Abundance is around us all, but we see it in such different forms. What is around you? What is around me? I grew up in the snow, where it covered everything, from the tree tops, to our sidewalks, to the car windshields. What I took for granted then, my daughter longs for now. She is a California girl, and would love to have the experience of snow. I was raised in the Midwest, and though I’ve lived in California a very long time now, I am still shocked by the fruit on the trees where I live. There is so much food growing all around us on neighborhood trees. So much to share, so much to offer each other. I am interested in the experiment that through this sharing of the abundance around, that we will get to know each other, that we will know our neighbor’s names, we will meet students that live on the street who long for the fruit that we perhaps no longer see as food anymore. We may meet the homeowners whose tree was once a very small tree but who now may not be able to climb on a ladder to capture the fruit.

This “problem” to solve is what I do for my job; it keeps my mind whirling all the time. How do we “capture” this food, rescue the unused, unpicked, unwanted neighborhood fruit so others can benefit from this bounty?

Abundance is all around. Just look up, drive around, hop on your bike (if in a warmer climate), and notice what is there to share. It may be flowers that grow on the side of the road – perfect in a tiny vase for your neighbor who may need some cheer, rocks to be collected along a seashore, that could be painted with a beautiful word of inspiration, or some oranges, like I saw in this tree this weekend when we were having a neighborhood fruit drive for those in need.

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because it was an assignment for a photo class, i’m sharing this recent diptych. i was happy to photograph one of my favorite buildings around our town, an old barn that is in the process of being renovated.

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This is something I’ve wanted to do and have been intrigued by for a while. With a new deadline for a photography class i’m taking, it was the perfect opportunity. My family and I had a blast playing around – trying different exposures, camera settings, whether to use a real tripod or a makeshift one (we set this on our ping pong table). Deadlines are often the perfect way to get us moving closer towards our creative goals…

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I am so enjoying my first ever 365 project. For a few years now I have admired the work of other photographers as they embrace a 365 commitment for a year. The idea for me of looking within, at something inside is quite easy as I spend much of day inside, working from home, on my computer, and being indoors. So my challenge to also incorporate and document my moments outside, very much go with my theme for the year of embracing nature.

I decided not to post every individual diptych from my 365 project here but instead on this blog, I will share creative ways that I am putting some of my images together. Here is a collage from the last few weeks of my 365 inside outside photo project. Thanks for stopping by!

365 inside outside part of February 2013