July has been full of beauty. While I love big sweeping vistas that take my breath away (the ocean, the mountains, a valley below), I also like to pause over the small things. Here are some of my favorite photos of beauty in the details this month.
The unexpected (see the photo above). My friend Joan showed me these animal tracks set in a brick that lines an outdoor staircase. Notice the water droplets on the vibrant green ivy leaves, too. It's a little bit of unexpected beauty in her back yard.
Humor. This photo makes me laugh. Surrounded by corn stalks, this sunflower is singing, "I gotta be me!"
Pattern and texture. If you've been reading Glimsen for long, you know that I have to stop for interesting doors. This set of old doors caught my eye for several reasons: the pattern in each door is opposite the other--vertical versus horizontal. The dark color of the doors contrasts with the light color of the surrounding brick and stone. The archway above must be original to the building but it is almost hidden at the top before continuing down the sides. The stones above the archway are randomly placed while the dark bricks in the floor were carefully laid.
Now, admittedly, that's a lot of detail. I don't stop and examine every little thing I see; otherwise I would never get anywhere! But I've found that when I'm on a trip or in a new place, I am automatically more attuned to interesting details.
To me, seeking beauty is one of the joys of traveling. My eyes are open wider than usual.
Life, color, and texture. The surprise of gorgeous, colorful, fresh flowers against an ancient brick wall made me stop for this photo. Plus, I love the color purple.
Contrast. These little green beauties are olives. They're growing in an olive grove of 1001 trees in Italy. In October, they will be harvested and made into the most delicious olive oil ever. (My friends, Joan and Roger, sell their olive oil in the US and in Italy. Email me if you'd like more information.)
I am not a professional photographer, as you no doubt can tell. One of my limitations is taking close-up photos of trees, especially those with fruit and with thin branches of different lengths. So, in order to get some good pictures of these olives, I stood under a branch to show them with the sky as the background.
I love the contrast of the green olives against the blue sky, with other trees in the background below.
The view above. Some of my favorite photos these last few years have been of ceilings and roofs and other structures. This one is the ceiling of a covered bridge near our home. I love the different colors of the wood, the random wood grain patterns, and the verdigris cables. Sometimes the best view is over your head.
Water. After a recent storm, I saw this leaf on the road. Wet from the rain, it is holding a tiny puddle of water like a shallow saucer or an upturned hand. I like how the rainwater makes the leaf shiny, the yellow more brilliant, and the tiny rocks in the pavement more noticeable. Who knew a random leaf on the road could be so interesting?
That's what I love about beauty. It's everywhere--in grand landscapes, in unexpected places, and in the details. It enriches our lives and makes us appreciate the moment. It can lift us out of ourselves and our circumstances, because it points to something, someone, greater than ourselves--to the one who created it all in the first place.
What beauty have you seen lately? Let me know in the comments.
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