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2013-05-24 18:41:06 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 28 +1s)

Concentration
Lately I have been concentration challenged.  There is so much going on and many preparations and  activity, to stop and "smell the roses" alone is a challenge.  But I must!  Lists, endless lists and priorities.  Do you ever seem challenged to concentrate on the necessary instead of the frivolous?  Do you ever need to shake yourself up and just concentrate?   Concentrate.  Focus.  

#floralfriday  with +Tamara Pruessner +Beth Akerman and +Eustace James 
#flowers   #drupost   #focus   #concentration  

2013-05-21 03:31:07 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 28 +1s)

Dusting off the brushes
Sometimes life makes you set aside things you love, but you still long for the day when you can use them again, when they can be part of your life and you can let your heart spill life onto a canvas again.  That day will come.  I can almost taste it.

#macromonday  for art supplies with +Jennifer Eden +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim and +Jake Easley 
#art   #paintbrushes   #macro   #drupost  

2013-05-20 02:49:56 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-05-17 22:05:27 (8 comments, 1 reshares, 27 +1s)

Values
In black and white.  We all have values, things we consider important and other things we consider of less importance.  Some things are clear for us, uncompromisingly so and other things a bit more obscure and less decisive.  Universally though I think we all have a thread of gratefulness that we deem of great value.  It keeps good perspective and some grounding for us.   Perhaps even something as simple as what this photograph lacks, the ability to see and enjoy the colors in our world.  Is your world more black and white or does it have shades of gray and then, just how much gray?  Values.  It's a good time to think about them.

#floralfriday  with +Tamara Pruessner +Beth Akerman and +Eustace James 
#dogwood   #blackandwhitephotography   #monochromatic   #values   #drupost  

2013-05-17 15:09:28 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

Happy Birthday to my youngest son!  26 years ago this little blessing came into my life.  
This photograph was taken 24 years ago in the Badlands at our campsite, a drought year and well, he was just being a boy, all boy.  I sure love this young man!  A fine young man he has grown to be too!

2013-05-15 22:31:08 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Question.  Can we reorganize our albums yet???

2013-05-17 15:02:24 (7 comments, 1 reshares, 45 +1s)

First Dance Day Excitement
Two sisters.  One who has been copying her big sister for months doing pliés
and Princess walks and tippy toes and arabesques and first position, second position and sashays, her first dance day arrived with much excitement.  It only happens once.

#portraittuesday with +Laura Balc and +Tana Teel
#firsts #ballet #children #drupost  

2013-05-14 06:03:47 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

Walkin' in Sunshine
Sometimes we just have to walk in the sunshine.  There is something therapeutic about the warmth of the sun and the colors that come to life under it, even as we ourselves do.  When the sun shines, it has a tendency to make our spirits rise with it.   We are buoyed up on a sunbeam and as it smiles down on us we smile right back.  Walkin' in sunshine is such a wonderful thing!

#dandelionpoker with +Laura Loralieh Nixon and myself.
#yisforyellow with +Lucille Galleli
#macromonday   #dandelion #yellow #sunshine #drupost  

2013-05-14 02:03:30 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

Dancing or Flying?
So where are your wishes and dreams?  Are they still dancing in your head or are they flying and ripe for planting and blooming and becoming real? 

#macromonday enjoying light with +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim +Jennifer Eden and +Jake Easley
#dandelionpoker with +Laura Loralieh Nixon and me!
#dandelion #wishes #dreams  

2013-05-11 14:07:51 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 36 +1s)

Like Angel's Wings
Listen closely and you may hear, the soft flutter of angel's wings.
Whispers of hope, sprinkled with promise,
listen, then welcome that which comes on angel's wings.

