From the category archives:

Videos

Flow of Life: Sunrise, Sandpipers and Surf – Picture to Ponder – v6 – issue 31

by Sheila Finkelstein on August 4, 2010

Today’s issue of Picture to Ponder is about offering a brief respite at the beach. View the two 30 and 40 second videos and/or simply be with the top photos.

Then, if you might be interested in experiencing the possibility of using your camera and photography to empower you in your life, please check out my complimentary offer described below, after the SRQs.

Today’s Photos -

sunrise at Boynton Beach, FL - 7-31-10

Sandpipers on Boynton Beach sunrise at the surfClick on image to watch video on YouTube

The top photo is of the sky and ocean at Boynton Beach at approximately 6:20 AM, approximately 25 minutes before the sun actually came up over the horizon.

The middle photo is a screen shot from the video of sandpipers. They were scurrying around so quickly still shots seemed out of the question. Click on the image itself or the video link to observe the sand pipers and hear the ocean. You’ll note at the end, I’ve reversed titled it “The Flow of Life”.

The bottom video is simply of the gently rolling surf to give you the experience of being there as you listen to and watch the rhythm of the gentle waves.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
As you “be with” the radiance of the emanating rays of the pre-dawn sun in the top photo, I invite to to reflect on your own brilliance. What rays of color and light are you projecting out into your world?

Next, as you observe the sandpipers peacefully scurrying away from the waves gently rolling onto the shore and then quickly back again, as the birds search for food, I invite you to reflect on the following:

Are there things in your life from which you typically run away, perhaps viewing them as “threats?” If so, how quickly do YOU get back in the game? Can you relate in anyway to the behavior of the lone sandpiper on whom I’ve focused at the end?

Lastly, should any of these images have an empowering impact on you, I invite you to “grab on to them to hold in your memory bank to call upon when desired.

As always have fun playing with these photos queries. Then please share your experiences with us in the COMMENTS section below.

For Individuals desiring a creative way for Getting Past Stuckness -
For the next two weeks I am offering 20-minute complimentary consultations for those interested in exploring , using photographs and/or your camera to help you see alternatives and shift perspectives in areas where you might feel confronted.

To experience how this might work for you, send me an email, sheila[at]sheilafinkelstein.com, with Photo/Coaching in the subject line. I will reply with a simple exercise and we’ll set up a mutually convenient phone time for self-empowerment follow through.

For Business Owners for whom Blogging is still a mystery -
There is still to take advantage of Bea Fields 3-week Become a Blogging Maniac Jumpstart program, plus the complete 12-week program which starts in September. I have participated in the course twice and from my perspective there is no one on the Internet who offers as much valuable content for an investment of less than $100 (a little more if you add the Jumpstart program). See Become a Blogging Maniac Scroll down past the option links for full details of what’s included with each.

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Roseate Spoonbills in Green Cay and Intentionality – Picture to Ponder – v6 – issue 27

by Sheila Finkelstein on July 7, 2010

Last week I mentioned having spent time looking for Roseate Spoonbill photos for you and then went with a different subject. The result of my delaying is that I’ve every time I’ve gone for a sunset walk at Green Cay Wetlands this week I had the pleasure of enjoying the Spoonbills even more. I now have new photos for you.

Last week, I also mentioned my expanding into coaching moms in deepening connections and communication with their young children while having the same freedom of “play” with them that the grandparents have. The date has been set for an introductory open phone call with two moms with whom I’ve worked. We will be “meeting” by phone (Skype is possible also) next Wednesday, July 14th at 2:30 PM PDT/5:30 PD EDT. I will be interviewing Sus and Tracy and there will be time for spot coaching with a few people on the call. For more details and place to get a reminder, plus the call recording, see Child Connections.

Lastly, for the artists among you interested in Proven Strategies To Set up A No-Stress, Successful Social Media Act for selling your art, Ariane Goodwin, creator and facilitator of smARTist Telesummit has a special offer, ending tomorrow night, for 50% off a social media bundle. See Using Social Media. The material is actually good for anyone here in business who wants to know more about using Social Media to expand.

On to Today’s Photos -

Roseate Spoonbills in a tree in Green Cay Wetlands

Roseate spoonbill shoveling

The top photo is of two Roseate Spoonbills, at dusk, on a tree skeleton in Green Cay Wetlands. I’ve included the photo below it to show the brilliance of the pink plumage and also give a sense of the rapid movement in the blur of its head.

Because the Spoonbills do not stay still, I decided to also share them with you in video format.

If you pay close attention to the above video, at approximately 15 seconds you’ll see a feather fly off to the left. Toward the end a Black-necked Stilt walks across the Spoonbill’s reflection.


Near the beginning of the above video you will see a couple of Spoonbills spread their wings showing their brilliant pink color. To see Spoonbills parading, click on Spoonbill Parade to bring you to my YouTube page. Sorting by “date added”, on the right, will show you the four most recent Spoonbill videos I did.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
I’m somewhat at a loss for “queries” as I start to write this section, so I’m thinking, “What lessons are we getting from the Spoonbills?” As I look up at the first photo, I see peace and quiet. Then I reflect on the almost, always-in motion, constantly sweeping bill, behavior of the Spoonbills.

