Tag: #Greece

Formation of a Fern

One of the best things about travel to a faraway land is learning about the symbols that derive from the natural environment there. When I visited New Zealand, I learned that the spiral shape celebrated in art and jewelry refers to the spirals found in the fern as it unfurls. Ferns are ubiquitous in the rainforests of New Zealand, and the ancient plants come in many varieties. As a new fern grows, you can see a delicate spiral unfurling as each leaf and stem grows. This spiral represents new beginnings.

These ferns are growing in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, an Audobon Preserve near Naples, Florida. I was delighted to notice the repeating patterns as well as the spirals at the ends of the leaves and stem on the left.

On the other side of the globe, we learned about a different interpretation of the spiral shape. In Turkey, the spiral shape represents the Meander River, which curves back and forth and seems to go on forever. When visiting Ephesus in Turkey, we were told the spiral shape in repetition, or the Greek Key design, represents infinity.

In yet another trip, we were surprised to find the Greek Key design in the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Surely the ancient people from all these places were not comparing notes! It seems to me that the ancient people in all these distant spots on the globe had put together an observation of the intriguing shapes in Nature and thinking that joined Nature, Art and Philosophy. I choose to embrace both meanings in the spiral found in Nature: new beginnings and eternity. Both concepts bring me optimism, peace and happiness.

Walking Mykonos

The Greek Islands have endured their share of hardship with the recent influx of Syrian refugees. But their beauty and charm has endured through the ages. You never know what you will find as you wander the maze like streets of Mykonos.

#greekislands, #greece, #mykonos, #maze, #whitewash, #walking
So easy to get lost for the day wandering around Mykonos.

You might lose your sense of direction, but come upon a sculptural Greek chapel.

#greekislands, #greece, #chapel, #church, #whitewashed, #blueandwhite, #sculpture
Whitewashed Chapel in Mykonos, Greece, found by chance.

Hopefully, you will find your way to Mom’s favorite jeweler. We have been coming here to Lalaounis since 1973.

#greece, #gold, #jewelry, #greekislands, #mykonos, #motherdaughter, #foundit
Like mother, like daughter. Repeat. Three generations shop at our favorite Greek jeweler ilias Lalaounis, which creates designs reminiscent of antiquity.

 

Photography’s best purpose

When you love photography, you spend a lot of time working on improving your work. A new camera, a new lens, new software, more training, new destinations…

But remember your goal when you first picked up a camera? You wanted to capture a memory and keep it forever. With this in mind, you took lots of baby pictures, and lots of vacation pictures.

Even as a professional photographer, devoted full time to becoming better every day with technique and with vision — I come back to basics. I pull out the old family photo, and transport myself back to that happy moment that I never want to forget.

My Dad, nearly 100 years old, is very ill.  He was youthful and active into his 90s, and of course, we hoped he would live forever. This week, I’ve been so busy taking care of him that I haven’t been out shooting new photos. So, I would like to share a happy moment from 2009 that seems like just yesterday. At age 93, he treated us to one last international cruise to my mom’s favorite destination: Greece. My daughter Caitlin, 24 then, was happy to be on board for her first cruise.

#family, #memories, #goodtimes, #silversea, #cruise
Anticipating fun times ahead on our Greek Island cruise as we set sail from Athens, 2009