Mojave Light Musing

(Copyright by Diana Shay Diehl) Today's post is a mystery.  Finding the extraordinary in the seemingly ordinary... What is this? Any takers......?

Today's post contains several images...I couldn't pick just one. I had the privilege of being invited to spend time with a remarkable group of women artists who had spent a year working on 'altered art books'. This session was their last formal gathering before all their works went to an exhibition at the Palm Springs Art Museum last winter. These particular photos don't do justice the kind of energy that was present in the home of one of the artists for their last meeting.  The project involved 12 women altogether who created 12 distinct books from handmade papers and original art. They gathered roughly once a month for a year. Each woman made a book with her individual theme. Then, each book was rotated among the 12 women who then added a page or so of her own unique expression. One 'book' used old slim cigar cases that were glue together. Each tin was a 'page'. Another was made completely from handmade papers, all from scratch. Others were outda...

(Copyright by Diana Shay Diehl. Taken with a Canon 30d; 24-70Lmm/f.2.8. 29 Palms, California) The desert scape can make one feel mighty small. Especially when the skies put on their show. This same scene, with clear blue skies, would not be as dimensional - kind of "desert drab" as those with unskilled eyes would say. A slight shift in light, a dramatic sky ready to unload it's heavy burden, changes everything. It is not at all flat and 'boring' out here. I'd honestly have to say, that my 25+ years living out west has taught me to see and hear things I have only rushed past before.   Sssssh. Be still for a moment. What can you see now?

(Copyright Diana Shay Diehl. Wonder Valley, California) Abandoned places. We have a love affair with them out here in this desert with imagining the lives lived in the empty shells that remain. The quiet so deep your ears hurt.....where the expanse of sky dwarfs everything....and the solitude and stillness begin to heal...

  (Image Copyright Diana Shay Diehl. Food creations by Chef Rosa Ficara.) (Image copyright Diana Shay Diehl. 'Ant Farm Gang' coloring book copyright Kim Mayhew of Ant Farm Studio.  Food and libations courtesy of Chef Rosa Ficara.)   This is what Sundays are for....time for reflection and prayer;  scrumptious food prepared not only with skill but great love - you could taste it in every bite;  and kindred spirits to share it with. Conversations were lively and thought-provoking. Laughter was punctuated by a few tears that still needed shedding followed by more laughter and a hug.  New ideas hatched. Old ones revised. Heart-felt sharing. Acceptance. Food for the soul....

(Canon 30d. Copyright Diana Shay Diehl. Product by the Ford Corporation.) I call this blog 'ordinary days' of an 'ordinary' woman. Today wasn't quite so ordinary but this shot pretty much explains what I wanted to do. Some days, no matter what you set out to do, nothing comes out right and the day is filled with one disappointment or heartache after another - even when you are simply trying to go with the flow.  Today was like that for me.  I am not always the rock for everyone to stand on. Sometimes, I crumble. Who will be there when I fall? I wonder when will it be my turn to be able to lean instead of being leaned on? To simply rest? Maybe tomorrow....

(Shot with an iPhone; processed using Instagram. Copyright Diana Shay Diehl) Today's photo is one of my absolute favorite plants on Earth - the Joshua tree, aka Yucca brevifolia. A Joshua tree can live for hundreds of years - some species even thousands. It's not really a tree per se. It is "tree-like" in habit. In order to bloom, they must have a winter freeze. That puzzles me because I can remember many very cold winters (I live at about 3800-3900 ft. above sea level with a huge forest of Joshua trees I pass on the way home....) with freezing temps but will yield no blooms the following spring. Apparently that coincides with adequate rainfall as well - and, even then, they won't bloom every year. When they do, those of us who call this desert home can get pretty darned excited.  Joshua trees are also home to the yucca moth - a rather small, day-flying moth with tiny spines covering its wings. In real life, this particular Joshua tree is HUGE. Have any of you pa...