I, thus, invite you to look in your life. Are there places where you are in constant motion? Is there a part of you that’s still while other parts of you are rapidly “moving”? What does it look like when you rest? How does it feel?

Then, thinking about the Spoonbills and how they went suddenly from a random group to an intentional line-up, moving in parade style, to an adjacent location, I’m moved to ask the following. Is there any place in your life now where you can line up parts of yourself, and perhaps, others to move with the same focused, single-minded determination that the Spoonbills had? Note, they did come right back, presumably with “mission accomplished.”

As always have fun with these queries and looking/seeing. Also, please post your responses in the COMMENTS section below.

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Discovering Transformation – Sound and Art in Dried Onion Remains – Picture to Ponder – v5-Issue 33

by Sheila Finkelstein on September 10, 2009

INTRODUCTION -
As I was about to finally discard the dried up remains of red onion green sprouts featured here in July, I became captivated with the papery thin texture, the flexibility and the sounds of the pieces. I dearly wanted to convey these to you and could not determine how.

The following day I realized I might be able to capture some of the experience on video. I thus set up a series of videos. In the last one I start peeling a red onion I’ve been holding, also since July, for Onion Photo Story Number five. Once again, there are analogies to our lives.

Next I posted a couple of photos and one of the videos on my last blog  post – Parchment Sounds of Onion Greens Inspire Video. The first photo in the blog posting is the group of dried greens, a few of which became the art for this issue of Picture to Ponder.

To make it more convenient for you, and me, I later put all the videos from the “shoot” earlier this week on one ONION – GARLIC VIDEO page. One of the videos shows dried, cut garlic pieces slipping out of their “cells.”

Lastly, speaking of videos – In a totally different conversation, I had fun this same week videoing me opening a package of products I received from my Nature Art Gift shop You can see me excitely showing the products I had purchased – two tile boxes I love, plus tiles and note cards.

I also distinguish between my photo/drawing art and straight photography, showing examples of each. Even if you don’t watch the whole Nature Art Gifts video, I invite you to use the slider to see each of the products.

TODAY’S PHOTOS -
As I was doing the videos of the onion remnants I also took many still photographs. The top two featured photos today are of some of the remnant dried up green sprouts. In the middle photo, the black “dust” is remnants of mold that had formed inside some of the stems.

The latter are the “facts” AND I have selected these photos today for their artistic appeal. Although not planned, or arranged as such, these two photographs exude the beauty and simplicity of calligraphic drawings. Each can stand alone on its own merit.

I invite you to spend a moment or two with each and breathe in their simplicity.

The bottom photo is the underside of several layers of the cut, dried top of the onion. Again, I’m sharing it here for its aesthetic value, as well as its totally different feeling from the first two.

SELF-REFLECTING QUERIES -
For those looking for self-reflecting queries, today’s photographs and stories cover a broad range of topics.

I could pull queries out from reflections on saving old things… clutter?… transformations from one stage to another… life… death… discovery… how we each, individually, explore the latter, fulfill on it.

And, for today, I am leaving the self-reflecting queries to you. If any of the categories mentioned above spark something in you, I invite you to reflect on what’s coming up. If you’ve had a “gut” response to any of the photos, or the videos, I then invite you to reflect on what you were experiencing.

Lastly, there is ALWAYS being in the moment and simply experiencing whatever is there.

Thank you for being in my life and allowing me to share these explorations with you.

As always, remember to have fun with this.

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Video inspired by Discovery of Parchment Sounds of Dried Onion Greens

by Sheila Finkelstein on September 7, 2009

About to finally discard the red onion greens photographed and written about here, “Looking at the Old Newly” as Inspired by a Red Onion (on July 2nd), I became attuned to the papery, parchment feel and sound. I dearly wanted to share it with you and I knew a simple photograph could not convey the experience. It then occurred to me that I could see what a video would do.

Of course, once I started with my Flip Mino video recorder, I finally began the process of discovery with Red Onion #5. The latter has been patiently waiting since June for attention, beyond the first photograph.
 

In the above video, you’ll note also that a drying garlic bulb, cut in July, is also ready to be discarded. Here, too, I am fascinated by the sounds, as well as the rock hard garlic cloves that now easily slip out of their cells.

I conclude the video with the start of peeling Red Onion #5. I’ve uploaded five separate videos of Day 1 of this new “story.” You can see all the uploads of my videos by going to InspirationalSheila. If this doesn’t show you a full list, click on SEE ALL underneath the bottom icon on the right. 
 
If you wish to view them all, no one longer than two minutes, start with Red Onion #5 – First peeling and Cut. 
 
The thread that you will find starting to develop is that as we clean whatever “gook” we think is in our lives there is a fresh and shiny interior. Let’s keep this in mind at all times.
 
If you are not familiar with it, you can get the RED ONION STORY #1 as a PDF download describing the peeling away process of both an onion and ourselves. 

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