days, I throw myself into creating imagery. Whether through reflective prose or photography, creating resonance between image and reader in a way that is special to them, is paramount to the success of my work.
It’s a hobby-I guess you could say, although it’s how I would love to spend the rest of my days, drowning in my creative mind, and enriching my life experience.
Living creatively is to burn the demons that plague us
-the direct result of living in an impossibly insane world.
Honestly, I know I’m tired when I jump into bed at night, teeth brushed, earrings out, pyjamas on, mouth guard in, perfume applied…pardon? Perfume applied? Did I imagine I was on my way to work? Did I imagine I was going out on the town? Did I think anything at all? -I think not. I simply splashed a couple of pumps on my neck of the old ‘little black dress’ , dilly daddled for a bit, organised myself nicely, complimented myself on how sweet I Was smelling tonight and then the cogs turned. Are you serious Nicole? What the heck? Why in goodness’s name did you just put perfume on?
It scares me that I can zone out so easily. Autopilot kicks in on my way to work some days also. I’ll walk in the doors and it will suddenly occur to me my concentration had been on planet boonga
for the last half an hour, and I had little recollection of the journey to work. I always feel I’ve forgotten to do something vital at this point…like brush my hair, or put on a bra-you know that kind of rush into work thing and then discover your phone is at home, or you left the dog in the house….or the kids :))
Attempting to capture the beauty of Nature holistically, with the click of a finger seems an impossible task.
Why?
The result is simply an image that impresses upon the viewer the superficial form of the subject, is it not?
From this, the viewer draws upon their own personal tastes and formulates an impression if you will- which will almost always innacurately depict the character of the subject.
Beauty is multi-faceted, photography is linear-true?
Nobody can claim to truly understand the duck in the photograph and nobody can claim to truly know the ducks character.
It has pretty feathers. It has a beautiful bill, it floats on the water with spectacular ease, but that is all we can determine from the image, is it not?
I hope not, because the second this is believed, story telling is dead.
We must make room for magic. We must make room for dreaming. We must make room for hope and inspiration and belief and admiration and creativity.
We must make room for emotion.
The point of the photo, and the magic of the image, is in it’s broader interpretation. It will be, whatever you want it to be. It will represent, whatever your unique interpretation decides. It simply serves as a key with which to unlock emotion, a flame to ignite passion, and an alarm clock with which to awaken inspiration.
Long live the multi-faceted, emotion filled potential of the photographic image.
Colour is everywherePink and Yellow in a bloomDelicate FacesPerfect RedHome in the forestPurple SmilesDecorative Grasses splashed with ColourHeaven is at the topLuscious FieldsWinding Journey inside the hillsIs this the end? Or the beginning?A model fence with a grass blanketThe rains are comingA lilac sky
‘Being an adult can be serious business, but so many people have lost the sheer capacity for fun, joy and laughter- Even when the opportunity is there, we miss it.’
We have always told our kids to hang up the phone when someone odd calls.
We have been receiving many calls lately from non-english speaking folk on the other side of the world, informing us our computer is not working-a scam to steal all our money.
Our 11 year old son was in charge of the house for 5 minutes-I had quickly ducked out.
This is what happened when I was away.
‘Ring ring..Ring ring’
“Hello it’s X speaking”
“Hello X, I was wondering if your mum or Dad were home? If so, may I please speak with them?”-A lady with a strong accent queried.
X- “Nope!” -Clunk-He promptly hung up the phone.
‘That’ll sort HER out he thought, pleased with himself.
5 seconds later-
‘Ring ring, ring ring’
“Hello X, please don’t hang up this time. It’s Mrs K- the Principal of your School.”
X-Silence…panic…shock!
“Oooohhhhh- I’m sorry Mrs K, I didn’t recognise your voice, I’m soooo sorry, I’m home by myself and I thought you were a rip-off from Africa”
This story was re-told absolutely beautifully by my 11 year old, who has always been – ‘one of those people’ that has the rare ability to lighten my life.
His quick wit and his relentless natural humour, is a gift to me.
…
DO YOU HAVE HUMOUR IMPAIRMENT?
Below is an article that’s well worth the read if you think you are suffering from a condition by the name of ‘Humour Impairment’-I’m certain I have suffered from this in the past, and I am equally certain my husband suffers from it now!!
This article has been living on my study wall for a period of 6 years, sticky-taped and blue-tacked, yet if you had’ve asked me what was up there, I probably would’ve responded with “nothing.”
It’s funny how something I see every day, can be wiped from my memory recall.
It’s entitled:
HUMOUR MAKES LIFE EASIER
-ANON
Humour can be a powerful and effective mechanism for coping with stress, especially when combined with other means of stress reduction. The real power of humour and laughter shows up when you learn to use it in stressful situations. It keeps things in perspective, helps dispel negative emotions, and puts you in a frame of mind that can help better cope with the situation. Combining stress management techniques with a more light-hearted outlook on life won’t make you stress-proof, but it can make the difficult things easier to endure.
If you’re willing to laugh at the little disasters in life, you’ll find that other areas of your life will also become easier. Laughter, especially when you laugh at yourself, does many important things:
It empowers you. When you laugh at your setbacks, you no longer feel sorry for yourself. you feel uplifted and encouraged.
It helps you communicate more effectively.
It makes you likeable
It helps you cope. “Nothing erases unpleasant thoughts more effectively than concentration on pleasant ones”-Hans Selye
It provides perspective by removing you from your problems. Everyone makes mistakes, and we need to remember that-” I may not be perfect, but parts of me are excellent”-Ashleigh Brilliant
People tend to be less threatened by you.
Using Humour effectively
You may agree that laughing will help with your stress but agreeing with this doesn’t always help when the kids fight, miss the bus, and leave you late for work.
Everyone has his or her own sense of humour. If you’re not attuned to yours, you’ll end up missing many opportunities to use humour skills to deal with life’s stressors. Being an adult can be serious business, but so many people have lost the sheer capacity for fun, joy and laughter. Even when the opportunity is there, we miss it. Many adults have this problem called ‘Humour impairment.’
–Simply defined, it means the inability to find humour even in situations that are funny to most people. Stress can cause humour impairment. Fortunately you can make the choice to change.
Finding the laughter in life
You don’t have to laugh out loud to find something funny, but you do need to recognise the types of humour you will be able to use most effectively to manage stress. Do you life slapstick humour or verbal humour? Do you understand what kinds of humour offend you? Do you like jokes that focus on things you have in common with the comedian? Do you like to see props and gimmicks? Do you find humour in things that weren’t necessarily meant to be funny? Answering these questions will help you identify what humour to seek to help reduce stress and have more fun in life. You also need to ask yourself how long you hold on to misery before letting loose with humour.
I wrote an article recently on the benefits of using Humour over Anger in times of confrontation.
It’s difficult to do, but if you can master it over time, the benefits are enormous.
All Of Me 