"Remember to Live, Laugh and Love"

All images and writings are copywritten by Daniele Sharpe unless stated othewise.



Saturday, March 27, 2010

Peace of Mind, Where Do You Find Yours?


Do you have a place that helps you clear your mind? I do. Every time I feel stressed or overwhelmed I have this pull to go to the coast. The sounds of the waves, with the birds along with the smells of the ocean really help me feel rejuvenated. Nature has an amazing power to calm us and ground us. Next time you are feeling overwhelmed or stressed, take a walk, visit the mountains, take a drive to the beach, or sit in you own backyard watching wildlife. You will be amazed at how much better you feel. All the pictures on this post I took on the NH coastline, one of my favorite places to photograph. It is always changing, and it is never exactly the same as the time before.
My children have also become very connected with the ocean and the coast. We enjoy going to the beach pretty much year round. I hope when they become adults they will have a place that they can connect with and get their piece of mind.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Sounds of Spring

Since tomorrow is the official first day of spring, I thought I would take a moment to celebrate the change of the season. My family has been patiently awaiting the first night time sounds of spring. Since it has been pretty warm here in southern NH, every night we have been opening a window to see if we can here what my son calls "the spring frogs". He means the peepers, not sure of what their real name is, but that is what they are called in my neck of the woods. We also have a family tradition of every year whoever hears the peepers first, my children, myself, or my parents, we rush to make the first phone call to let the other one know. It is like a race to say "Spring is here.". This year my parents won the race, they called me at 5:15 to let me know that they heard them first. When my children heard the news there was a chorus of "Oh, man!"

My children have been asking to sleep with their window open just in case the peepers wake up and to smell the fresh air. I was afraid they were going to get cold at first, but then I figured if they get cold they will let me know. How can I deny them their request to experience nature. One night I found my daughter covered in a few blankets. I thought she was sleeping but as soon as I went to shut her window, she stopped me. I guess we can all learn from them how peaceful and refreshing opening those windows for the first time is. All the smells and noises that we miss all winter long. Happy Spring Everyone, and take a moment to take in all the signs, smells and sounds outside your window!

I know the quality of these pictures from a photography stand point are not the best. These were taken in my very early days of exploring photography. How I wish I could get these shots again knowing what I know now. But I think they are still good visual reminders of the post. The bottom one also serves as another point of stopping and taking a moment to see what is around you. This little guy was in my sunflowers, and again if I wasn't looking for things to practice shooting in macro, I probably would have never seen him.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Live, Laugh, and Love

When I began looking for photo opportunities in my backyard, I began to notice the beautiful structure and grace of dragonflies. Photographing them really taught me how to focus, keep still and wait. The more I photographed them the more interested I became in their symbolism. I found some articles that noted that many cultures see dragonflies as a symbols of change and new beginnings. This is because dragonflies begin their lives in water and then transform into the beautiful creatures that we see flying around. I read that they also can be a symbol of living life to the fullest because they have extremely short life spans. I found this very interesting considering one of my life's motto's is "Live, Laugh, Love". Funny how I became gravitated to these creatures and then learned that they symbolize what I believe in.

I also came across some articles that said that some Native American Tribes believe that dragonflies are the souls of people who have passed on. This struck me because I have had some personal experience with seeing a blue dragonfly frequently around me when I was outside shooting pictures. This began to happen right after the loss of a very close loved one, and the dragonfly seemed to appear a lot that year. My children even noticed that the blue dragonfly "really liked us". Below is a picture I was able to capture of it. Chances are it was all coincidence and it wasn't even the same dragonfly, but it was certainly was ironic. Especially after learning about the symbolism.
My children use to be afraid of dragonflies, but since we studied them together and learned more about them, they too have become fascinated with them. Learning about them together was a great experience.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Nature's Awakening


It is amazing how quickly things can change in New England. Last week at this time we were just getting our power restored from an unbelievable nor' easter that hit the area. This week spring was in the air. The sun was shining and the birds were singing. We even cracked a window a little to get some fresh air in the house and to listen to the birds singing. Not sure what it is, but have you ever noticed the scent of fresh air? I also took a few minutes to observe the other sings of nature that were waking outside my kitchen window. Here are some pictures I took when I joined the wildlife outside in my backyard to take in and appreciate nature's awakening.




Monday, March 1, 2010

Nature's Power

I have been writing about the beauty of nature and how we should all take a moment to appreciate what we see everyday. We should also appreciate the power nature has. It has the power to heal us both mentally, and physically through medicine created from it. Nature has the power to inspire us and uplift our spirits. But nature also can be fierce and relentless. It has the power to remind us of what we can control and what we can't. It can remind us of how small we are and powerless we are at times.

This week here on the NH southeastern side of the state, we experienced a pretty sever northeaster with wind speeds higher than we have experienced in a long time. My town lost power for three days, ans some towns longer. Experiencing this first hand certainly reminded us of nature's power.

The picture below was taken after a pretty bad thunderstorm we had last summer. It is interesting that nature also has a way of signaling that things will be okay.