Lesson 1: keeping up a project that is outdoors, involves
paper, watercolor paint, and electronic equipment is not easy when it rains
a lot.
Lesson 2: sharing a project that is personal and meaningful
to you with others doesn’t make it less valuable – it just “shares the special”.
And Lesson 3: putting up a sign with the name of the blog
and little tear off strips of paper with the URL makes the whole project even
more excitingly watchable from inside the house! How many little strips will be missing when I
come home from a trip? Did someone take
one today? Which one did they take (they
are all painted differently and I am happy to see that, like I would do if I came
upon it, people don’t take them in ORDER!
They choose the one they like and take it! I love that.)
I like that, even though it is
blurry, it somehow captures the excitement of the woman wearing it. I did not see the people and know nothing
about them- but I imagine it was taken by her finance. The next photo on the camera was of a woman
standing on the corner waving back at the photographer, but it was too dark to
be able to make out who she is. I think
it is the engagement ring woman. I like
that she might be someone who walks by my house and I see every day but don’t
know it. Whoever you are –
congratulations and may you have a long and happy marriage.
Photos 2, 3, and 4 – a mom was taking a walk with her kids and
they stopped to take photos. She took
one of each child, then the oldest boy got to take one of his mom. The photo of the mom is the one that I see so
much joy in – she looks so happy to be out in the sunshine with these two
little fireballs. David saw them as they
walked by and the little boy who took the photo told David, “Thank you for the camera!”.
Unpublishable photos 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 –
this story makes me smile. We heard a
lot of talking the afternoon of May 24 and looked outside to find a large group
of people posing for photos. We peeked
at them to try and figure it out – were they high school kids on a field
trip? But no – they were adults. And they were having fun taking photos! They took some on one camera, then went to
the other camera and took more!! They got
some cute group shots. About a week
later, 3 or 4 women were standing at the side gate looking through photos on
the camera. I watched them secretly from
the kitchen window, then I recognized them as some people from the group! I rushed out to say “Hi” and that I had liked
their photos. It turns out they were
trying to DELETE their pictures. The day
they took them they were on a team building activity for work and thought that our
house was one of the stops on their scavenger hunt-like event!! They finished up, went back to the office
(nearby) and told the organizer that they had done the photo thing. “What photo thing??”. Hahahaha!
It was not part of their event! I
guess some of the people in the group weren’t too keen on having their photos
on a website so asked that they be deleted.
They (and I) couldn’t figure out how to delete from one of the cameras,
but I assured them I would not publish their shots. But their story is just too good not to share.
I love scavenger hunts! And to think
that our house was (sort of) a part of one is great!
Photos 15 and 16 – nature is inspirational to many people. Here are 2 nature shots I like a lot – a close
up of grass and our garden before it was planted. Both were taken by mystery photographers April 15th on the side
camera. I like that the garden, even
before it produced a single vegetable, inspired someone, gave them joy or they
found it beautiful. I find gardens
beautiful, too, for their potential and their generosity.
Last one for now – this photo is a good lesson for me. I usually do not like power lines. I wish they could be buried underground and
out of the way. There are big utility
poles in the middle of our sidewalks that get in the way, and all of the wires
just seem to clutter up the environment.
Then you look at a photo like this…..
See it through someone else’s eyes.
The power lines against the blue sky are sort of amazing, really! A pattern.
And the circular insulators – those are pretty, too, when you look at
the whole picture. Not only is the whole
system functional, but if you squint your eyes or tilt your head it is a line
drawing in the sky.
More photos another time.
For now I need to paint new signs, troubleshoot some quasi-working
cameras, and enjoy the sunshine.
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June 20, 2103
Back again after a bit of time away. We have had heavy rains, which meant soggy “Inspiration,
Beauty, and Joy” papers and camera baggies full of water. First one camera broke… Then the other one seemed to break,
miraculously healed itself, then officially busted. My pleas for free cameras on Freecycle and
Craigslist only yielded one device this time, so we now have one rather
difficult camera on the front gate and none on the side gate. All of these factors have left me less
interested in this project than before, but I only have to sit down and load
some new photos or look through the old ones like I just did and I smile and get
re-inspired.
Stories: first I want
to share the story of Maria and Julie.
Julie’s grandparents live next-door to us and she visits very
often. Maria’s family rented part of the
grandparents’ house. Julie just turned
6 last weekend, and Maria is 8 (I think).
Their relationship was tenuous at best.
Maria is not the most honest girl on the planet, and Julie is just
enough younger than Maria to make her gullible to about anything Julie puts out
there. This combination led to, for
example, Julie believing for a year that Maria was in a whole grade higher than
she actually was. It also led to many
fights, arguments, much yelling, and frequent tears. But now Maria has moved. When I asked Julie about it, she looked sad
and said, “But I didn’t CRY.” “What do
you mean?” I asked. “When Maria left, I didn’t
CRY. Because I wasn’t here. So I didn’t see her move.”
