THE B-STER (NAPLES, FLORIDA CHILDREN'S PHOTOGRAPHER)
I've found that one of my favorite things to do since living down the street from the beach is to go right before or right after a big thunder storm. There is just something about the sky and the clouds over top of the ocean as a storm is rolling in that makes you realize just how powerful Mother Nature really is. Storms are way different here than they are in Indiana. A storm rolling in off the ocean is a force to be reckoned with and there is something so intriguing about it. We made an impromptu stop down at the beach yesterday and I was able to snap some shots of Brennen on the fly. As you can see in the lenses of his sunglasses above, the storm clouds were incredible and had just down poured in the hour or so prior to our arrival. Great timing.
I look at this shot above and can't get over how big he looks here. Each time I photograph him, there is always one photo that seems to stand out and help remind me of how quickly he is growing up. This time, it was this capture above. I swear he looks 16 here.
I have an obsession with feet/shoe shots. Of course you guys already knew that though. Why does he have on jeans? Who knows. I tease him and say, "Are you forgetting that we live in a 100 degree climate now?" I guess he is like his mom in that aspect. He loves a good pair of beat up jeans and some flip flops. Well, the flip flops are still out for debate with him. LOL!
We went to "secret beach" when I took these yesterday. Oddly enough, I found some graffiti on a sea wall right by where we were shooting. Graffiti in Naples??? SHOCKER! Truly! I directed Brennen over to the wall with the writings. He wasn't too keen about it initially but he eventually caved.
Of course you know how well I follow trespassing signs when I have my camera in my hand. What fun is it to follow the rules? I scouted out some new locations in a few back alley's I found recently. Can't wait to share the shoots from there. The joys of scouting and then shooting in those locations without ending up in jail is always a plus. It's also an adrenaline rush. :-0
Hope everyone had a great 4th of July. We stopped by the fireworks show at the beach late last night. Another perk to living down the street from the sea shore. For now, I'm off to enjoy another day vegging out. We were up way too late last night watching "Remember Me" again as well as the movie "The Shooter" with Marky Mark. Two awesome films. However, I'm paying for it today. This pregnant Mama is dragging like a zombie. Apple TV is going to e the death of me one day. It just makes movie going way too easy and far too convenient. PS...Just a week and a half until we find out what we are having. Boy or girl. What is your guess?
A couple of weeks ago I was at the beach - alone - and happened to have my camera with me that day. Imagine! Just me and big papa (a.k.a - my camera). While there that afternoon, I noticed an elderly man who came walking by with his orange cooler and his 1980's beach/lawn chair. He caught my attention because one...he reminded me of my Grandpa who passed away - 2 months before my wedding - back in 1994. If he was alive today, I know without a shadow of a doubt that he'd be on that beach with me - fishing up a storm. And two, I noticed this man because of how he just plopped down in the sand and immediately began staring out into the ocean. I was taken by his ability to sit down and expel his "goings on" that fast. Normally it takes me an hour just to wind down and quit fidgeting. I was close enough to him that my lens was able to capture his demeanor. I sat there for three hours watching this man watch the sea. At times, I wish I'd had a penny for his thoughts. For most of the day his outer appearance gave me every indication that he was a content man. Very still. Just taking it all in. Then at other times though, he seemed sad, lonely, and run down. I noticed him looking down - into his lap a lot. It broke my heart. You could tell he was troubled.
I began to wonder how much time God had planned for him here on this earth. I wondered what kind of man he was. Was he a father, a husband, a widow, etc.? My mind raced with anxiety for him when I began to dissect how much of his life is already over. I got to thinking about how when I was 15, 30 seemed so old. Here I am now 34 years old and isn't funny how 80 seems so young? I don't know how old this man was but it was clear that he was in the final 1/3 of his time here on earth.
I admired how he wasn't a dirty old man that would watch all of the young girls in bikini's. Their existence never even phased him. Most men would have had tongues hanging out of their mouth as they sat and watched the pretty passer by's. I admired how he came prepared for a relaxing day in the sun. No books. Just his 80's lawn chair and his old orange cooler with a sandwich, chips, and a frosty cold beer inside. Actually he had a couple of frosty cold beers during his time there. I guess more than anything though, I admired his love for the sea. You could tell it was embedded in every fiber of his being. I don't know if he is a Florida native or if he moved here later in life. Either way, like me, he had a love affair going on with the ocean. He was clearly there to soak it all in with no interruptions. No, not even a book.
