When given a gift, the only appropriate response is gratefulness. Life is a gift. Each day is filled with blessings — just by our presence, we can express our gratitude.
I’m grateful I can spend time in nature capturing its many beautiful moments. Still, for many, it is easy to miss the beauty of nature. Many do not have the opportunity to spend time out in nature. However, through Louie Schwartzberg’s time-lapse photography, we can experience the stunning beauty of nature. (See Moving Art by Louie Schwartzberg)
Louie Schwartzberg is an award-winning cinematographer, director, and producer whose notable career spans more than three decades, providing breathtaking imagery for feature films, television shows, documentaries, and commercials.
The following video is a TEDx San Fransisco presentation, which includes his short film on Gratitude and Happiness, reminding us of the precious gift of life, and the beauty all around us.
There are sunsets that whisper a good-by.
There is a short dusk and a way for stars.
Prairie and sea rim they go level and even
And the sleep is easy.
There are sunsets that dance good-by.
They fling scarves half to the arc,
To the arc then and over the arc.
Ribbons at the ears, sashes at the hips,
Dancing, dancing good-by. And here sleep
Tosses a little with dreams.
She sang beyond the genius of the sea.
The water never formed to mind or voice,
Like a body wholly body, fluttering
Its empty sleeves; and yet its mimic motion
Made constant cry, caused constantly a cry,
That was not ours although we understood,
Inhuman, of the veritable ocean.
The sea was not a mask. No more was she.
The song and water were not medleyed sound
Even if what she sang was what she heard,
Since what she sang was uttered word by word.
It may be that in all her phrases stirred
The grinding water and the gasping wind;
But it was she and not the sea we heard.
— from The Idea of Order at Key West by Wallace Stevens (Click Here To Read The Complete Poem)
Sunset Photo Essay (October 8, 2016) — Images by kenne
(Click on any of the images for larger view in a slideshow format.)
Bring Me The Sunset In A Cup — by Emily Dickinson
Bring me the sunset in a cup, Reckon the morning’s flagons up And say how many Dew, Tell me how far the morning leaps— Tell me what time the weaver sleeps Who spun the breadth of blue!
Write me how many notes there be In the new Robin’s ecstasy Among astonished boughs— How many trips the Tortoise makes— How many cups the Bee partakes, The Debauchee of Dews!
Also, who laid the Rainbow’s piers, Also, who leads the docile spheres By withes of supple blue? Whose fingers string the stalactite— Who counts the wampum of the night To see that none is due?
Who built this little Alban House And shut the windows down so close My spirit cannot see? Who’ll let me out some gala day With implements to fly away, Passing Pomposity?
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
Sunset:
a name for a folder
holding moments captured
at the end of the day.
No moon. No stars.
Just clouds floating by,
directing the light show —
a new show everyday,
each deserving a poem.
Five years ago we moved to Tucson, Arizona from The Woodlands, Texas (located north of Houston). Then as now, our friends and family couldn’t believe we were leaving our home of over 25 years. There is still plenty of discussion as to whether it was a good move or not.
As a visitor to the site, you know my images reflect my appreciation for Arizona’s beauty. But, what about the heat, “it’s hot in the summer time,” you say. Yes, the temps are high, averaging 101 degrees for a high in July.
As most people know, dry heat is more comfortable than humid heat. Example: Yesterday it was 99 degrees in Tucson, but felt like 93 degrees. Houston had a high of 93 degrees, but it felt like 99 degrees. Additionally, in Tucson if it’s too hot to spend much time outside, in a 45 minute drive we can be on Mt. Lemmon where yesterday’s high was 69 degrees.
Let’s face it, since I think in art I’m just trying to confirm my existence — my existential moment.
Sunset — Photo-Artistry by kenne
The Sea of Cortas — Image by kenne
My Tree of Life — Image by kenne
Sunset On Blackett’s Ridge — Image by kenne
Valentine’s Day Sunset (Tucson, February 14, 2016) — Image by kenne