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| Maria - self portrait |
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| Julie - self portrait |
How many relationships are we all in that resemble those
little girls’? Relationships that are a
mix of friendship, deception, heart-break, neediness, mixed with a tiny measure
of love? The girls took several photos of themselves/each
other, but these are my favorites. I wonder
if they took these when the other was not around, because they seem to capture
more honest moments than the “peace sign” photos that they think they look so
cool in. I am guessing they took these of themselves.
Here is a mystery couple.
I do not know who they are, but they make me smile. I like his headphones, his t-shirt, his “swagger”. And isn’t her smile terrific?
Check out “Batman at Night” taken by a mystery
photographer. Makes me feel safer just
knowing Batman is around my neighborhood.
Early on in this blog I mentioned Kaike, a Brazilian
studying English who I met during this project.
He is the guy who left me a post-it note asking me to send him his
pics! I loved finding that note. And I think his night time photos are super
cool. He told me what he wanted them
called, and I apologize for not being able to find the email with the correct
titles. For now, let’s call them “Brazilian
lights in Virginia”, ok?
One more for now. I
adore this photo. It makes me so
curious. I want to meet the person wearing
this shoe. Who is he? How many miles has he walked in that
shoe? How often does he walk by our
house? Is his life happy? I feel like his shoe could tell us all
stories of life.
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June 29, 2013
Two beautiful developments in this project since I last
wrote. The first is so lovely, so
gorgeous, that I have a difficult time taking it all in.
Our house is on a busy corner. As such, we often get pieces of litter in the
yard – cans, bags, fast food wrappers. But
one evening I noticed a piece of paper that was very deliberately folded –
perhaps used to be in the shape of a paper plane – inside the front gate (near
one of the cameras). I picked it up, unfolded
it, and read it. Here is what I found:
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| Sonnet From a Stranger |
I call it “A Sonnet From a Stranger”. No – it does not follow traditional sonnet
structure and I guess it is more appropriately labeled “free verse”, but it
feels like a sonnet in its depth and reach.
I was speechless when I first read it – then showed it to David and a
friend who was over. I questioned the
validity – was it meant for ME? Did someone
really feel that deeply, compose that beautifully, then mysteriously leave it
FOR ME? Who wrote it? Do I know them? Do I have PHOTOS of them from the project? Is it the “Beauty, Joy, and Inspiration”
project that they have found so beautiful – or is it our peach tree, our old rose
bushes that bloom so big and smell so fragrant, the off-beat vibe of our house,
or WHAT? I put the poem away and tried
not to think about it - but it is always in the back of my mind. I think it was written for me. I think it is a message to me - one that I share
with you. A simple message: our lives impact others. Invisibly, unknowingly. We impact those around us in ways we never
know. It is rare that someone takes the
time to remind us of that, and I am ever so grateful to the poet who took time
to remind ME. Thank you, thank you,
thank you.
The other development in the project is that I thought it
was done. I was down to just one camera
and I didn’t think it worked well. I had
not heard ANYONE stop and take photos since I put that camera out. It was big, awkward to turn on, and
impossible to turn off so you have to wait for it to turn itself off. That being the system, I figured the battery
was dead anyway but was too lazy to go check it. Oh – and that camera also has a really weird
sim card that I didn’t think my computer had a slot for, so I didn’t even know
if I would be able to download photos if anyone ever stopped to take one. Yeah, I was getting a bad attitude… We were leaving town anyway, so I figured it
was time to pull the plug and bring the camera inside. We took it all down – no more signs, no more
cameras. Then I found a cable that I could
use to import the photos and guess what – PEOPLE HAD BEEN TAKING THEM! Unbeknownst to me, people HAD stopped!! And they took some joyful photos! Look at this – isn’t it fabulous???
And look at this little boy!!! He is on our PORCH, putting something in our
mail slot, while someone (presumably his parent) is taking his photo. Who IS HE?
And WHAT did he deliver to us???
It must have been in a pile of mail one day and I was not observant
enough to realize what a special delivery it was!
I really like this photo, too. It is blurry so let me tell you what it
is: there is a sign on each gate with
tear off slips of paper that are each painted with watercolors. Each slip has the address of this blog so
passerby can take one and go home and check out the blog and see the
photos. I love that someone was inspired
by the slip or the idea of the blog!
Here are a few more shots for today – photos that make me
smile, make me wonder, and make me think.
