Rest for your soul...

In spite of the post-Christmas doldrums, there’s something I love about January/February…it’s the time of year when I get to pursue some personal projects!  The photography business gets a little slower-paced, and I have a little more time to refresh and renew those creative juices.  Honestly, the whole slow-down thing hasn’t quite happened yet, at least not the way I hoped; I got sick a while ago with The Cold That Won’t Go Away, and for the past six weeks it’s intermittently reared its ugly head.  So I’m still catching up, finishing one last big (and wonderful) project—Austin and Jenna’s wedding.  (Stay tuned for more of their photos soon!)

Anyways, one of my lifelong simple joys, as you already know if you’ve followed this blog for a while, is the beauty and variety of flowers.  Actually it’s not really a “simple” joy.  They’re tremendously intricate.  And detailed.  And unique, and amusing, and whimsical, and comforting, and just…beautiful.

Growing up surrounded by the many varieties in my mom’s garden, it would be hard not to develop a special affection for these lovely expressions of our God's creativity.  Think about it—each flower was once just an idea in God’s head.  He’s showing us something about himself in these pretty little things.

So last Sunday when I was at my parents’ house, I took some time to wander around the garden and collect a few flower photos.  It’s been at least a month since I last did that, and oh my, it was such a treat!  A garden is a haven for the heart—a place where your soul can rest and drink in the refreshment of its unique beauty.  Hope you’re refreshed by these too…

 

 

It's Daphne time!  Love their sweet, citrusy fragrance.

 

 

 

Little blue rosemary blossoms

 

I popped my head in the greenhouse too...

 

Just look at this pansy-face.  Doesn't that make you grin?

Till next time, friends!  :)

- Kelsey

Discovering beauty... 

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer
Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

A little spring happiness at f/2.8

The garden is waking up...and today in the midst of email and editing and preparing for students and wedding album designing, there came a moment when the call became too strong to resist.  A rainstorm was whipping itself up, and the breeze was rushing past my window, and the daffodils and pansies were saying, "Come out and play!"

So I armed myself with a suitably wide-apertured lens (is that a word??) and spent the next fifteen minutes happily wandering among fresh sprouts poking up from brown earth and tiny flowers unfurling.

Nothing says "spring!!" like a brilliant yellow crocus.

 And around here, this yellow means spring, too.  ;)  And lemon bars and custard and other yumminesses.

 Forget-me-nots...

 

These humble sprouts will be incredibly ostentatious tulips in a month or two.  Small beginnings...

I think kale is awfully artsy stuff.  I guess maybe I can identify with its curly-ness.  ;)

Calendulas

This incredible beauty is helleborus, commonly named "Lenten Rose".  They're very modest little flowers, blooming with their heads bowed downward.

To me, this says "hope": an old rosebush, pruned in early winter, putting out sprouts.  In May the bush will be covered with apricot-pink roses.

I love shallow depth of field.  All of these photos were taken at f2.8.  A wee bit of sharp focus, with blurriness before and behind...truly entrancing.  I think it's the blurriness that I love so much.  It's soft, smooth...and mysterious.  You can make guesses about what it is.  But usually you don't really know.  Just something that looks good, blurry.

Isn't that life?  Sometimes the blurry things make other things stand out in sharp focus.  When you're sick, you appreciate the gift of health so much more. When someone is unkind to you, you're all the more grateful for those who ARE kind.  When you see how much you need God's mercy...you see what a merciful, faithful, infinitely patient God he is.

Till next time, friends!  Happy spring!



- Kelsey

Discovering beauty...

Kelsey Schweickert  |  San Francisco Bay Area wedding photographer
Visit my website  |  Email me  |  Follow me on Twitter  |  Like my photography on Facebook

A pretty peony

These luscious peonies are blooming just outside our kitchen window...half a dozen pale green buds have burst into huge pink delights that measure nearly 8" across.

I tell ya, the way spring is springing right now, I could post a dozen beautiful flower photos here every single day.  There is so much LIFE around.  The earth positively teems with it at this time of year.  The grass is covering the hills, showing up unwanted in our flower beds, poking through the cracks in the patio bricks...you just can't stop stuff from growing like crazy right now.

I think spring is one way God shows us the meaning of hope.  Winter is only a season; it's not here to stay.  The life that lies dormant during those difficult months patiently awaits the right time and then springs forth in all its beauty.  My life passes through seasons of joy and grief, fulfillment and emptiness, pain and rejoicing...things that often overlap each other...but always with His presence through every step of it, carrying me through the sad times and rejoicing in His goodness that's always here no matter what.

One of my favorite verses ever, from Psalm 27, sums it up:

"Wait on the Lord:

be of good courage,

and he shall strengthen thine heart;

wait, I say, on the Lord."

- Kelsey Schweickert


Discovering beauty...

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