Grace Made Evident

Caw Caw Interpretive Center - A recent visit

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 21:24:00 +0000

Probably the most difficult part of being a photographer is the editing process. It's not that I haven't been taking pictures during the last...holy cow! It's been a year and a half since I posted anything here! Wow. Slacker. But anyway, the editing process—yes, the most tedious part of photography. I just kept snapping away during the past 18 months, but didn't have the space or time to keep up with photo editing.

I have missed sharing some of my pictures. So, I would love to post more during this year, and share some of my adventures with you. We recently took a family trip to a local county park—Caw Caw Interpretive Center. It's one of my favorite places in Charleston. It's part history, part natural history, and part alligator park. On a warm day, you're pretty much guaranteed to see some big ones. It's definitely a gem here in the Lowcountry.

Many people don't like this time of year down here, but it's one of our favorites. The temperatures are cooler, and though the landscape may seem gray and bland, there is still beauty to be found if you just have the eyes to see it. The simplest thing, like a weed or a decaying leaf or even the "fungus among us," speaks to an immense beauty and reflects the intricacies of creation.

Butterfly on flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 14 Feb 2014 14:17:00 +0000

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.

--Sonnet 116, Shakespeare

Coastal Carolina

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 01 Feb 2014 14:54:00 +0000

I still can't believe I live here!

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 15:51:00 +0000

A simple reminder, from a simple children's song...

"I'm glad for what I have, that's an easy way to start."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sunset & Sea Grass

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 21:55:00 +0000

“It isn't Narnia, you know," sobbed Lucy. "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are—are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”

—The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 5) by C.S. Lewis

The sea and everything in it...

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 01:52:00 +0000

"He is the One who made Heaven and earth

The sea and everything in it

He is the One who keeps every promise forever

He gives justice to the oppressed

And sets the prisoners free..."

—From the song "Praise the Lord" sung by Natalie Grant and Laura Story

(Glory Revealed II)

Ode to Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 15 Nov 2013 20:10:00 +0000

Ode to Autumn

by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'erbrimmed their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reaped furrow sound asleep,

Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cider-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings, hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too, -

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing, and now with treble soft

The redbreast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Holy, Holy, Holy

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 29 Aug 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Our church has recently started a brand new arts ministry, and I LOVE the concept! It's meant to be a gathering to encourage arts in the church, and to embrace artists in the community. At the first meeting I was able to attend, I (of course) took my camera. The building we meet in is actually separate from the church sanctuary building, but both are absolutely GORGEOUS!

The church was originally built in 1839, as a Methodist church. It sustained much damage during the Civil War, but was later restored as a Lutheran church. Today, it houses Redeemer Presbyterian Church.

I hope to get more pictures, but these were just some nice architectural details I was able to get in my brief photo safari.

Fun on the Farm

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 03:09:00 +0000

Farms are amazing places! Don't you agree? A couple of years ago, we made a quick stop at a relative's farm, on our way back to Kentucky from Michigan. There's just something magical about old tractors and barns. Maybe it's that they capture a piece of history. Maybe it's because they remind us of simpler days. Maybe it's because we all have this secret desire to reap the benefits of working the land. Regardless, I couldn't resist snapping these shots.

So long summer!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 02:10:00 +0000

While Shakespeare may have said, "And summer's lease hath all too short a date." I'm just going to have to disagree with the impassioned bard. And here's why I'm looking forward to cooler weather...

Banana Spider
These grow GINORMOUS in size.

But, I will miss seeing more of these guys out my kitchen window. This one posed perfectly for me on our gardenia bush.

Dragonfly

Still, I say, bring on the cooler weather!

A Huge Change...well, at least a very big one

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 18:42:00 +0000

Greetings, once again! It's been a considerable amount of time since I last posted anything here. And trust me...the pictures have been PILING up! It's a daunting prospect to weed through them all, but I'm attempting the nearly impossible.

Since I last posted here, my family has up-and-left the Bluegrass State, and headed for the South Carolina Lowcountry—my DH's job being the reason. Now, we find ourselves in the city formerly known as Charles Towne, steeped in culture, history, and OODLES of photographic inspiration. I'm itching to take off one evening during the golden hour to capture some of the beautiful sites.

But, it was definitely a sad goodbye to our friends (who really are family now) in Lexington. They are a part of us. One of my dear friends posted a quote from C.S. Lewis on her Facebook page, and it got me all choked up. For those of you who know and follow Christ, this will be very meaningful to you:

“In friendship, we think we have chosen our peers. In reality a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another...the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting--any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends, 'Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.'― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

As we cleaned up our home in Lexington, making it ready for the new owners, I kept hoping our poppies would pop open. I just wanted to see them bloom before we left. And sure enough...our last couple of days there, they opened up to display their magnificent, trademark "poppy red" beauty.

Diet...schmiet

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:04:00 +0000

Bourbon balls...yeah, not typically part of a New Year's diet. I have been going through my photographs lately, adding product to my new store (of course), and came across this one. I know I've posted it before, but I wanted to post it again. Every time I look at it, I remember how these delectable treats melt and flood your mouth with intense flavor! They are just so dang yummy!

The Pioneer Woman (yes...the lovely Ree Drummond) called this photo, "So pretty. So rich!" I just love her. I know we would be good friends. Call me, Ree! :)

Memory Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 16:15:00 +0000

Just added some new pictures and sizes/formats to my photography store yesterday. I'll be adding even more today! Check them out at http://lesliepaladinophoto.storenvy.com!

I'm also working on catching up with my photo editing--that's a big job! I always shoot in RAW format, so there's always editing and converting to be done. Shooting in RAW gives me exceptional flexibility with the image, and that's why I love it.

