Hi ,

This week I had fun spending a lot of time with raw vegetables and fruits, cutting, blending and eating them for my friend Rachelle Anslyn's and her partner Thomas Radtke's Make It Real, Make It Raw detox blast. Not surprisingly, as I was cutting vegetables, especially peppers, certain imagery, explained after the photos, grabbed my attention. I, of course, went for my camera.

Before continuing I do want to bring your attention to the special that Cafe Press is offering - November 20th thru 23rd - to Friends and Family of their "Shop Owners." See below for details.

(Referencing the above, please note: Next month marks six years of publishing Picture to Ponder. It has been my pleasure to offer it to you, at no investment on your part. On the other hand all that goes into maintaining the different services required has taken, and continues to, a considerable time and monetary investment on my end. To help defray expenses, I've often offered products or services from which I gain a commission, usually small, and am starting to do this more regularly.

Always, my first priority is presenting Photos, as well as the Self-Reflecting queries, aimed at positively impacting readers' lives. Should you find these offers objectionable, there is an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of every issue. You are welcome to take advantage of it AND I request that you do not mark the issue as Spam. Thank you for the contribution you are, and have been to my life.)

Today's Featured Photos -

The top photo is the cut half of a yellow pepper with the center section of the opposite half turned upside down placed in the center of the half we see. When the photograph first appeared on my monitor, I was unable to identify the lines on the right. I was puzzled for quite a while. Yet I loved the play of light and shadows on the wood, finding a peacefulness emanating from the whole picture. I thus decided to use it as one of today's feature photos.

Once making that decision I needed to determine what it all was. I originally assumed that the pepper was on my wooden cutting board. I finally realized that, in fact, I had placed it on my table and that the angled "grey" lines were the slats of a white chair pushed up against the table.

The middle photo is a very close-up view of the pepper's center, creating, what to me is, a very whimsical image. As I inserted that photograph here my eye was drawn to the color and grace of the dark, curving "line" on the left.

I went back to Photoshop Elements to see what it would look if I went in and cropped the photo to highlight solely that line. Thus the bottom photo was born.

I hope you have as much fun with these as I did. If you start "playing" with your own cut vegetables, I'd love to learn about your experiences.

Self-Reflecting Queries -
Today's photos lend themselves to another one of the recurring themes in Picture to Ponder - looking at objects, people and things from a multitude of perspectives. In addition, of course, there is my constant message for "paying attention to whatever grabs your eye."

So, as I did with the pepper, I invite you to firstly, to divide in half an object, situation, or your thoughts about a particular person. Then look at both "halves". Do you see differences? Do they change with repositioning?

Then zoom in more closely. Does anything change? Can you find any humor in that at which you are looking either with your eyes or with your thoughts?

Lastly, with the latter perspective, find one thing that is appealing in what you've noticed. Zoom in. Move around it. What new do you see?

Despite my saying "lastly", you are of course welcome to continue your exploration.

When finished, please post your experience in the COMMENTS section of this post on the BLOG.

As always, have fun and open up to new possibilities.

Gift Shop Friends and Family Shopkeeper Special-

From Cafe Press: "An opportunity to find gifts and save storewide - Nov. 20-23" - Starting in my Nature Art Gift shop save $10 on orders of $50+ (use code: Friend10). This total can be combined with products from any of the other Cafe Press shops.

This Gift Shop includes a wide variety of products for the body and the home, featuring my unique Photo Drawings and straight Photography - There are Keepsake Boxes, Tiles, Note Cards, Calendars, Clocks and more.

For those with children, very popular is my Construction Truck-Art on clothing as well as mugs, clocks, calendars and more.

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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© 2005-10 Sheila Finkelstein
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http://www.cafepress.com/natureart - gift shop

©2004 - 2010 Sheila Finkelstein - All photos and written content are copyrighted and, unless otherwise noted, the property of Sheila Finkelstein and eTeletours.com. Photos and writings may be printed out for personal use and inspiration only. All other rights are reserved. Modification, further reproduction, or distribution of any of the content is prohibited without express written permission. For other uses contact Sheila