Hi ,

Last week, in the Self-Reflecting Queries, I wrote: "One of the things I thought I would be addressing with the Cat's Whiskers is our "expectations." When you read "Cat's Whiskers" in the subject heading were you drawn in because you love cats? Put off because, perhaps you dislike cats? ... Or, were you simply curious as to why cats' whiskers would be featured in Picture to Ponder?"

I did receive a couple of direct responses and a few very interesting ones in the comments section on the blog. Unfortunately, I did not set it up as an actual survey. The "Cat's Whiskers" issue itself had an astounding "open rate" - over 74%! Those of you who do mailings will recognize this as being high. Curious, now I would love to hear from you if you were one on those who opened it and might not always do so.

I understand e-mail "clutter" and won't take it personally if you don't open every issue. And, it would be helpful for me to learn: "What made the difference last week?" Simply email me. Your answer is certainly something I'll be considering in future issues.

In a separate conversation, if you are one who has concerns about memory issues, even the common ones we all have, and want tools for sharpening your memory, I invite you to check out the upcoming program my friend Suzanne Holman is doing - Jump Start Course for Your Brain. On her page she states, "Are you ready to sharpen your focus, improve your ability to remember, and totally optimize your brain?" Simply click on Brain for details and to hear Suzanne's very brief introduction.

Also, last week's complimentary teleclass, which I mentioned, The Awe of Attraction: Using the ARTbundance Principles to Break the "Law" and Find the Love! was full of some great ideas and thought provoking suggestions. It covered using art and creativity as powerful new tools to attract more of what you want into your life. See ARTbundance. The replay is available at no charge.

Now on to Today's Featured Photos -

The top photo is, obviously, a horse's legs, with strong shadows which appealed to me, enhanced with line drawings (my photo/drawing process as featured in Nature's Playground).

The middle photo is, I think, a Heliconia plant in the American Orchid Society greenhouse. See story and queries below.

And the bottom one is of phalaenopsis flowers, also in the AOS greenhouse.

Today's Photo Story -
You may be wondering at the strange mixture of today's images. I am simply going with an intuitive nudge.

When, after selecting them, I went to resize the pictures for today's issue the one with the horse's legs was still "sitting" open in Photoshop Elements on my desktop. I had been reviewing it with other works while looking to inspire myself with my own work (another "story").

So I decided the photo/drawing must still be open because it "wanted" to be here with you. As, I said, I'm trusting there is a reason. I'm not likely to have an answer for that unless I hear from you directly or on the comments on the blog. Please do let me know if it has some meaning for you.

As I went back to my files to look for what I thought would be the sole photo(s) for today, the Heliconia kept pulling me in. I decided the vertical nature of it, almost ladder-like, would fit with the strong verticals of the horse's legs.

The curves from the center part of the phalaenopsis seemed to echo and repeat those in the heliconia photo. I also liked the lightness of it.

For those who wish explore and be with the photos further, I suggest looking for similar repetition of colors, shapes and textures in each of the photos. Those that I see give me "permission" to include them together ins one aesthetically "okay" grouping.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Today's photos represent quite a divergent mixture in subject matter and yet I was able, as I stated, to pull them together. I invite you to look into your life. Are there places where things and/or people don't seem to fit together and you choose to simply avoid the situations?

Although they look totally disjointed, if you look with new eyes are there commonalities you can find, such as I did with the art elements in today's photos? If so, is there something in this that will further empower you?

The initial thing that came up for me in setting up today's issue, in terms of relevant queries, was my experience with the middle photo. I am almost positive that it is a Heliconia. Since I didn't think I would need the information, or was sure I knew what it was, I never bothered checking out the plant identity and/or making note of it. (I usually now photograph the signage so it stays with the photos in the folders I download.)

Then because I have the need to be totally accurate and informative in what I present, I spent about 15 minutes researching on the web. Was this the best use of my time? Could I have made a call? Forwarded the photo and waited for identification, putting aside the desire for instant gratification?

Turning this into queries for you - I invite you to look into your life at things you are paying attention to, such as making note of what you might need in the future? Are there situations where you shortcut to "save time" and then spend a lot of time searching later? (As much as I know better, I'm often still not labeling photos for easy future finding.)

As you're doing these queries for yourself, are you noticing any patterns? Is there anything you'd like to note, to expedite time in the future? Again, for me, I will remind myself to start more regularly photographing labels for whatever new images, even familiar ones, that I'm "shooting".

Please do "play" with these queries. Have fun and open up to new possibilities.

As always, you are welcome to share your responses in the COMMENTS section of this post on the BLOG. Or, send your thoughts directly to me. Note the new "Notify me.... " option so you can get emails when others comment. Looking forward to our connecting there. Thank you so much.

Other News -
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Reader's Comments are welcome -
To post them on the Photography and Transformation blog click on the small word "Comment" at the end of the post. A window will open, asking for your name, email address that will NOT be published, a URL if you have - Your name will be linked to that - and a box with space for you to "Leave a Reply" will be there to type in your response. Then remember to click on "Submit."

If posting on a blog is not your style, please continue to send your comments directly to me. Learning what you are experiencing means a lot. It is part of the reward, for me, of publishing Picture to Ponder.

Guests - If this issue has been passed on to you by a friend, we invite you also to take advantage of a no-cost subscription. Simply click on SUBSCRIBE. You can learn more about Picture to Ponder on our INTRO page.

Inspirationally,


Sheila
sheila[a]picturetoponder.com
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