Poetic Shutterbug

Before - I took this at the Botanical Gardens and although it came out fine, I loved the colors and wanted to do something different. The result is below. After ~ I deepened the color, added a swirl, pinch and tightened the highlighted center. Enjoy!

The photo and video were taken through the window of a Greyhound bus on my ride home from Sacramento back to San Francisco. The skies were so dramatic, I had to chance a shot through those dirty windows :) Enjoy!

While dropping EC's, though for the life of me I don't know why, I checked out EC's latest blog post and here is what I found posted below. A $50 fee for not accepting paid ads? Are you kidding me? As a result, I will not be accepting any more ads beginning today. Those of you who have already bought ads on my blog, your ads will be honored. I am going to take a wait and see on this and figure out what is best for Poetic Shutterbug. In the meantime, I will be going through as many blogs as I can on EC to follow the ones in which I am interested. Below is the latest on the EC blog. Implementation of sponsor ads program postponed until Oct. 5 Written on September 27th, 2009 by Cindy Hello Entrecarders, We just wanted to update everyone that the sponsor ads will be postponed for another week, until Oct. 5, 2009. When it is implemented, users will have the option to opt out of the sponsor ads program completely for a small fee. For just $50 a year , you ca...

I'd like to thank my dear friend Chey for her beautiful poetry. This is a guest post by Cheylinn. You can find more about Chey on her Facebook page and her Myspace page. Carla Cried Inside she felt her world begin to crumble, Yet she put on her public face, stoic and strong; She needed to honor her mother's memory, To behave otherwise for her was wrong. Mourners sat respectfully, each in their seats, The memorial service was beautifully done; As the pastor read her mother's verse, One felt the loss of this precious one. Her mother would have been so proud, As she smiled down from heaven above; And to the many who were left behind, She'd left forever her legacy of love. One by one the mourners went to their cars, To begin the procession to the graveside; Where there was said their last good bye, Only then, could her tears no longer be denied.

Courtesy of www.ghirardellisq.com Shuck & Swallow @ West Plaza of GSQ Tuesday, October 6, 5-6pm Teams from your favorite SF Restaurants will compete to shuck & eat as many oysters as possible in 10 mins. Viewing the competition is free. Immediately following the competition, head down to McCormick & Kuleto's for an Oyster & Wine Pairing event from 6-8 pm. Tickets, available at the door, are $30 per person with the net proceeds being donated to The Marine Mammal Center. www.mccormickandkuletos.com

I'd like to thank Mitch Marcus over at The Argus for this guest post. The Light There are things they say that can't be seen, can't be held and can't be dreamed. There are worlds of wise-men dead men too, some too kind, and some too cruel. There are tiny places we all hide, the caustic evils we store inside. There are great big valleys and hidden seas, elemental genius and the Pharasees'. Time marches forward time stands still, Time slides backwards, always will. Lost in shadows mired by night Then comes guidance then comes Light.

Before ~ Dale Chihuly Glass Sculpture - I shot this at an exhibit at the DeYoung Museum about a year ago or so. I love his artwork and this particular photo so I thought I would play around with it and see what transpires. I have also decided to give my new art obsession a name. It will be called the Photoscapes Unleashed Series. After - I applied the watercolor settings along with the swirl and pinch applications and added the warm color tones. Here is the result. Enjoy!

Going back to her hometown this past weekend, Sony Holland sings with the Jazz Arts Group Big Band in North Dakota. Below is a video performance of the classic " The Look Of Love. " Enjoy!

Trees @ The Botanical Gardens BBQ Pits @ Sigmund Stern Grove San Francisco Bay & Golden Gate Bridge Background Sun Behind Trees View of Ocean Beach Living Rooftop @ The California Academy of Sciences

This poem was written a while ago for a very dear "singer" friend of mine. It still holds true today and speaks of friendship and the bond between true friends. I've learned, during my over half a century life that true and real friends are rare. Friends do not disrespect or judge each other. They do not make light of your ailments or faults but rather support and love you just the way you are. They do not need to buy their way into your life but rather give you their hope, support and inspiration. I've many friends and acquaintances yet few who are real and true to this unconditional love. For those whom I love and love me unconditionally, this is for you. The Families We Make for Sone Though we are not sisters my family would not be complete without you. The unconditional love I have for you makes me a better person. By your example I have learned to expect nothing and give more. You inspire my every thought and I thank you my friend, for being you.

