The Power of Nature

It's hard to believe that a little over one week ago we stood on an active volcano. Located in Sicily, Mt. Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe. We rode the gondola up on the south side, stood in the snow as the locals skied down the hill, and ogled the peak puffing away. We marveled, "We're on an active volcano!"

It was a beautiful day, as the blue skies attest (no color enhancement to these photos). It would be hard to believe that it could change in an instant, but you can't predict nature. On the north side of Etna you can see the most recent lava flows below the smoking peaks.

As I hear the reports and see the videos of the Japan earthquakes and tsunami, I am rendered speechless. In the face of nature's power, we are helpless. We are mere passengers on this ball of rock hurtling through space. The earth continues to re-shape itself as it will, regardless of how the humans on the surface try to monitor, predict or even control it. We easily forget that in our everyday lives.

My heart and support goes out to those struggling with the aftermath of this natural disaster in Japan.

Snowflake Math

Snowflake + snowflake + snowflake + .... + snowflake = SNOW.

Today's 9 Muses Musing prompt is SNOWFLAKE, but I've been sick and in bed the last couple of days, and have not come up with a snowflake photo. So I'm trying to make one of my favorites from our little trip into Monza last weekend work for this prompt. What do you think? Are you buying it?

I loved this photo because it shows how bicycles are just a part of life here. A mode of transportation, regardless of the weather. I was a bike commuter back in Oregon, but I have to admit I would not ride in snow. I think many people have that opinion here too, but look - there were enough bikes to fill up a bike rack on a Saturday night in Monza. Only one of them had snow on the seat, and the tire tracks indicate most of these had been used recently.

Impressive. It should inspire me, but I still don't think I want to ride in the snow.

Tomorrow's 9 Muses Musing prompt is STOCKING. I'd better get creative...

Beauty Shot

The Swiss Alps at sunset, a beautiful scene from the town of Interlaken. Here is a beauty shot of the Alps for you! We had a lot of overcast and rainy weather while we were in the mountainous part of Switzerland, which made for interesting cloud and fog photos, but not always those classic Swiss Alps shots that might be expected. That's ok with me, it just makes me get more creative with what I do capture, and also to appreciate the little bit of clear mountains we did get to see!

Winter in Spring

It's become normal, each day, for me to pick a photo to post based on a random impulse. Call it my intuition. Then I just write what comes to me based on looking at that photo. While there is sometimes a plan or a "theme" week (like when I show a specific place we visited, or show several pictures with similarities), they are usually just selected based on what calls to me that day. It has worked very well, and I'm often surprised by what comes out.

It's not intuition that makes me choose today's photo, it's my body. I have an icky cold, it feels like winter to me. So I'm going to drink my tea, finish this post and then crawl back into bed. Because my body is telling me to. I guess sometimes you have to listen to your body too.

The Stories Pictures Tell

Usually I don't have my camera on me when I walk Brandon to school. This day, because I was going to go take pictures of the park in the snow after I dropped him off, I did. I love this picture of Brandon, because of the story it tells. The story of a boy, 8 years old, walking to school. The story of our morning walks on this road to school with no sidewalk, small Italian cars zooming by and other kids on their way to school. The story of where we live right now, with the bell tower in the distance and Italian cross-walk sign. The story of this morning, where it snowed in March and I decided to enjoy it creatively instead of being annoyed by it. All of those stories in one photograph. Amazing.

I have been thinking of the stories of my photos because I've found this fun website, Creative Every Day, which has a year long challenge. The theme for March is stories. I'm finding it interesting to participate and think about my art and creativity in light of this month's theme, and to see what others are doing. If you are similarly interested, check it out!

Portals to Another World

Strange to go from such vibrant color recently to black and white, but this is where I go today. I like the idea of portals to another place. Doors and gates that are a threshold to something different. I often think about this view as I walk over to Parco di Monza and see this gate and the view through it. A portal to a place of peace and nature amidst the busy, crowded surroundings of Italian city life. Everything just feels different on the other side. Keep your eye out for these portals, you encounter them here or there, and they are special places.

Perspective is Everything

Last night it started snowing every so slowly, and this morning we woke up to this small amount of snow on the ground. It was still snowing, but it was just barely sticking and the roads were all just wet. No issues with commuting and a very beautiful view, so why was I still annoyed by it? Two months ago I was reveling in any snow. What happened?

