Reflecting

by Kate

What does "reflecting" mean to you? Is it unplugging, meditating, or just staring out the window at nothing in particular? As you are reading this, my little family and I are wrapping up our week long Spring Break trip to San Antonio, Texas. We've had lots of laughter, adventures and misadventures, too. But most of all, we've unplugged from our daily routines and spent time as a family exploring and discovering places we've never seen before.

And that to me is perfect.

Fairy Magic

by Katie

I took my "Momma Adventure" this week on Monday, instead of on Wednesday seeing that the weather was going to be much warmer Monday than Wednesday.  With the time change, it was just before sunrise when I arrived at Lake Sequoyah, 10 minutes east of Fayetteville and one of my favorite spots to lose myself. The only way I can describe the beauty of the world waking up Monday morning is with a quote that I found copied down on a bit of scrap paper on my daughter's desk.

"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."  ~ ~ ~ Roald Dahl

May you find a little bit of magic in the most unlikely of places this weekend. 

Souvenirs

by Katie

I go hiking once a week, usually on Wednesdays. Wednesdays have always been my "do-nothing" day, a day where I don't do any housework, errands, socializing, nothing whatsoever related to being a stay-at-home momma. In fact, Wednesdays have been re-named "Adventure Day" and my husband and kids know that I will not text back or call back when I'm out hiking and exploring. The only criteria to Adventure Day is that I make it back by 3:00 to pick up my son from school. But that's the only rule.

I love getting away from my daily routine, to get outside and see this beautiful state that we moved to nine years ago. Before, we lived in the Washington, DC metro area, in northern Virginia actually, and the closest countryside was a good three hour drive west. One way. Once you got past all the townhouses and strip malls, you were really too exhausted to go hiking, and if you did have the energy to hike, you only had about 30 minutes to do so before piling back into the car and driving the three hours back, fighting traffic the closer you got  home.

Not much fun.

But after moving to Arkansas and smack dab in the middle of the Ozark Mountains, there's no excuse not to take advantage of all the hiking trails that are abundant in the area. I keep a list of places I want to explore on our pantry door, and I'm slowly crossing them off.  It's something I look forward to every week.

Something that I do when I'm out hiking is pay close attention to the rocks that lay scattered about. Most of my hikes involve rivers and creeks, so rocks and pebbles are plentiful. Arkansas rocks are very smooth, smooth from being washed over by the waters of the Buffalo River, the War Eagle River, Lee's Creek, the White River. And they're very round and mostly flat. They make great skipping rocks; in fact, I make it a point to skip a rock for each of my children when I find a good spot along the water's edge. This little rock above is from my latest hike to War Eagle River, just 30 minutes east of where we live.

When I find unique rocks, unique in that they have beautiful colors or just feel really nice in my hand, I bring them home as souvenirs from that day's hike. These rocks are from the King's River (top), the Buffalo River (middle) and the White River. The last one was actually given to me by one of my daughter's friends because he knew I liked rocks and keep them scattered about my office. It's one of my favorites because it's in the shape of a heart.

My son found this one from the King's River hike that we all went on last month. It sits on my desk next to my monitor.

I don't bring every rock home with me. Other hikers before me leave tower-like formations behind for others to enjoy, maybe even add more rocks to the the structure. But the beauty of Arkansas rocks just speak to me, I don't know what it is, but they somehow bring back my childhood and a sense of comfort.

And they make great paperweights.

So tell me, what do you like to collect? What do you bring back from your adventures?

(and don't worry: i always tell my husband where it is i plan to hike, text him once i get to my destination and once again before i leave for home and i always, always take my phone with me.) 

Try It (You Might Like It)!

by Kate

I have a confession to make:

I get bored.  I mean, reeeeeally bored, reeeeeeally easily.

And I tend to get stir crazy (and irritated) when I'm forced to stay inside, either from illness or the weather.

Knock on wood, I've been pretty healthy so far this winter (although the last time we had a winter this horrible, I came down with a terrible case of pneumonia right when summer began, and I must admit that I sobbed on my husband's shoulder that evening after coming home from the emergency room. It just wasn't fair!), so why have I been so bored and "blech" feeling lately?

Because I've been taking photos of the same old things the same old way and photography wasn't exciting anymore. I needed to challenge myself, so I put on my Thinking Cap and made A List. This list consists of seven things that I want to achieve this year with my photography. Five of those are different techniques that I always thought were really, really cool, but never thought I'd be able to figure out, let alone make happen. I'll get to the last one in a minute.

The first technique I set out to learn was the "zoom effect".  You can learn more about it here. I haven't even begun to master it, but it's a lot of fun. I plan on taking my son down to a near by trail this weekend (65 degrees and sunshine predicted! Glory be!!) and have him run towards me as I zoom the lens in and out. Should be quite the hysterical photo shoot. 