Before (Above) After Before (Above) After ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I decided to venture out to Stern Grove which is within walking distance of my neighborhood. It's about 10 minutes away from where I live. We used to hang out here decades ago while I was in high school. Now I go there for their Summer Concert Series and to go crazy taking photos during the week. I took dozens and dozens during this jaunt which I will have for you over the next few days. There were some that did not come out very well so I decided to take a couple of those and make some changes to them. I got the idea from Icy over at Reach Beyond Limits and decided to use the software that came with my camera called Ulead software. The first photo is the original photo of Pine Lake in Stern Grove . It's murky, way too green and I just did not like the photo. I decided to have a little fun with it and as a result the second photo I liked much better. The third photo ...

Well I had no idea I was going to be writing on this subject today. I went to my old blog on Today.com in order to find a photo that I had not saved to my computer and wanted to use for a post tomorrow. Long story short, I clicked on my blog link over at Today.com and what comes up? It re-directs to a page with adult related photos and links. I tried it three times and the same thing happened. I checked my other old blog and a few blog names that I remembered from the old days and the same thing happens. So, for all of you who had blogs at Today.com and are now exiled or left, your old url and pages are being re-directed to adult related sites. Over at the To Hell With Today.com blogspot at http://todayexiles.blogspot.com/2009/09/look-what-todaycom-did-now-this-is.html you will find a link to the Google spam report page where you can report Today.com for their deceptive and frankly disgusting practices. I've already reported them and hope Google takes this seriously. Wha...

The Botanical Gardens in San Francisco is becoming the new residence for these playful geese. There are now more geese than squirrels. During my last jaunt there they were playing not only in the fountain but amongst the people enjoying their picnic lunches. These geese found it hard to resist all that food and were aggressively trying to steal lunches from the people enjoying their day. They are taking over MY gardens :) Below is a short video clip of their fountain escapades. Enjoy!

Unbeautiful Unbeautiful grows in a garden among the flora there Unassuming in her plain dress as roses gawk and stare Unadorned in creamy petals nor blush upon her face Unwanted she stands defiant roots firmly held in place Unaware of her gifts and virtues seeking only second best Unbeautiful could never see the beauty she possessed ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I want to thank Robin over at Robin's Nest for allowing me to showcase her work on Poetic Shutterbug. Please visit her blog for more inspirational poetry.

I first saw Samar Nassar perform at the re-opening of the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. I was spellbound by her performance and wrote this poem as a tribute to Samar. She owns and operates a dance studio in Berekely. You can visit her website at www.myhipline.com Egyptian Dancer She displays her feminine wiles this modern day Nefertiti, the bedazzled queen like a brilliant jewel. A precision cut gem tantalizing, beguiling a sensual narcotic. She's a shimmering beauty whose depth is not seen yet celebrates women - splendours of the ancient world through dance and tells a story all her own.

September 11 PORTFOLIO : LONG BEACH, CA 9p - 10p (guitar/vocal duo - all original material) September 19 THE VENUE : FARGO, ND 7pm - Appearing in concert with the Jazz Arts Group Big Band. Sony will be singing standards from the Great American Songbook. September 20 THE DAKOTA : MINNEAPOLIS, MN 7pm - Sony's debut @ the Dakota, the Twin Cities premier jazz room. With Laura Caviani, piano: Jay Young, bass: Phil Hey, drums.

Did you ever wake up one morning with a song in your head that just remained there and would not go away? Although that has happened to me several times, this particular song stayed for days and although I love it and it creates sheer joy for me each time I hear it, I needed to express my feelings about this song through poetry. In tribute to the song "More Love" by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles of which you can hear in the video above, I give you my poem "Music Therapy." Music Therapy I awoke. More Love accompanied the starring role in my dream. More Love not of the sentimental or erotic nature but the penned Motown tune by Smokey Robinson. This euphoric cacophony monopolized my thoughts my senses my mood. It fueled brain cells flowing through my life blood stream the lyrical fix musical drug. It took hold of me would not let go and I held on for life. Saturating my heart strings it dictated the day and inspired my muse with stanzaic memories "More Love ...