I realized that I've been wishing for spring - for warmth and flowers - ever since we had that nice warm, spring visit to Corvallis. And I also realized that the difference in my view of what the morning brought was all internal. So I went for a walk, with my camera, and shifted my perspective. Intentionally. What was cold and wet and glum first thing this morning became beautiful again. It was all in my mind.

It made me think, how often is it our own perspective causing the problems we face? If we take a moment to intentionally shift our perspective, we might be happier. We might find more beauty. We might enjoy the moment more. Try it today, let me know how it goes.

Farewall to the Alps

One last photo from Alpe di Siusi, before moving on to other subjects. Sun, snow, mountains, horses, what could be prettier? I'm not a huge horse fanatic, but could appreciate the beauty of these animals in the snow. So gorgeous.

I hope you enjoyed the brief visit this week to the Italian Alps!

Into the Distance

I love this image from Alpe di Siusi for the light, the shape and the hint of where it was taken in the distance. I have another version with much more in focus, but it doesn't have the "feel" that this one does. I thought about why not, and I think it's because this image isn't as obvious. It's not saying "See, look at me, I'm in the Alps!" Instead it says, "Hey look at me, I'm this fence in the snow. Look the snow is deep and it's a beautiful sunny day. Oh, and by the way, follow this fence out into the distance, there's a hint of something there, maybe some snow covered mountains. Don't you wonder where I am?" The secrets aren't all revealed at once, they invite the viewer in to share and speculate.

As I write this I am reminded of a great blog post by Jenny on RisingSunCoaching.com that I read this week. Our life journeys don't have everything laid out for us all the time. It's like this photograph, you have to discover things one piece (or "crumb" as she puts it) at a time.

Breathtaking Moments

"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by its breathtaking moments."
- Michael Vance

This photo started out as a fun photo of Brandon in Alpe di Siusi, he had scrambled to the top of a big snow hill and stopped for a moment to celebrate being at the top before we moved on. The sky was blue, Brandon's smile is so natural, just caught a happy photo. But when I change it to black and white, it becomes more powerful. It becomes a breathtaking moment to me, a photo essay on the joy of being 8 years old, in an amazing place and feeling free to just be and experience something new.

For Brandon, I wish a lifetime full of breathtaking moments, and the wisdom to see them and truly enjoy them when they happen. We are living a lot of them right now!

Majestic Mountains

This is the view from the top of the Puflatsch/Bullaccia mountain in the Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi of the Dolomites. We went up the ski lift/gondola to this point so that Patrick and Brandon could ride down on sled run (check out a video of them here). Yes, a 2km sled run! It was so crazy fun, they did it twice while I stayed at the top and took some pictures of the gorgeous mountains and valley.

The Dolomites are the Austrian alps region of Italy... The primary language is German, the food is more German, and all of the signs are in both German and Italian. It's a measure of how far my Italian has come that I preferred speaking Italian over German. We enjoyed these amazing peaks and want to go back for more!

Black & White

I'm feeling black and white, after more snow photos that just called out to be converted to black and white yesterday. So I decided to change my blog design to match my mood! There are bonus photos today, because I couldn't decide which one of these to post. Yesterday, after the snow, we went for a walk in Parco di Monza and these were my favorites.

One of the fun things about Parco di Monza is that in some places, the trees were planted with such a perfect symmetry. It's unnatural nature, and works in a photo like this.
I can't decide which of these next two I like best, they each give a different feel. I like that they both give a better idea of how big these trees are, relative to the people! Which one do you like best?
I like the different elements in this one, near, far, random, ordered...
My new favorite of Patrick and Brandon, my snow men!

Snow, A Day Ago

Brandon and I went out for a short walk in Parco di Monza yesterday morning. Me, to take some photos; Brandon, to make some snowballs. It was a black and white day in the park. Even though I converted this photo to black and white, the original does not look much different. I love this path, lined by the trees. So peaceful.

I hope we get a lot of snow this winter, since we don't get much normally in Oregon. We just need to find an ice scraper for the car, they don't seem to exist here and we've tried a few places. This morning Patrick scraped the car windows with a big lego!

Snow, A Year Ago

It's a bit snowy here in Vedano this morning, so I'm inspired to post one of my favorite snow pictures. This is from Corvallis, last December, right before Christmas break. It was the last day of work before the Christmas shutdown and it was a glorious morning of snow and light, quite unusual to have so much snow in Corvallis. I took a fun hike through the untouched snow outside of work and took some of my favorite snow pictures.

I will go through my pics from last night in Milano and this morning sometime this next week and post some new winter pics from Italy. We're going to Torino tonight - it's supposed to have fabulous lights!