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| Mystery neighbors - cool shot with sky |
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| Super duper close up of dog on a walk |
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| Great shades! Mystery photographers |
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| Little cuties |
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| Elephant planter I bought at neighbor's estate sale then painted purple (you can read about the estate sale in the blog entry titled "New Boots") |
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Nice couple who took photo, then walked by a day or two later and said,
"HEY! You are the people with the camera!!" as we were gardening. |
There you have it for now.
The combination of “Sonnet from a Stranger” and the realization that
people are still actively engaged makes me
not want to stop the project. The camera will return! I will start the project again soon. Thanks to the people who STOP!!!
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July 22, 2013
The past month has been stressful – illness and death of
people close to me. It also included fun
and relaxation – a trip to the beach.
But sometimes when there is sadness and stress, it seems to overshadow
happiness and joy. Thinking back over
the time now, I realize that I should have used this project to bring more
peace, more beauty, to a dark time. So I
will do that now. I will share more
photos from “Inspiration, Beauty, and Joy” and hope that by sharing I can
brighten not only my day, but yours.
I don’t know who the photographer was for this shot, but
they see the world as I do – CLOSE UP.
So many of my own photos are extreme close-ups – I see more through
the lens of my camera than I do through my eyes sometimes. Anyway, I like this photo of the top of our
front gate. The swirls of the metal gate
provide frames to see the porch through:
the purple steps that need painting, the flowers that were so vibrant
this on May day but are now dead from the heat and lack of attention, the old
broken picnic table on the porch that has since been given to someone. But on this day, in this photo, in this
photographer’s eye, it was beauty.
This photo of iced coffee is good for the heat wave we have
been having. I like that the
photographer saw joy in her iced drink!
Be it Pepsi, lemonade, iced coffee, and cold beer – who doesn’t believe
in the joy of a cold drink on a hot summer day?
This is a mystery neighbor.
I saw two guys walking away – his friend had snapped the photo. I like his look – he seems like someone I
would like to get to know. His glasses
are funky. His hair is relaxed and
casual. I have a feeling he could beat
me in Scrabble, but I still would like to invite him in to play.
I know a common phrase is “double trouble”, but don’t these
kids look like double fun? They must have been out for a walk with their
parent/s when they had this photo taken.
I like that they inspire whoever took the photo – I think they would
inspire me, too! They look fun to take a
walk with.
A neighbor we hadn’t met before stopped and talked to us the
other evening about our garden. She asked,
“What happened to your camera?” (no cameras have been out since we left on
vacation). I explained about the rain
and that they had broken and I have a replacement one I need to put out. I asked if she had taken any photos, and she
said “No, I normally walk by in the evenings”.
Hmmm… That didn’t stop THIS
photographer!
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| This was not taken by our Brazilian friend featured earlier - it's a different glow photographer! |
OR this one!
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| Taken by 3 friends out for a midnight walk in April |
Or THIS one....
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| I call this "Azaleas in the Dark" |
OR THIS ONE!
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| Another awesome night light photo |
I find
it interesting that she was obviously CURIOUS about the cameras… She noticed they were gone. She wanted to know what happened… She physically stopped to talk and inquire. Yet, she hadn’t used them. I hope now that she has interacted with us
she will show us her view of beauty, joy, and/or inspiration when I get
everything set up again.
In the meantime, I leave you with this for now – a failed
selfie taken by a bike rider. I like it,
I think because it is so real. I love
that he stopped while on his bike to get involved.
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August 17, 2013
Throughout this project there have been identifiable patterns – let’s call them shoes, flowers, and dogs.
Shoes – this one surprised me, but I guess it shouldn’t have. One of the first photos I took to test the front gate camera after I set it up was one of my black J Jill boot.
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| My Favorite Boots |
I took it not only to test the set up of everything, but also because those boots inspire me. They are a piece of my wardrobe that can change my attitude when I put them on. Boots instantly give me confidence when I zip them up. I walk with a longer stride in my boots. I own my walk. That is one of my very favorite things about autumn – it is time to bring my boots back out! When I took the photo, I thought I was being “unique” by wanting to shoot my shoe. Color me wrong…
There was the photo of the well worn shoe I wrote about and showcased earlier. And there were THESE – shoes, shoes, shoes.
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| I think this is 2 friends with similar shoes - one shoe from each friend. :) |
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| Don't these shoes make you SMILE? |
Many people walk and run by our house every day. I suspect that many of these shoe photos were taken by runners who get joy out of their exercise.
Flowers – this one I figured would happen. We have some really pretty flowers in our yard – roses, tulips, daffodils, pansies, alliums, peonies… They are beautiful! I am glad that so many photographers agree with me and took pictures of them at various stages. I showed some flower photos in earlier entries - here are more.