Courtesy of Yoshi's San Francisco TANYA STEPHENS WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO APPEAR AT YOSHI'S SAN FRANCISCO ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH. THIS SHOW HAS BEEN POSTPONED UNTIL NOVEMBER 21ST. IN HER PLACE, YOSHI'S SAN FRANCISCO IS OFFERING: FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT WITH 11-PIECE REGGAE BAND NATIVE ELEMENTS IN CELEBRATION OF THEIR NEW ALBUM 'SIGN OF THE TIMES' TICKETS WILL BE FREE (WITH A $3 SERVICE CHARGE PER TICKET) LIMITED TICKETS AVAILABLE! WHILE SUPPLIES LAST! SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH 11:00PM YOSHI'S SAN FRANCISCO GET TIC KETS HERE VISIT NATIVE ELEMENTS MYSPACE PAGE TO GET TICKETS TO TANYA STEPHENS NOVEMBER 21st APPEARANCE CLICK HERE YOSHIS.COM YOSHI'S SAN FRANCISCO 1330 FILLMORE SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115 415.655.5600

I'd like to thank poet Taylor Graham for this guest post. Enjoy! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAT’S THE SONG OF LONELINESS? I can sit alone but not lonely, with just the poem of these Sierra woods, the crescendo/diminuendo of a logging truck on Iron Mountain Road, and then a woodpecker’s hollow cedar drum. I think the song of loneliness must live in a jukebox in a city where there are lots of people to be lonely. A forest-poem is perfectly happy in its music, without the fiddle of a Texas band. But as I drive back down the mountain, what do I see? Stopped on the eastbound shoulder a brown sedan with radio turned way up high and doors wide open, broadcasting country achy- breaky. And in the middle of the solitude-bound lane, two couples – ladies in swinging skirts and gents in the shadow of their Stetsons – dancing that lonesome partnered two-step right into my poem.

The Ghirardelli Square Chocolate Festival September 12 - 13, 12 to 5 Click Here for more information Event Schedule SATURDAY Chef Demonstrations, In West Plaza 1:00 - Chef Mitchell Hughes, Spun Sugar 2:00 - Chef Casey Thompson, Top Chef Season 3 Finalist 3:00 - Kara Lind, Kara’s Cupcakes 4:00 - Steve Genzoli, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company Main Stage, Beach Street 2:00–2:15 - Earthquake Ice Cream Sundae Eating Contest 2:15–2:30 - Children’s Ice Cream Sundae Eating Contest 5–8 year olds 2:30–2:45 - Children’s Ice Cream Sundae Eating Contest 9–12 year olds SUNDAY Chef Demonstrations, In West Plaza 1:00 - Chef Jason Etzkin, Fairmont San Francisco 2:00 - Chef Casey Thompson, Top Chef Season 3 Finalist 3:00 - Chef Rebecca Lugtu, Sweet Dreams 4:00 - Steve Genzoli, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company Main Stage, Polk Street 2:00–2:15 - Children’s Ice Cream Sundae Eating Contest 5–8 year olds 2:15–2:30 - Children’s Ice Cream Sundae Eating Contest 9–12 year olds BOTH DAYS All Day - Cost Plus Wine ...

A Writer At Heart Words emotional expressions inherent deep within spirit. Passion are these words undeniably expressed, shared, proclaimed in stanzaic precision. The writer sensitive, intuitive feelings arise, awaken born from within depths of the soul. A soul unknown if not for their words. Ego revisited firmly understood and happily embraced. The writer paints words with a knowing of authentic self creatively expressed. Memories, dreams parade the mind as streaming videos. These visual scenarios breathe life into the heart and have no choice but to be reborn. Reflections a glimpse into the heart where the writer resides words a mirror to the soul. A soul which lives within the mind without fear. The heart pumps words through the veins never missing a beat. And the writer writes to a different beat only he hears.