Category Archives: intuitive photography

Magnolia Confusion

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magnoliabuds

No, the sky wasn’t really that blue.  But it is important to note that there is nothing wrong with confusing the world we wish to see, and seeing the world as it actually is.   In fact, we get nowhere until we accept the reality of both visions.  Why do we need to know the difference between the shine of sunlight and the sparkle of buds yearning towards it, concentrating it into another substance altogether, distilling the starry presence into life itself?  As if the world as it actually is could be somehow less celestial than we can possibly dream.

Further Magnolia

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My yellow magnolia is a late bloomer.  By “my yellow magnolia,” I mean the one which the University Arboretum has been maintaining for me.  By “late bloomer,” I mean it blooms about a week after the pink magnolias uncup their  buds and drink in whatever the spring skies give forth.  This tree is easy to locate; in the spring, it is the only yellow tree on the entire grounds.

Honestly, I was a little disappointed last weekend when I went for my annual visit to the yellow magnolia.  The long, puckered petals untwisted randomly from its upright buds, forming asymmetrical shapes that didn’t seem to say “flower.”  Their color was pale, barely more than cream, when butter is the shade I remember.    The branches were thick with jagged twigs, tipped with lonely flowers on the very end, an odd mix of over abundance and isolation.

I stayed with this tree for a long time.  I love it so very much.  Maybe I feel we are alike in some ways, taking our losses with the risk that later, when the time is right, our potential may not quite be reached.  We make what we can of the moment, when it comes, and feel a certain gratitude for what is gained, which is, after all, another shot at another imperfect moment, this time, next year.

Halo

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forsythia

Forsythia needs no explanation from me.

I hope you never get bored with pictures of my hands dug deep into branches of blossoms.  Because I can’t help myself.

More than Magnolia

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When I pause to create an entry to share, often my heart is throbbing with guilt.  The day is not going as it should.  My little ship is rapidly approaching the Falls, which I am sure to tumble over, just as soon as lunch is finished.  Honestly, I don’t know how I manage to write anything at all, sometimes.

But of pink magnolias, and blue skies, I have no doubts.  They will always, always be more than I can see at once.  I can crane my neck and hold my breath and never know for sure, until it is too late to try again.  Failure is almost guaranteed.  But it is my truest pleasure to keep trying.

Magnolia Found

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It takes a long, long time to find the skyward path.  Reaching into thin air is key.  Twists and turns are not a problem.  Everywhich way, you grow.

Magnolia in Hand

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I’ve been carrying Susannah Conoway’s incredible image of a magnolia branch in my mind ever since I first saw it two years ago.  It’s beautiful, of course, but what is so mesmerizing to me is how vividly she has captured her experience of spring.

After prowling around this magnolia for at least an hour, looking and shooting, and trying to watch it honestly, I felt I was getting nowhere.  Realizing it was almost time to go home, I decided I would try my evening meditation in the company of the magnolia.  I sat on a bench where I could see it.  The tension, the urgency of each image I was looking started to unwind as I looked at the pink mass of petals shifting in the exhalations of a light breeze.  I listened to the rumble of skateboarders and laughter of neighbors enjoying their view the park.  I wondered, “What is this feeling I have for this tree?  What is it I want from it?”

One word rose up, clear as a bell.  “Devour.”

Just sitting on a bench in the park is nothing fancy.  Craving the resurgence of life in springtime is nothing special.  So after the timer on my phone went off, I got up and went back to the tree for a while, with my camera.  This is what she gave me.  I feel very, very blessed.

Magnolium

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I hope you like pictures of magnolia blossoms striving into clear blue heaven.  Being earth-bound myself, I can’t seem to get enough of them.

Already Flower

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It looks very simple.  And it is.  The flower forms inside the bulb.  When the temperature is right, the leaves reach upward to gather fuel from sunlight.  The fuel gives the flower the strength to emerge.  But the flower is there, ready.  Waiting.

Cupfullus Daffodillus

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Here is a cup of sunny spring stars for your window sill.  I want you to have them.  They remind me of the sunny stars in your laughter, and the tender days ahead, warm with happiness as yet unknown.

Everytime you see them, think of me.