As God blessed me with the reality of an unexpected surprise today, I look back on the image of this man and just pray that I do all I can for this world and within this world before my time expires here on earth. I pray that one day when I'm his age and sitting in front of the sea, I can look back on my life and know that I lived it to the fullest extent. I want to look back and know that I built a firm foundation for myself with the bricks that others happened to throw. I pray that I will have fulfilled God's purpose for me here on this earth and that when I get to heaven he will reward me not with riches but instead....a reward that involves discovering he has the most incredibly gorgeous ocean and blue sky ever none to man up there. I pray that he will reward me with a reserved beach chair for not only myself but chairs lined along side mine for my loved ones too. I pray he has been to Target and found me a good pair of cheap rubber flip flops for that magnificent beach he is hiding up there. And who knows, he might even stop off by the beauty supply house and pick me up some "afro sheen" to help me with a good ol' fashioned sun tan. :) Ya never know. I have faith - don't hate! :) I pray that the clouds that line that sky up there are the most awesome of white pillowy clouds and that somehow I'll be able to continue photographing beauty. Eternal beauty.
I don't know who that man was on the beach that day. I don't know what kind of life he has lead. I don't know how much "time" he has left to sit in front of our seas here on earth. However, I took the time to pray for him, myself, and many others that afternoon. My visual of this man left me praying about the fact that I hope he knows you God. I hope he loves you. And in the end, I hope you have a 1980's beach chair and a cooler, no matter the color, waiting for him in heaven. I know, I know...we'll scratch the cold frosty beers. ;)
Praying that you all know "Him" and love "Him" today too. In his grip, Angie
If I ever had a little beach cottage right on the seashores edge, it would totally be this exact color. Trimmed in bright white just as this one is. I was just telling my Mom today that someday when my kids are grown, my ultimate dream would be to have a small 2-3 bedroom cottage overlooking the gulf or the Caribbean somewhere. I would paint it this color and decorate the interior with nothing but seaside decor - basically white upon white with a hint of sea blue, maybe some aqua/turquoise and then more white all over - everywhere. I can envision sitting outside on a wooden porch soaking up the sunset skies at night while taking in the white wave caps as the day turns to darkness. Then, I can see myself out on that white porch yet again come sunrise watching the sky turn from black to brilliant oranges and yellows. Yes, that is my ultimate dream - to start my days while sitting seaside in my own little turquoise cottage.
This particular little house just happens to be an open shelter within the Naples Botanical gardens here in Florida. Either way, I just had to have a photo of it when I saw it. I took the kids to the Botanical Gardens on Wednesday because they got out of school half day for an early dismissal day. Thus where the butterfly images came from in the post below this one. It was a fun day that entails tons of pictures. I'll share more in the coming days. For now, I had to share this cottage with ya'll. I am oozing love for this color - it screams Caribbean, Bermuda-esque, tropical, and so forth. LOVE it!
Then, I would totally have two hammocks out front of my turquoise beach cottage - right off the front porch directly as you stepped down into the sand. I'd tie them to two swaying palm trees and then sit out there and read my books, bead, blog, whatever. Can you imagine? Oh to dream...
Although our new home is only a 5 minute drive to and from the beach now, there is still something to be said for living directly in the sand, facing the ocean, everyday, night after night. To wake and to sleep at the sound of the crashing waves has been something that I've dreamed of from the time I was just a little girl. For now though, I'm soaking up the sea with daily visits here in Naples and mere drive bys when I can't stop for moments long enough to sugar my toes in the sand. I cannot even begin to explain the sheer cleansing that living here has brought me in just 2 small weeks. My soul clean, my mind defogged, my creativity inspired and ignited beyond all imagination, my humiliations left hundreds of miles away, my want for a new beginning...new chapters prominently placed front and center right before me. I find myself eager to get back into the gym here in the new neighborhood as I'm discovering new found energy. I feel my heart yearning for good runs down the beach, sweat beading from my skin and loving every minute of it as I remind myself of the temps in the teens back in Indiana. This move has definitely been a realignment for me. A much needed awakening. My soul had lost its way in the past year. My energy was stolen from me along with many securities. Here though...I've found an "Angie" who was lost long ago. She is ready to make her way. Make her mark - even though it requires me to soar up high and way outside of my comfort zone.