Other things I want to learn and wrote down on The List are time lapse photography, light trails, mastering panning, photographing water droplets and getting more comfortable in front of the camera. The last thing on my list is volunteering my photography. I've signed up at our local animal shelter to photograph the animals that are up for adoption and those photos will be put in a nation wide adoption website called Pet Finder. I'm pretty excited to be joining the other volunteer photographers in doing this. The other volunteering I'll be doing will come in December, and it's the wonderful organization called Help Portrait. Both of these endeavours are totally out of my comfort zone, but I know that they will challenge me in the way that I need to be. I need a good kick in the pants sometimes to try something new.

So, on this Valentine's Day, ask yourself what you want to master, what is it that you want to sit back and say to yourself, "Yeah, I took that picture and it's a mighty damn fine one!" and then go do it. I guarantee you that the excitement and love will be re-kindled all over again. 

Then go eat that box of chocolates, or better yet, take a self-portrait of you eating that box of chocolates! Come on, I dare ya!

Happy Valentines day, my sweethearts!

Golden Day

by Katie

"Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees."

- - - John Muir

May you all have a peaceful and golden weekend.

Tis . . .

by Kate

I've never been real crazy about my kitchen counters and back splash. They're both a plain boring white tile, without any pizazz. The grout and I have become sworn enemies, with me attacking it with a bleach bottle once a month, and the grout counter-attacking with yellow,  dingy, coffee-colored stains two days later.

And yes, the pun was totally intended.

But lately, I've actually come to appreciate the simplicity of the white tile . . . which totally ties into my little "word" for this year, "tis":

"T"houghtful.

"I"ntentional.

"S"implify.

I want to become more "Thoughtful" in my daily life, more "Intentional" in my undertakings and to "Simplify" my thoughts and focus. 

Whereas I'm busy applying those little words to my non-photography life already (what? there is such a thing??), while I was looking through my photos to include in today's post, I realized that the majority of my images already have those characteristics. I prefer shooting with just one subject in the frame with very little background distraction. I love negative space in photos because it really makes the viewer pay attention to the subject. This year,  I want to work even harder and more intentionally and become even more thoughtful where I point my lens. 

Simple is best.

So, as I continue my war with my white tiled counter tops, maybe I'll take it easier on them this year. After all, they provide a beautiful free backdrop for cabbage heads and blueberries!

What is your word or words for this year? We'd love it if you shared them in the comments!

An End and A Beginning . . .

by Katie

It is my great pleasure to introduce our newest FOL sister, Katie Austin!  Coincidentally enough, she is beginning her journey here at the beginning of a new year and with our focus this month being on "beginnings", it couldn't be more perfect! If you haven't been following her on Flickr or Instagram, you are in for a treat.  Her photography is amazing but even more than that, her storytelling just draws you in. She doesn't just post a  photo, she tells you a story and we thought she would fit in perfectly here at FOL.  So without further ado, I give you Katie!  ~Terri

January is an exciting month, isn't it? So full of energy and big new ideas, with creativity flowing like rivers. I really, really like new beginnings and fresh starts and the whole clean slate feeling of January - - - and it's not because my birthday is in ten days and a wake up and should really be made a national holiday. 

I love my birthday. 

But wait! Who is this nut that has taken over Focusing On Life and is talking about clean slates and new beginnings and her birthday, for crying out loud?

That would be me, Katie (or Kate, if you belong to my husband's side of the family). 

I am:

- - - a runner of thirty years and still going strong, despite my orthopedist telling me to ease up on the mileage and avoid running hills. He does realize that we live smack dab in the middle of the Arkansas Ozark mountains, doesn't he? Shoot, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a huge hill around here.

- - -  yep, my little family are proud Arkansas Razorbacks and love calling those hogs: Woo! Pig! Soooie!  (now, if we could just have a winning football season!)

- - -  I am a momma to two kids, ages 14 and 20, but they will forever be permanently three years old in my mind's eye. You might say I am in slight denial over them getting older. I am married to a man that still takes my breath away and gives me belly aches from laughing so hard. I love the adventure my life has become since we both said, "I do" twenty-four years ago.

I was first given a camera when I was 12, one of those Kodak Instamactic cameras with the flash bulbs you could buy at the drug store. If I close my eyes hard enough, I can almost smell the burning they'd give off after firing. I must've taken thousands of photos since then, but it wasn't till 2011, right about this time of year, that I Got Serious About Photography. My husband suggested that I start a 365 project, never knowing how much I'd fall for photography. And I fell hard, reading everything I could, including the dreaded (and somewhat terrifying) camera manual that came with my first DSLR, a Nikon D3000. Well, I've practiced and practiced and read and read and upgraded to a Nikon D7100 and read and practiced some more and I still feel like I've only touched the tip of the iceberg. 

There's just. So. Much. Still. That. I. Want/Need to learn. I don't really have a "niche" yet, although I love wildlife, nature and sports photography, devouring my husband's copy of Sport's Illustrated when it comes in the mail.  He's even caught me watching football with him so I can begin to understand the game a bit more. And yes, he likes to tease me a a bit about it. 

So, that's pretty much me in a nutshell. I'm looking forward to 2014, I really am. I plan on taking a step back and not do a 365 project this year, rather I want to dive even deeper into photography and drink in and soak up everything I can about this wonderful gift that we all love so much.

What are some things that you want to dive into this year? I can't wait to hear them!