{"id":75,"date":"2012-05-15T12:15:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-15T16:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/?p=75"},"modified":"2025-09-14T15:32:18","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T19:32:18","slug":"rhododendron-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/rhododendron-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Lynda’s Journal – Rhododendron Dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rhododendron Dreams\u00a0<\/i><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/h2>\n
Spring Time \u00a0in Western Pennsylvania<\/i><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/div>\n
\n
What a beautiful morning \u00a0here in Western Pennsylvania.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The world here\u00a0is alive\u00a0with sights, sounds,smells today.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
My senses are acutely aware of it all because I have just returned from my early morning workout at the gym where I do high intensity interval training. After my workout, my body is<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/div>\n
in sinc<\/i>\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
with the world of nature when I come home.\u00a0 I grabbed my camera and
\nshot a lot of photos of the enormous, 20 ft high,<\/div>\n

Rhododendron<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0bush in full\u00a0bloom<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
I wanted to capture the early morning light<\/b>\u00a0the fully open\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

lavender-pink blossoms –\u00a0<\/b>hundreds of them.\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

I am alive and so is all of\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b>Nature today!<\/b><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I have always loved taking photographs.\u00a0 My loss of\u00a0 sight has not decreased
\nthe passion I have for those unexpected\u00a0\u00a0and succulent images.\u00a0 My methods have chanced though.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, I sold my 35 mm cameras and all the attachments I had treasured and used so much over the years. \u00a0Now, I just take out my\u00a0GE1040 digital camera<\/b>\u00a0and I approach my subject, point and shoot. It is always a\u00a0big surprise when I finally get to see what I captured.\u00a0 It is very strange<\/div>\n

to some people around me that I cannot see what I am shooting, but yet, later through technology,<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\n
I can see the shots on my large screen\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
computer\u00a0<\/b>monitor. U\u00a0<\/b>use \u00a0ZoomText.<\/b><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
How I love my ZoomText! It is pure magic for me. It enables me to fully participate as a photographer in the visual world, just like I always did before sight loss.<\/p>\n

I am writing about these things, this morning, to say that it\u00a0 is another
\nway to capture subject matter and images for poetry! There is no separation
\nfor me bet wen fine art and poetry. My process is the same for creating both,
\nthough the instruments and methods are different.\u00a0 It is the tools and the
\nadaptations of tools that enable me to continue to do the things I have always loved to do – write poetry and make art.<\/b><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

When I begin to think about my subject and how I will create a poem from this image, I begin to remember my physical contact with it, too. It is only partly a visual image. My other senses are there as well. I use them all when I begin to create the photograph or the poem. It all begins with awareness of the moment – fully aware of it all.\u00a0 It is a kind of awakening from a deep sleep – it happens slowly, in layers.<\/p>\n

The question is:\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\n

How to take a great photo\u00a0<\/b>or write\u00a0<\/b>a great poem\u00a0<\/b>from an\u00a0<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

<\/b>image \u00a0you cannot see?<\/b><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/b>\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

Here is my own process:<\/p>\n

First, become aware of the\u00a0 physical aspects of your subject. It has a living presence. It is a tangible thing.Pay attention to the smell of it. It breathes, moves, shifts, changes, lives, and dies.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\nThis morning I listened to\u00a0 the lone crow calling from the woods surrounding my home when I was outside with my camera.I heard the rushing waters of the creek below the meadow behind my home. Mingled in with the water’s flow, I heard the softer sounds of the wild geese who are down there as they are every spring. Then, a layer of sharp staccato jabs of sharp trills, from a bird, punctuating the top layer of the morning’s landscape.<\/p>\n

I touched\u00a0\u00a0 the dripping wet leaves as I moved through the trees along the path.\u00a0 My feet were\u00a0 cold and became wet\u00a0 because the dew was heavy on the grass.\u00a0 My clothing\u00a0 started to\u00a0 cling to my torso because\u00a0 water spots dropped on me.<\/p>\n

I breathed in the\u00a0 early morning cool air and noticed that the day\u00a0 seems subdued and hazy. But my body was throbbing with energy and excitement as I walked, parting the branches along the way. It all felt so good, so right.My physical contact with my subjects and everything that surrounds me, and
\nmy subject, will come into my photograph.\u00a0 I will be trying to capture the livingness of this day, through this one particular photograph. If I am very aware of it all, I will have a good photo today! If I am really dedicated to my pursuit of this image and this moment in time in my own life, I will even
\nhave a poem eventually.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Art and life are one.<\/b><\/p>\n

Finally, inside the house in the solitude of my office where the clock ticks
\non the wall behind me, I begin the additional work\u00a0\u00a0 that will take the images from the morning’s experiences. I will take them from the camera, blow them up through the computer photo program, and then begin to crop, select, and edit my photos.\u00a0 For the poem that might come forth from this morning’s work with the camera and the photo editing, I will begin to record some words about my subject.\u00a0 I will write a blog about today’s adventure in the early morning. I will post some photos on my Facebook Page for my friends around the world to enjoy.\u00a0 I will even write a short message to my friends on the Writer’s List this morning. And, I will probably begin the work of turning these images into a poem.<\/p>\n

I will consider all aspects of it. My blossoms have center stage, they are
\nstars, each of them,\u00a0 on a plant\u00a0 I had plunged\u00a0 into the soil about 43 years ago. It was a very small plant in a little plastic container at that time.\u00a0 As the years have passed it has grown into the magnificent blooming waterfall-type of wall – bursting forth with magnificent\u00a0 flowers that I saw
\nthis morning.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Life happens slowly, like the growth of this plant that reaches up into the second story of my very old house here on River Road.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Life is LIVED in the smallest details\u00a0<\/b>of those years,\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
in this place.\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
<\/a><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
If only I can capture\u00a0<\/b>just a small moment\u00a0<\/b><\/div>\n
of it all today!<\/b>
\n
\n<\/b>Maybe you would like to take a walk today and see what you find blooming in your world! \u00a0Go ahead. You might be surprised at what is out there.<\/b>
\n
\n<\/b>
\n<\/b><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rhododendron Dreams\u00a0 \u00a0 Spring Time \u00a0in Western Pennsylvania \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 What a beautiful morning \u00a0here in Western Pennsylvania. The world here\u00a0is alive\u00a0with sights, sounds,smells today. My senses are acutely aware of it all because I have just returned …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trusting-god"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gbwn-1d","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":16715,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/from-lyndas-journal-in-springtime-gardens\/","url_meta":{"origin":75,"position":0},"title":"Lynda’s Journal – poem – In Springtime Gardens –","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"April 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Lynda\u2019s Journal ~ In Springtime Gardens ~Poem New Poem - published April 12, 2025 The Weekly Avocet, #645 * The Poem: In Springtime Gardens flowers are coming to bud. 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