#floralfriday   with +Tamara Pruessner +Beth Akerman and +Eustace James 
#purplecircle with +Craig Szymanski +Lynn Langmade +Alexis Coram and +Sinead Sam McKeown
#pansy #purple #macro #druspost  

2013-05-09 19:43:01 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 34 +1s)

Visions of things to come.
What we see today, may just be a small glimpse of things that are yet to come.  The future we can only hope and plan for but really the outcome is just so uncertain.  The real test of time is how we are able to adjust and embrace what it brings for us.  As we add the years to our lives we can reflect and believe and understand how it all is interwoven and full and how much we have to be grateful for and just how much we have been blessed.
I see it is +Gene Bowker 's birthday and I thought about trains and planes and bicycles and even tennis shoes, but in the end, I just wanted to bless him with something I love, so here are some spring dogwoods and just a few thoughts to say #happybdaygene   Happy Birthday Gene!

#drupost #spring2013 #dogwood #pinkdogwoodblossoms  

2013-05-06 17:10:20 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

Sigh  warm weather is coming...brat cookouts and all sorts of delicious accompaniments to taste test these.

2013-05-06 15:49:00 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 30 +1s)

What's Cookin'
On this fine sunny Monday morning here in WA, we have outside on the menu for the birthday of the one-year-old in the house!  We have a lot planned this week here in the great NW, if the weatherman's predictions are correct!  So what's cookin' in your neighborhood??

#macromonday for "kitchen objects" +Kerry Murphy +Jennifer Eden +Kelli Seeger Kim and +Jake Easley
#macro #hot #orange #analogouscolors #drupost

2013-05-03 22:27:38 (14 comments, 3 reshares, 48 +1s)

It's all about the honey.
With a singular purpose, with a positive attitude, shrouded in possibilities, it awaits the buzz of the bee, the fierce worker of delicious honey.  It's all about the honey.  When you think about the components, the steps, the work to bring about that sweet goodness, it doesn't come without planning, without reason, without goals, without a vision, without believing, without work. From here, you can't see the honey, but you know the possibilities of its existence.  So how is your honey coming?  That end result from the processes that bring you there. 

“No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see the possibilities – always see them, for they're always there.”
— Norman Vincent Peale

#floralfriday with +Tamara Pruessner and I believe she has two more who have joined her in the lovelyFriday Flowe... more »

2013-05-02 04:30:39 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 6 +1s)

Crab apple blossoms or a warm yellow dandelion, my May calendar desktop wallpaper is on my blog: http://bit.ly/ZVZ5RO  #desktopwallpaper

2013-04-30 17:52:50 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

My May calendar desktop wallpaper is now on my blog ready for download.  Choose from crab apple blossoms or a warm yellow dandelion and enjoy them all month long!

2013-04-30 06:59:08 (6 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

Mesmerizing Bubbles
Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles.   A bit of an illusion.  It reminds me a bit of life.  Sometimes it's all very obvious, very predictable and sometimes it is not.  Sometimes with a bit of knowledge you can see, sometimes to unravel it more information is needed.  Like understanding.  Like wisdom.  Like clarity.   Like another piece of the puzzle.  Like focus. Other times it's all a bit mesmerizing...


#macromonday with +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim +Jennifer Eden and +Jake Easley who all help us to get out of our bubbles on Mondays.

#macro #bubbles #illusions #drupost  

2013-04-26 17:57:10 (11 comments, 3 reshares, 47 +1s)

Mixing Spring
I love the flower of the crab apple tree.  When they first arrive the leaves are a bronze and set such a gorgeous backdrop to the soft delicate pink of the blossoms.  Then the leaves begin to turn a bit of an avocado green.  Add some sunlight and the colors just meld in perfect harmony.  I want to paint with these colors.  I just must, the colors are just amazing to me.

#floralfriday with +Tamara Pruessner
#colorsonfriday with +Karsten Meyer and +Britta Rogge 
#crabappletrees #pink #flowers #drupost

2013-04-25 03:58:17 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 37 +1s)

It's All Becoming Clearer Now
When things begin to emerge, it is really something of great beauty.  From obscurity to full reality takes time, takes determination, takes a clear vision and goals, but when they begin to emerge the clarity will spur exceptional things.  Hold true to your heart.  For life will be more beautiful if you choose to do so.

