HelenaPF's favorite photos

(+3 insets!) We went to France. Back in the end of April, Steve and I travelled to the Provence area of France for two weeks. It was the first overseas vacation we'd had for years and both of us were so excited! What a surprise we were in for... We made a lot of mistakes. We packed too many places into our itinerary. We tried to do too much. We planned everything--even down to the exact route we'd drive. Classic mistakes that we should have recognized. We didn't. Both of us were sure it would be The Best Trip Ever! Unfortunately the end result was that we came home unsure if we ever wanted to travel again. Yes, we did have a lot of fun times, saw so many cool things. Got gigs of pictures. But for me, just MENTIONING France put me into a tailspin of depression full of miserable memories and swirling emotions. There was a lot of bad mojo on that trip. Worst Trip Ever... Time passed. It's taken a lot of effort to understand everything that went wrong on that trip. The problems were more than just about travelling together. But I'm happy to say that Steve and I are in a much better place and we have been for a couple of months now. We have learned a lot about ourselves and both of us have grown so much. It's been really great...and the icing on the cake is that we can finally look at our France trip and remember all of the fun we had! The proof that I'm truly happy again is that I can FINALLY look at my France photos! And my, oh my...the pictures!! THERE ARE SO MANY of them! Where in the world do you begin? You start at the beginning. If I don't go through my pictures this way, I'm going to miss stuff along the way, and by looking through them in order, I'll remember more too! I'm going to add pictures from our trip to France into my mix of photography, so stay tuned for more from France! :) My main picture was in the first few that I took once we got into our Air B&B apartment in Nice. It was such a cute place and I grabbed my camera as I wandered around appreciating the details. In the bathroom I found a really cool mirror with a lovely bezel around it. I thought, "Let's take a selfie just to say that I'm in France at the beginning of this awesome adventure!" At the same time I took a picture of the cool bezel. You'll see an artistic abstract in one inset and another inset which shows what the bezel looked like. Fun stuff! Note: if you want to read my second France post, it's here: www.ipernity.com/doc/290645/48136884 By the way, I woke up to snow on the ground and ran out to take a picture before it all melted in the bright sunshine, and I've included that as an inset too! Pam, where in the world have you travelled? I know you are originally from England...but did you live in several places there? Where else have you been? I love to travel and I've had the chance to go to a lot of different places in my life so far. About a dozen States, Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, England, France, Netherlands, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Australia. What about you? I hope you guys are doing ok...right now a windstorm is shaking the house and a big storm is headed our way...SENDING SOUP YOUR WAY! :D Explored on 2/16/19, highest placement, #1.

One day I was crawling around in the grass looking very closely at everything as I moved around. It's amazing what you can see if you really get close to the ground! I noticed tiny flecks of shimmering white and looked closer before gasping in surprise. I was looking at the open seed pods from tiny Whitlow Grass flowers, and they had fallen away to show just the translucent inner surface where the seeds adhere to and then fall to the ground. I think they look a lot like "Money Plants"! :) It amazed me that I could actually see these little seeds, which are only about the size of the inside of the letter "e"! :D Below are pictures of a Whitlow Grass blossom and a seed pod! :)

I took the dogs out for a walk around the property before dinner and brought along my camera. When I saw this incredible glowing wild pea pod, I forgot everything else and lost myself in its radiating beauty. As I took pictures, I smiled warmly because this peapod represents the strong friendships I have with so many of my dearly loved "pod sisters/pod brothers" here on ipernity. With each of you, I have formed a common bond, each of us seeing eye to eye on so many facets of our photography, the way we think, how we feel, the closeness we feel to one another. To me, we are all connected through this tapestry of images and feelings. I love you all, and I am overjoyed whenever I find another "pea" to add to my "pod"! :D *big hugs and much love to my pod siblings* Augustine Birrell PC, KC (19 January 1850 – 20 November 1933) was an English politician, barrister, academic and author. He was Chief Secretary for Ireland from 1907 to 1916, resigning in the immediate aftermath of the Easter Rising. Wikipedia: Augustine Birrell Explored on Flickr on May 4, 2013. Highest position #6.

There were several peacocks and hens walking around the zoo while I wandered around and I was able to get an image of one of the peacock's magnificent tails! So beautiful!

This beautiful daffodil was one that I grew from a bulb this year and I was so stunned by the backlighting I got! I was having a hard time with the background so I decided to add some texture, and I think that was the perfect solution! I hope you like it! :) Explored on May 3, 2013. Highest position #343.

I was so happy to get a picture of this gorgeous fellow. He was really not very happy that people were staring at him and he did glare at me. I didn't want to upset him, but I wanted his picture so badly, so I took a few pictures. Shortly after this image, he turned around and sat with his back facing the group of people staring at him. What a message that sent! New note: I found out that this fellow's name is Oscar Jonsey and he is a new father to a darling baby girl at the San Francisco Zoo! www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_23692362/baby-gorilla-born-at-san-francisco-zoo

This morning I took some outgoing mail down to our mailbox and used the excuse to grab my camera and see what pretty flowers would capture my attention! As it happened, there are literally carpets of a flower called Hairy Vetch which is taking over our meadows and hillsides, and turning everything purple! :D It's not easy for me to take good pictures of though. The flowers grow close together and are usually mixed in with the leaves and tendrils of this plant. It took me many attempts, different ideas, and lots of looking around before I was satisfied that I'd finally have a usable picture. At last, this one turned nicely! I really do enjoy the challenge: some kinds of flowers are simple to photograph, but this kind of flower is difficult for me because the blossoms aren't clearly defined and it's not easy to see the elegant petals as they're not usually in the right position. Do you have a hard time with certain subjects? Sarah Josepha Buell Hale (October 24, 1788 – April 30, 1879) was an American writer and an influential editor. She is the author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb". She famously campaigned for the creation of the American holiday known as Thanksgiving, and for the completion of the Bunker Hill Monument. Wikipedia: Sarah Josepha Hale

I was taking pictures of the beautiful Hairy Vetch blossoms when I saw some of the tendrils clinging to one of the fence posts along the road. How pretty, I thought, and what a nice picture this would make!