When I try and describe the feeling I get when I see the Pacific, I think it makes me sound silly. It's real though and true...it really does speak to me. It stirs me. We leave for California in about two weeks and I can hardly wait.

cool morning air
windows open
fog over the water in the morning
ever changing look of the Ocean
farmers markets
sandy towels, cars, feet, flip flops...
roses in the garden, and rosemary
sunset on the beach
no constant hum of air conditioning units, just air

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Play along: leave links in the comments section to your FSF blog entries, images, etc.

Happy Weekend friends!

Oh my goodness! WHO are these tiny boys? How were they so small that they fit into my sinks? I was going through pictures the other day (obviously the older ones) and found this set. It was a quick shot with a point and shoot back when Sayer was about 2 and a half and Finn looks to be about 6-8 months old.

I love these images. They are full of flaws for sure but they do what pictures do best, they captured this quick moment for me to discover again years later. They allow me to be briefly transported back in time to see my tiny boys again. They are perfect even with the bottle of Pepto, Sayer's red eye and the flash lighting (among other imperfections- no photo critiquing allowed please).

I look at these and remember how sweet Finn looked in those pj's and how Sayer always wore those little house shoes. I remember how much fun they had making faces at themselves. I wonder how crazy our house must have been with two boys so little. I get a little jolt thinking that, in November, We'll have another little one again.

What about you? Have you stumbled on any pictures like this lately, the ones that take you back?

I like to call them the in between shots. They are the tiny split second moments that happen a lot when photographing kids. It's that funny moment, crazy face or the amazing expression that happened just for a fleeting second and, sometimes, you happen to catch it. I love this image because it is one of those type of moments. These girls were running, playing and being silly and then, for this brief moment, they stopped. The frame before this has the older girl in the foreground making a silly face and her sister rolling around.

I love the way the little girl in the back has her feet and how she's just gazing up at my ceiling. She looks so peaceful like she could be laying in the grass on a nice day. I love the little pout on her older sister's face. It looks like she's annoyed (maybe even at her sister) or perhaps just bored. What about you, what do you see?

Any favorite shots this Friday? I'd love to see them! Leave links to them in the comments section below or add them to our Favorite Shot Friday Flickr Pool.

PS- for those of you who want to play along, here's what you do: Write your own Favorite Shot Friday blog post and add a link to it here in the comments. When you write your post, link to mine. It creates a cool circular trail that people can follow and enjoy. I hope you'll join in the fun!

Happy weekend!

Earlier this year I submitted a proposal to The Lawndale Art Center for a gallery show and, well, sadly, they didn't accept it. So, what to do next? Today, I submitted again to the same gallery but for a different show. That's what I promised myself I would do this year.

It's an awkward process. I wrapped up my three favorite pieces and printed out the paperwork. I filled it out three times in an effort to get it just right. I double and triple checked everything and made my way over to the gallery. For this show, you have to drop the work off for a jury to review them (vs. sending in images of it). I am happy about that actually because I think the work is more interesting in person. You can really see it the textures and all the layers that way. As I was walking in, there were lots of other artists carrying in their work as well. Even though it made me realize how much competition there is for the space on the walls, it also made me feel better. I kept thinking, we're all in this together. I wasn't the only one filling out the paperwork 3 times and I wouldn't be the only one who got told yes or no.

The judging happens on Saturday and Sunday and on Sunday they will be calling the people whose work was NOT selected. If the work is not selected, then you have to go pick it back up. I'm really hoping they say yes because going back to pick it up if they say no is really not going to be fun. As you can imagine, my Sunday afternoon is going to be spent staring down my cell phone and hoping that I do not get a call. We were allowed up to three submissions so they may accept one, two or three. I have to remember that if/when my phone rings on Sunday afternoon.

So, sweet friends, on Saturday and Sunday send me good luck vibes, pray, maybe do a rain dance or meditate on the visual of them accepting my work. I would appreciate anything of the sort that you can send my way.

Some days it's just sitting there right in front of you waiting silently to be seen. "It" being those amazingly beautiful moments brought to you via a very simple and everyday thing like a tabletop flower. The question is, do you see it or does its silent presence pass you by? Perhaps your mind was elsewhere worrying about the future or going over the details of the past. I hate to think of those missed moments because it's ordinary, simple and beautiful moments like these that are one of my very favorite things in life. They help me celebrate and be completely present in the moment, which I suspect just may be the meaning of life after all.

I need to buy a better point and shoot because my cell phone is packed full of mediocre, low resolution versions of these magical moments. They don't do them justice.

Quick iPhone grabs at stoplights, while on trips or just walking from place to place...

Many of these photos will never be printed and some may not even get a second glance after they've been captured. That's okay, they are an exercise in seeing, appreciating and being grateful. It's my way of saying thank you to the moment for showing itself.

What about you? Are you a moment collector like me with a full cell phone library? Today your assignment is to keep your eyes open, move a little slower and grab what you see. I hope you'll share it with us by posting links to your images (blogs, flickr streams, etc.) in the comments section below. Or add your images to my Monday Lesson Flickr pool.