#pinkcircle with +lane langmade and +Cheryl Cooper
#pink #crabapple #blossom #inspiration #drupost  

2013-04-22 20:33:03 (11 comments, 0 reshares, 35 +1s)

Blurred Realities
With sweeping uncertainty we look closer at our world only to see how wonderfully our dreams can be interwoven with reality...

#macromonday with feathers to lightly tickle our curators +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim +Jennifer Eden and +Jake Easley
#feathers #macro #drupost  

2013-04-22 04:58:52 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

My niece and her family are moving closer to "home."  A great home at a great price!

2013-04-21 23:48:54 (15 comments, 1 reshares, 20 +1s)

Keep the Dreams Alive
Are you keeping the fire burning?  Are your dreams still bright within you?  Are they still alive?  Are you still striving toward them?  Or have you let the lamplight go out?  Dream, that's the thing to do.  Believe.  Strive.  Keep your dreams alive and soon they will be a reality.

#inspirationalsaturday with +Khrystiane Friedli +Charlotte Therese Björnström and +Mylah Nazario 
#dandelionpoker with +Laura Loralieh Nixon and me!
#dandelion #wishes #dreams #drupost  

2013-04-16 03:19:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Adobe has released a public beta version of its Photoshop Lightroom 5 workflow and image editing software and we've had some time to look at its latest features. Available immediately for free download from Adobe Labs, the beta introduces a more advanced healing/cloning tool, automatic image leveling and perspective correction, a new selective editing tool and the ability to edit files that are offline. Click through for what you need to know to begin exploring this new release on your own. http://ow.ly/k5Ql1

2013-04-14 20:11:20 (13 comments, 2 reshares, 61 +1s)

Spring Serenade
A gentle breeze, a sweet song.  I can hear it, can you?  Spring's soft whisper rises softly.  Love's first tap.  May I have this dance?  As the waltz of color begins to glide across the landscape, Spring's invitation is clear, "Come, enter my world, come dance with me."  As Spring's sweet serenade whispers its first note, are you listening?  Are you ready for the dance?  Are you ready to breathe it all in?  Tap, tap, tap.

#pinkcircle with +lane langmade and +Cheryl Cooper
#spring2013 #inspirational #crabappletrees #flowerphotography #drupost  

2013-04-13 03:36:31 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 21 +1s)

Sometimes we just have to let go.
Sometimes, things are best left behind.
Sometimes, it is the only way to begin again.
Sometimes, there is something better yet to come.
Sometimes.

#inspirationalsaturday with +Charlotte Therese Björnström +Khrystiane Friedli and +Mylah Nazario 
#petal #inspirational #drupost  

2013-04-13 03:07:02 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 2 +1s)

All of my Lightroom presets are FREE all day today!!
Help share to get the word out

- The original vintage presets (that replicate a popular photo sharing app. You know the one....)
- Black and white presets
- Sunrise/sunset presets
- Autumn presets

Download them now because at midnight PST, they will all return to being $5 per package. Happy Friday!!

http://caseymacphoto.com/downloads/presets
(My personal opinion on presets is that they can provide a good starting spot for editing your photo, however, no preset is a substitute for good composition, light, and timing.)

2013-04-12 17:05:00 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 21 +1s)

Into each life some rain must fall.
It's a wonderful saying really if you think about it for very long its implication becomes more real and full of meaning and understanding.  A little rain, a little bud and soon a flower blossoming in full glory.  Think about it.  One of the reasons I love flowers is because you can draw so many parallels in life with them, bringing hope and delight and beauty to us and realizing that life is a bit like that little bud, its potential is evident, its success depends on the care, when it withers, another is waiting to bloom or the time for rest of that plant is necessary for its cycle of life.  Spring is here and it is time for the buds to blossom!

#floralfriday with +Tamara Pruessner
#bud #flowerphotography #purplecircle #rain #drupost  

2013-04-11 06:43:35 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 0 +1s)

This may be of some interest to some of my followers!  It is without cost to you.

2013-04-11 04:57:41 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 1 +1s)

Sorry watching American Idol...
OH MY GOODNESS...move over. Just give me a Candice Glover album RIGHT NOW.

