The Girl Who Played with Fire.

 

This is my first time ever playing with fire in Photoshop. Anyone who has done this knows how time consuming it can be especially when you’re just learning like me. This shoot really did not go as planned. It was super windy, cold, and rainy so I really wasn’t sure I got anything. When I saw this shot with her hair, I instantly thought of fire!

Model: Nevada Pearl

I got one the textures I used here from the wonderful Brooke Shaden: shadenproductions.com/blog/2013/02/12/textures-of-india/

#shadentextures

Wild Mustangs in the Rain

“I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.” -Jonas Salk

A very appropriate quote for the day.

The Milky Way

“I am self-propelled; fueled from within. I appreciate people’s opinions, but I’m not attached to them. I learned a long time ago that if I give them the power to feed me, I also give them the power to starve me.”
― Steve Maraboli

Be My Friend

Be My Friend

By Lauren R. Mort

I wait and watch for kindness to show through,

The day when friendship will bloom and grow

Where use is not judged toward benefit.

A time that self is absent in the ways of mind,

When there is awareness and care for another,

To stand by evermore and never disappear.

Friendship is to see and understand without a word,

To be happy for success and comfort in distress

Always lasting through any bitter storm.

Having many memories to reminisce,

For true friends never go

And you have left me now all alone.

But I will still be hopeful for the change,

So my love and kindness will remain,

Distance may grow but care will never end.

http://wordsbyawriter.wordpress.com/2014/04/21/be-my-friend/

“I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”

“Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light;
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.”
-Sarah Williams

Fight Your Way Through

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

– Ira Glass

What do you think? What gaps are there in your knowledge?

Happiness

Happiness

By Lauren R. Mort

Happiness is of the simple things,

To wake up smiling in the morning

Without a care of what the day will bring,

A purr from a perfect cat

That snuggles up to me.

A bird who sings with a voice of joy

While I savor this cup of tea;

In the garden of green

Quite full of pretty things,

With the mesmerizing perfume

From the many flowered trees.

The giggles of small children,

And the sparkle in their eyes,

As they skip along carefree

With a happy train of mind.

Sleeping outside

On a cool summer night,

Having stars to gaze upon

And crickets as a lullaby.

Laughing over silly things,

Finding excitement in normal life,

To cherish every moment

Where happiness resides.

http://wordsbyawriter.wordpress.com/2014/04/23/happiness/

A Walk with Sawyer

A Walk with Sawyer

By Lauren R. Mort

Stirring during the drive

Impatient for his nearing fate,

Cannot contain himself to wait,

Eager for what will arrive.

A flop and a flail,

He leaps from his seat

What wonders he will meet,

As he hastens down the trail.

Silly Sawyer running free,

Fetching sticks,

So happy he depicts

While bringing back a log I see.

Speedy in a spurt

Far up and here again,

Full of beaming pride,

Now bright and pert.

Muddy puppy having fun,

Through the stream

A bounding dream,

And never tires of the run.

http://wordsbyawriter.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/a-walk-with-sawyer/

Seek Respect

“Seek respect, not attention. It lasts longer.”

― Ziad K. Abdelnour

Create

“I’m not here to compete, I am here to create.”

I am not sure who originally said this, but I heard this quote from the incredible Sue Bryce.