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| Peony by the side gate - they smell great |
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| Peace and Roses |
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| Frog planter I inherited from my mom |
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| Gorgeous tulip in side yard (disclosure: I was the photographer on this one but used the project camera, not mine!) |
.JPG) |
| Beautiful Dogwood tree across the street - mystery photographer used the side camera to capture the beauty |
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| Rose bush before blooms |
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| Yeah - Spring time is here! Daffodils! |
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| Front porch planter at night - pansies staying awake late.... |
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| Peach tree blossoms - beauty before the fruit |
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| Pansies in the daylight |
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| Mystery photographer close up of the wild flowers |
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| Yellow means SPRING TIME |
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| Pansy close up taken by John and Rose (see earlier entry) |
The red roses near the back gate are a particular favorite of mine. The bush was there when we moved in and our house is over 100 years old. I do not know how old the bush is, but I think it was planted before “hybrid roses” were all you could find – bred for their sturdiness and uniform “prettiness” . I much prefer roses like the ones in this photo – not perfect, but the most fragrant flowers on the planet. I love when they start blooming in the spring and I can cut them and bring them in the house. It smells so wonderful when a couple of those roses are in vases! This photo was taken by an older couple that David saw on a walk. When they finished taking pictures, David went outside to talk with them and offer them some roses. While David prepared them with a wet paper towel to keep them fresh, the couple waved down a taxi. They must have been tired from their walk. Anyway, David gave them the roses and off they went, we presume toward home. I like the couple because they make me think of what it might be like when David and I are older. I like to think that we are a couple that would also take walks and definitely stop and smell roses.
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| Favorite rose bush - best fragrance you can imagine. REAL roses. Taken by couple out for walk (who switched to taxi) |
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| This is the man - his wife must have taken this photo. |
Dogs – this one is also not a surprise. Loads of people walk around the neighborhood with dogs. I personally am not a “dog person” but it makes me smile to see photos people took of their pets. It is cute – sometimes they take 2 or 3 pictures of their dog – trying to get the perfect one. It seems like dogs bring happiness to many pet owners.
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| Close up on PAWS |
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| Out for a walk |
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| Sometimes it takes several shots to find the right angle... |
That is it for now – just sharing some themes that have come up in the project. I have not checked the camera for quite a while - I need to go out and do that! David reports that while I was out of town recently he saw some people putting the camera back in the bag and smiling. I am curious what they photographed!
Enjoy the day – and may you be inspired by something today.
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September 7, 2013
The end. Finale. Done with this photo “Inspiration, Beauty,
and Joy” project. I honestly did not
remember what date in April I had begun it, but now that I look back I see it
has been exactly 5 months – April 7 – September 7, 2013. The camera has been brought inside and the
signs are down.
Thank you to the people who stopped – neighbors, strangers,
runners, bikers, children, adults – thank you.
Thanks for being willing to get involved. You inspired me not only with your photos,
but with your spirits as well. You did
indeed help me fulfill the mission of this project – to see inspiration,
beauty, and joy through your eyes.
Looking at it quantifiably – I used 3 or 4 cameras (all
donated from Freecycle – thank you!). Contrary
to my original hypothesis, not a single camera was purposefully broken or
stolen (I am so happy to have been wrong on that one!). One camera is still in working order and will
be put away should I need it again for another project. I went through many signs – each handpainted
with watercolor and put in a plastic sleeve.
I went through quite a few Ziploc baggies trying to keep the cameras
dry. Though the project was anonymous, I
was lucky enough to meet a few of the participants and really enjoyed that.
Most notably, participants took over 190 photos. This fills me with joy! Some people took multiple photos, but overall
almost 200 pictures were taken! Isn’t that
amazing? There were photos of weather,
flowers, feet, smiles, grass, drinks, tennis balls, animals, lights, jewelry –
you name it! If you took one and I did
not put it in this blog, I apologize. There
were so many!!
I will miss having the project outside our home. It became sort of a fixture for our corner I think. But there will be other projects to
come. This one has come full circle.
Thanks again for inspiring me. I hope that the project brought some joy,
beauty, and inspiration into your life, too.
In closing, here are a few final photos. Enjoy (I sure did...).
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| Damned kudzu! This grows on our fence and takes over our plants. |
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Arlington County Fair! It is right down the street from our house. This mystery photographer got a new t-shirt there!
|
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| Sarah Sue!! The first person to get involved who I recognized in the photo. Made me smile. |
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| Friends-Feet-Flip-Flops |
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| Happy Selfie |
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| Miss Hiccup - Japanese clown who stayed with us, and is a person who stops. |
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| Washington Post piling up... |
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| Great shot of the sun - warm and welcoming |
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| Happy in the Sunshine |
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Very last photo of the project. I love it. She has great nails - and WHAT is written on her pointer finger?
We will probably never know....
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