2013-04-11 22:02:15 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 32 +1s)

It was her twolips that sent him into a spin.
Love is a funny thing.  Love is a wonderful thing. 

#tulips #flowerphotography #macrophotography #red #drupost  

2013-04-10 17:25:38 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 36 +1s)

Spilling Hope
Spring and hope seem quite synonymous.  When Spring arrives it seems to bring a positive outlook to life, to our prospect of better things.  As the life in nature becomes green and the colors of flowers and blossoming trees speckle the landscape it seems to wake up our senses and bring new hope after the long Winter months.  Spring seems to spill over in hope, not just for better days but better things in our lives.


#spring2013 #hope #inspirational #crabappletrees #drupost  

2013-04-09 04:54:33 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Since Rembrandt is one of my favorite artists and this is one of my favorite paintings, I just couldn't resist.  This is just fun!

2013-04-09 04:44:57 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 34 +1s)

A Dream All My Own
Sometimes we harbor something very close to our hearts where few, if any people are privy to its existence, let alone its content.  It is a dream we hold dear, often think of it as wonderful yet wonderfully impossible.  Yet we still dream it.  We still keep it close to us.  We still remain silent about it. Perhaps one day we will release it to the world, but perhaps not.  People may think it is foolish but in it lies a hope we refuse to give up.  We refuse to think it entirely impossible.  Do you have a dream like this?  A dream all your own?

#macromonday secrets with +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim +Jennifer Eden and +Jake Easley
#pinkcircle with +Cheryl Cooper and +lane langmade 
#dreams #crabappletrees   #inspirational #drupost  

2013-04-08 23:20:33 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

I just couldn't decide which secret scene to share with my #macromonday friends.  So here are two "secret" landscape escapes.  Macro hideaways are another way to look at our world.

Sharing secrets with the wonderful curators +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim +Jennifer Eden and +Jake Easley
#macrolandscapes #macrophotography #drupost  

2013-04-08 07:46:27 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 5 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-04-07 06:18:54 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

The Big List of Websites for Authors

I'm compiling a big list of websites which I find particularly worthwhile as an author. You might discover some good ones, too.

I'm just starting. The list has about 60 links so far, but will eventually be much longer. Eventually, I might even get around to organizing it.

If you have any suggestions to add to the list, let me know - either here or in the comments on my website.

Cheers.

2013-04-05 21:19:02 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 47 +1s)

All I ever do is dream...
Wishes.  Dreams.  Spring.  Summer.  Fall.  Winter.  Oh what dreams may come.  Who?  What?  Where?  When?  Oh what dreams may come.
Desire.  Hope.  Oh what dreams may come.
What are you doing to make them come true?  Because all I ever do is dream of you.

#floralfriday with +Tamara Pruessner
#daffodil #light #dreamy #drupost  

2013-04-04 04:28:01 (10 comments, 3 reshares, 60 +1s)

A Breath of Spring
Spring.  Fresh.  Renewal.  sigh 
This time of year always brings new encouragement.  There is just something about it that increases your positive side.  It's like you can do just about anything this time of year.  A "yes I can" is heard throughout the northern hemisphere.  And beauty and grace is just part of life right now and it spills over to us as we take the breath of Spring.  Yes!

#breakfastclub with +Gemma Costa
#pinkcircle with +Cheryl Cooper and +lane langmade 
#spring2013 #crabappletrees #drupost  

2013-04-02 03:23:36 (18 comments, 3 reshares, 51 +1s)

Dandelion Dew
Enough to quench your thirst for bokeh and waterdrops and dandelions.  Dew, such a luscious addition to any lovely weed flower.  Little droplets that bring delight to each little petal. Sunshine that nurtures and warms the soul.  Little circles created by the morning light.  What a wonderful way for morning to greet you.  Just a little piece of heaven to fill your soul with wonder, with curiosity, with beauty, with joy.  Now who doesn't enjoy mornings?

