I Have This Hope...For Healing!

Life's been intense. 

From one extreme to another seems to be the theme, but I've kept up so far on my 2017 goal of getting off my keister to hike, walk, and now camp more. For that, I am quite content. Haven't lost a pound, but I've gained more confidence and some amazing experiences. 

So much beauty out there...off the couch and out the front door!

On a totally different note, I've been contemplating the struggles I've watched people I care for endure... 

I wish the answer was a simple as "get off your arse and go walk in nature." 

Granted, a good walk in the woods can lead to healing on many levels, but some wounds run so deep that it's hard to heal that quickly or simply. 

See the heart? I found this at Hickory Canyons Natural Area (MO).

In the end, all I can do is pray, listen, offer time, and hope like crazy the physical ailments, the emotional drains, and broken hearts can be healed. Simply put, it hurts me to see people hurt. 

Yet, I do not want my empathy to be taken as pity. I know the people I see subjected to the trials of life are strong and would hate to be the subject of "poor him/her" thoughts. (As would I, too!) 

While the "right" words escape me, my parting uplifting thoughts include;

* Keep Swimming (Dory).

* Be Still and Know...

* "No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you've come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself."

* Kindness Matters.

* Fresh Air Clears the Mind.

* "One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words."

* When in doubt, listen to "Three Little Birds."

* Give it to God. 

* Just breathe... and know you have a friend out there who is thinking of you!

May your worries and troubles be healed, 

the M of MK Designs Photography

June 1, 2017

Craving, Loving, Creating, Reconnecting, Fearing... YOU GET THE PICTURE!? :-)

Note: I am borrowing a bit of an idea from Olive and Ash Studio for this blog entry: http://oliveandashstudio.blogspot.com and making it a little more personal this time.

See that image above? As much as I am loving all that I am accomplishing and seeing this Summer, I am in desperate need for a day of "nothing."

CRAVING seclusion and being alone in my house for 24 hours, or sitting with my toes in a creek for several hours with the added bonus of ZERO CELL RECEPTION.

It's not that I don't love people, it's that the older I get the more "drained" I feel at times from constant interaction. Is it normal? Is it one of my quirks? I am not sure.

Let's just say my buddy Tyann is soooo lucky I answered the phone for her today! Ha! Speaking of Tyann... I am LOVING this:

She knows me well. My dad often makes Lic Plate Art Signs and when she saw this keychain in Colorado she purchased it for me. What a great gift! PS If you want to know more about what she does, check out her stellar-cool-updated website: http://tyannmarcink.com

The photos of Tyann on her website were taken by a mutal friend of our's named Slava.

RECONNECTING with Slava. This week, despite my urge to hole up like a turtle in her shell, I met up with Slava of http://www.slavabowman.com for lunch at Blue Duck in Washington, Mo. I am glad we did. She's always such a positive person to be near and did I mention the food?

They have the BEST mushroom soup, and more. I don't get there often, but it seems like when I do - it's with Slava. Here's more info about this great place in downtown WashMo with river views: http://blueduckwashmo.com

This summer is hectic. However, I feel like it's been not only "productive" but important in that now my kiddo is 10, I am trying to soak up as much time with her before she hits the teen years. I am not sure why... but if I had to do a FEARING... part of this blog... it would be FEARING my daughter not wanting to spend much time with me when she's a teenager.

Crossing the Mississippi River on a ferry from KY to MO in June. 

I remember myself as a teen.

Did I appreciate my mom and the things she knew?

I can safely say not nearly enough. I was rotten.

Was I as rotten as some other kids I have known and currently know? Maybe not, but for "me" - I RELECT and think, "What a rotten teen you were to your mom, Michelle!"

I am sure I gave her fits even if she didn't show it publically. So, today when I can do cool things like "date nights" with my mom and see Lily Tomlin with her, I do it. Gladly.

OVERCOMING fear is hard. While I have no control over how Karlene will choose to act towards me as a teen, I can say this summer she and I not only faced my fear on that riverboat ferry pictured above, but more.

She talked herself out of potential regret and did this two-story slide in Union City, TN at http://www.discoveryparkofamerica.com I am so happy I clicked a pic with my phone just as she hit the ground in a moment of joy!

On the other hand, I am NOT cool with snakes...but when I found a non-poisonous one about to die tangled up in the netting that holds in my hill near my house... I grabbed some scissors and after 20 minutes he was free.

Well, I have to be honest... CREATING isn't just about photography here at our house. We entered the local library's bookmark contest again this summer. My daughter and I both won in our age groups last year. We will see what this year holds.