(Coyote pup shot in the JT Highlands summer of 2009. Copyright Diana Shay Diehl) Okay, so this is not a freshly taken-just-today shot. Today was one of those days where the camera and I just couldn't cross paths. Hence, another 'oldie but goodie'.... There's a great story attached to this image few of you know of even if you are familiar with this photograph. This coyote pup photo earned 3rd place in the Southland Art Show in 29 Palms. It graces the walls of the Mojave Desert Land Trust and is used in their campaign to secure funding towards the preservation of wildlands in our high desert region.  It is also in a multitude of private collections all over the US and even in Canada. I like to print him in a  5 x 5 inch format or in 12 x 12/10 x 10/ or 8 x 8 formats which are framed in 16 x 20 or 11 x 14 museum grade frames. All sell out.  Every photographer likes to have that signature piece that helps pay off our habits of new gear purchases. But that isn't the be...

  (Shot with a Canon 30d. Copyright Diana Shay Diehl) Today's photo came from my quick morning walk with Toby before making my way to work.....even within the charred remains of wild fires, one can find beauty. This remnant came from a most beautiful and thick stand of joshua trees within a 5-10 minute walk from my house. Broke my heart when the 2006 Acoma Hills fire ripped through and devoured all that pristine acreage along the hillside. Considering how close my friends and neighbors, who lived just over the ridge, came to losing everything - all that burned flora was a minor issue. Lives and homes were spared - thank God and a multitude of quickly working firefighters......

(Shot with a Sony point and shoot. Copyright Diana Shay Diehl) I just realized how difficult this project is going to be. One photo a day....what was I thinking? At least there will be LOTS of room for improvement.... Today's photo:  Comfort food - for me anyway. Classic grilled cheese with a handful of  fresh blackberries for dessert. 

(Shot with a Sony point and shoot.....don't care much for lugging the big toy out on a wildlands gander..Copyright Diana Shay Diehl.) Natural inspiration... Anyone want to guess what this might be?  Today's image, compliments of Mother Nature...from exactly one year ago today.

(Taken with a Canon 30d at Cayucos Beach, California. Copyright Diana Shay Diehl) Happy New Year! What does that mean exactly? In many respects, it is simply putting up a new calendar; changing the last digit of the year and beginning the months and dates all over again. Is the first day of a new calendar year all that different from the day before? To me, it symbolizes an opportunity to celebrate, heal, forgive, start over, review, revise, refresh, continue with an adjusted mindset....   Here's to a new calendar year full of hope and possibilities that are lived through the heart...

Okay, I'm going to bite my own bullet here and embark on a 365 day journey...posting a photograph a day. My world. As I see it; feel it; breath it. This is more than honing my photographic skills. This is going under my skin - deep within to see what the first 2 quarters of my life produced. Where am I headed in my 3rd quarter? Is it my last? Does that matter now? In any event, it's time. I've been threatening to do a yearlong photo project for a few years now. Well, now is here. So stay tuned. Beginning January 1, 2012 - I'm pinching my nose and diving in - to my creative Self..... Cheers. Merriest of Christmases. Healthiest of Holidays. I hope these next 20 days left of 2011 find you enveloped in Life's warm embrace surrounded by those you love who love you back... ~d Sorry.....no photo with this post. You'll have to wait until January 1, 2012 ......

“The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”  –  Dorothea Lange My world, softly lit by the magical mojave sun. Welcome to it... I've been wanting to 'do a blog' for some time now. Why? Not sure really. Who would read it? What could I possibly say and show through my camera's lens that would be of interest? I'm not sure that is the point actually. Perhaps this is a catharsis for my own soul ~ a place to muse; to appreciate; to wonder out loud; to perfect how I see and find new ways to appreciate what I trip over every day. Or perhaps I just need a place to meander and see where I end up...  Maybe I can shed some light into your world as well.... I love this photograph ~ a labor of love if you knew the person who created the bottle art lined along the edge of the pit. The November storm was just gathering for a late afternoon shower. The light was perfect that day as clouds raked across the flatlands just east of 29 Palms. Thi...