#macromonday for all the little buds +Jennifer Eden +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim and +Jake Easley
#dandelionpoker with +Laura Loralieh Nixon and me.  >_<
#bokeh #dandelion #dew #waterdroplets #drupost  

2013-04-01 15:06:54 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Choices, choices, choices!  Sometimes, I like to let others make them!  ;)   April Desktop Wallpaper is now on my blog!  Have a Happy Spring!

#desktopwallpapers #spring2013 #blogpost #drupost  

2013-03-31 23:21:13 (12 comments, 3 reshares, 54 +1s)

Spring Understated
Spring in muted tones.  Sometimes new things don't come boldly, but subtly.  And we have to watch and keep alert to what surrounds us or we may miss the very thing that will bring relief from difficult or dark days.   Sometimes the subtle things are easy to pass, to ignore, to dismiss.  Or they are right under our noses, so close we don't notice.  Take a moment and smile at the subtle wonder that surrounds you today, this marvelous Resurrection Day.   Happy Easter to my Christian friends!

#easter #crabappletrees #spring2013 #flowerphotography #drupost  

2013-03-30 21:18:17 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 38 +1s)

Spring Light
We are so fortunate to see a beautiful weekend here in the NW.  It isn't often when we have so many lovely days and what a little sunshine can do for the weary soul drenched in Winter and Spring grays.  It's enough to put a smile of sunshine right on your face!

#daffodils #flowerphotography #spring2013 #drupost  

2013-03-29 18:05:36 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 30 +1s)

Portrait of Spring
It is beginning to warm up a bit here in the NW and Spring is beginning to show its lovely dress and I couldn't be happier to accompany it to Summer's ball!  Hooray for Spring, for all its colors, for all its beauty, for all its freshness, for all its warmth.  Welcome my friend; I have missed you so!

#floralfriday with +Tamara Pruessner
#daffodil #spring2013 #flowers #drupost  

2013-03-29 07:11:20 (12 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

Easter-Me and My Sister
I found a few more photographs that I have from the past when I was searching for some I had taken a long while back.  With Easter just around the corner, I thought this might fit quite well!

#blastfromthepast with +Cheryl Cooper +Isabelle Fortin and +Mark Rodriguez

2013-03-27 18:21:44 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 4 +1s)

This might be of some interest to photographers on here.  And it's free!

2013-03-27 16:59:19 (10 comments, 2 reshares, 25 +1s)

Abi Pencil Sketch
When my children were young I didn't often have the opportunity to break out the pastels or oils, but I used my sketchbooks or any paper I could find to do my sketching.  This was one I found yesterday when I was putting together  some submission work.  Gosh, that was a long, long time ago...

I missed #portraittuesday because of it all, but I'll still hashtag it here.  :)
#sketch #pencildrawing #portrait #drupost  

2013-03-26 03:04:44 (10 comments, 0 reshares, 27 +1s)

PrismaColor My World
Such a simple song and one that always makes me think about photography.   It's been an interesting day so I need to think about taking the time to
 Color My World
As time goes on, I realize
Just what you mean to me.
And now, now that you're near,
Promise your love that I've waited to share
And dreams of our moments together.
Color my world with hopes of loving you.

For the #macromonday four +Kerry Murphy +Kelli Seeger Kim +Jake Easley and +Jennifer Eden (finally!)
#rainbowseverywhere #colors #macro #drupost  

2013-03-25 16:47:11 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Added photos to March Self Portrait Challenge: Face Close Ups!.

2013-03-25 07:35:51 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 6 +1s)

Added photos to The Selfy Sunday Project.

2013-03-22 21:35:40 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 47 +1s)

Frost on the Dande
Spring here in the NW isn't in full bloom quite yet.  I'm still waiting for my daffodils and my tulips and other flowers and trees to bloom, but the dandelions for now get to steal the show.  The frost this morning was enough to send a shiver through me but I couldn't help but get out to see what I could find for #floralfriday and this is what I found a single dandelion having survived the grass-cutters who were here this week.  I'll be waiting and watching and snapping as Spring comes to my town, how about you?

with +Tamara Pruessner
#dandelionpoker with +Laura Loralieh Nixon and +Dru Stefan Stone
#frost #dandelion #spring2013 #drupost #frostyfriday