EXPLORING For so many years I have wanted to see Big Oak Tree State Park in Mo. On the way back from our family vacation in Tennessee, we did just that. 

The humidity was out of control, so we only did one of the walks there, but it was worth it. There will be a blog post about Tennessee and this special park in Missouri soon, too. For now, learn more about Big Oak Tree here: https://mostateparks.com/park/big-oak-tree-state-park

For now I am going to leave you with this image of my kiddo at Big Oak Tree, and let you know more blog posts about more specific photo adventures are coming soon... I also want to thank you for your support of my work. It means so much to me.

I like this place.... and could willingly waste my time in it...

Just last weekend it was in the 60's, flash foward 7 days and now it's freezing again. One thing most Missourians know is when a warm day is handed to you in the Winter - TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!

Last Saturday, my daughter and I (along with my camera) spent a few hours doing a little bit of the trail at the Glassberg Family Conservation Area: http://mdc4.mdc.mo.gov/applications/moatlas/AreaSummaryPage.aspx?txtAreaID=201201

Here are just a few images from that beautiful afternoon. I hope you enjoy them. 

“This life is yours. Take the power to choose what you want to do and do it well. Take the power to love what you want in life and love it honestly. Take the power to walk in the forest and be a part of nature. Take the power to control your own life. No one else can do it for you. Take the power to make your life happy.”  ― Susan Polis Schutz

“We need the tonic of wildness...At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”  ― Henry David Thoreau

“...and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?”  ― Vincent van Gogh

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn”  ― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.”  ― Gary Snyder

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” 
― John Muir

Photos by MK Designs Photography - 2015. Do not copy without permission. If you'd like to order any images, contact me! http://mkdesignsphoto.weebly.com/contact.html

Seeing the Light at Robertsville State Park

A camera is a just a little device that records light. Simple. True. Light. It's all about the light.

Add how much I love my camera, finding the light, and Robertsville State Park. Take the sum of all three parts and then multiply it by the joy found in a near 70 degree day the Saturday after Thanksgiving. 

The solution to the equation is this: a 3 mile walk with my daughter (who wanted to stay on the pavement) with my camera in tow... eyes peeled for the light... at Robertsville State Park.

”Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.”

– George Eastman

“In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary.”

- Aaron Rose

 “What makes photography a strange invention is that its primary raw materials are light and time.” – John Berger

“Wherever there is light, one can photograph.” – Alfred Stieglitz

 “A picture must possess a real power to generate light and for a long time now I’ve been conscious of expressing myself through light or rather in light.” – Henri Matisse

“The artist vocation is to send light into the human heart.” – Robert Schumann

Thank you for taking a 3 mile walk around Robertsville State Park with me today. If you want to see the park in person, it's just off Hwy O in Robertsville, Mo. Check it out online: http://mostateparks.com/park/robertsville-state-park

MK Designs Photography / Fine Art and Portrait. 2014. 

If you want to learn more about my images, or order any... feel free to contact me via my website and/or my facebook page. 

What does the "K" stand for? And can she use a camera? ;-)

It is technically MK Designs. I am Michelle Anne Turner...no "K" in that... but if you know me, you know there's a K that has changed my life for the better. Her name is Karlene and she's my daughter. This year she's in 4th grade and loving her teacher and school. 

Karlene made me hold this leaf for her... just right in the light. 

Karlene actually is good with a camera. She started clicking photos when she was about 5. It does bum me out that she's slowed down BIG TIME because she really does have a good eye for it. 

These are a few she took this summer at the Washington (Mo) Riverfront Trail.

See Mr. Frog? She did a little "Frog Stalking" 

She knows how to get close to her subject... and how to look for light. 

I watched Karlene wait for Mr. Frog to hop into the light! 

She's so good at following the Rule of Thirds, and honestly - she doesn't even know what that means. She doesn't even have a camera that shows the Rule of Thirds grid when she shoots. 

She somehow knows that dead-centering things isn't the best thing to do for composition. She also isn't afraid to get close to a bug! Good little photographer! :-)

I love how she looks all over for interesting perspectives and angles. 

Trees covered in vines...

Karlene may not take as many photographs as she did a few years ago, but when she does, I am always impressed with what she sees and how she captures it with a little camera. I highly encourage any of you to let your kids experiment with photography... no matter how young they are. It will really help you see the world as they see it. 

More of the trees covered in lush green vines along the Riverfront Trail in Washington, Mo.

Photos by the K of MK Designs. Do not copy or print without permission. 

If you'd like to order any prints, all $ will go directly to Karlene's Pokemon Fund. 

MK Designs 2014.