Currently, I'm working on editing our family pictures from Labor Day weekend 2011. Yep--I'm a wee bit backlogged. :( But, it's so fun to go back through all those pictures and stroll down memory lane. At the time, my son was only three months old and we were camping at Virginia Beach! He's now 18 months, so it's crazy to look back and see how tiny he was.

I already posted a couple of images from that trip, so here's just a reminder so that you can journey down memory lane with me.

New Prints Now Available!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 20:00:00 +0000

I am so excited to share this news with you! I have opened up a store on STORENVY, and have many of my prints currently available for purchase! I will be adding available photos more and more over the coming weeks and months, so keep checking back to see if your favorites are available for purchase.

AND...just for YOU, and because it's a brand new year, I'm offering a 13% discount for a limited time. This discount expires on 1/31/13, so share the news so that your friends can enjoy the discount, too! Use the code "NEWYEAR2013" to get 13% off on all items.

Thank you so much for your support!!

And they're off!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 01:21:00 +0000

Where we live, spring means many things. But, one of the unique and really fun things about this area is the amazing horses that are everywhere! Keeneland is just around the corner from our house, and every spring (usually April, I believe), the races begin. Big, fancy hats, and beautiful spring dresses dot the grounds, along with seersucker suits.

We're actually just around the corner from the fall racing season at Keeneland, but this past spring we decided to hit the track for breakfast, and enjoy the morning warmups. We loaded up the kiddos, along with grandma and grandpa, and headed out of the house around 7:00 AM. And it was so much fun! Here's a little glimpse of our morning...

One-day Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Hello again! I'm still here...are you?! I sincerely apologize for my long absence from this blog. I picked up some freelance work, on top of staying home with the kiddos, and working my regular job, so blogging (unfortunately) took a back seat. :(

But, I'm still here, and I'm still taking pictures! So, I'll attempt to catch up a bit over the next several weeks, and show you a bit of what I've been photographing these days. Because of my two little ones, I haven't had a lot of photography adventures in the past several months. So, I've found myself trying to find the "adventure" in the everyday. I think that's a great thing to do, by the way. No day is ordinary. There's a spark of mystery and adventure in each and every moment. You just have to see it...or for me, capture it!

Here in Kentucky, we really didn't have that much a winter this past year. That's a huge bummer for someone like me who LOVES winter and snow. But, we did have one bright and GORGEOUS snowy day on March 5, 2012. The drifts were huge, and the sun was bright and beautiful. The sky couldn't have been bluer. It was amazing.

We have an old pin oak in the back yard. It's sick, and probably needs to come down soon. That makes me really sad. I hate to see older trees come down--especially when they are as big as this one. But, with the bright white snow covering it's branches, it was in all its glory.

Dandelion Wine

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:30:00 +0000

Dandelions...the bain of so many land owners, and yard lovers...and yet, they hold a special place in my heart. I remember rubbing them on our chins when I was little and then laughing because of the funny-looking yellow residue they would leave behind. I remember blowing the seeds and watching them dance on the wind. But, I LOVE watching my daughter do these things now. It's all come full-circle.

We had so many in our yard this year--probably not helped by my daughter grabbing each "blow flower" she saw and scattering the seeds with her breath. But, I joked that we had enough to gather and make dandelion wine. Shoulda, coulda...

New blooms

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:31:00 +0000

One of my favorite things about Spring is the new life that begins to show itself after a long, dead winter. Things that appear to be dead suddenly spring to life again--all things become new!

Hello, Spring!

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 21:54:00 +0000

Maybe you're wondering where I've been...maybe not. Regardless, my nature photography has given way to taking lots of pictures of my kids over the winter. We didn't have an especially "pretty" winter, where we are. It was unseasonably "warm," so there just wasn't a lot to take pictures of, unfortunately.

But, I'm reloading on some really pretty shots of Spring around our house and in the area, and I can't wait to share them.

In the meantime, you can see how much my daughter is enjoying Spring...

Quilty Bokeh...1st week of challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:55:00 +0000

To view my submission for last week's Click-ish January Photo Challenge, click here. Check out the other submissions from last week while you're there! This week's new challenge is "black & white." Watch all week long for our member's submissions for this new challenge.

I'm challenging myself this month

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 04:27:00 +0000

So, it's 2012, now. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Most of my photos have been of my family lately, so I haven't been posting a lot of nature photos lately. I'm missing snow right about now. It always provides a lot of photographic inspiration, so it's sad to not have any on the ground right now. But, that's not excuse for not challenging myself, right? That's why the photo group I participate in--Click-ish Photographers--is doing weekly photo challenges in January. Follow along and see what we come up with! And check us out on Facebook as well!

Fairy

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 10:30:00 +0000

I was recently playing outside with my daughter, and she was running around and playing with sticks, rocks, etc. She loves to run under our neighbors' dogwood tree, which she was doing on this particular day. There was an opening in the branches and leaves, and I noticed her peek her sweet little face out of it. I was inspired, so I ran in side and grabbed my camera, knowing that it would be sheer luck if I captured the picture I was envisioning. I told her to peek her face through again, and I snapped a few pictures. Little did I know I would end up with this "golden" shot. She looks like a little fairy! Now I have a wonderful picture of her sweet little face that I can look at forever, no matter how old she gets.

A Lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:30:00 +0000

I've posted this picture on my blog before, so if it looks familiar, that's why. I took this picture shortly after I got my new DSLR. I was so excited. I was trying it out on anything and everything. I think I was just sitting there one day, looking at it, and looking around taking pictures of everything from the plants on my patio, to my child, to the ceiling light, to the carpet...everything! I haphazardly looked down and took a picture of my hand on my leg, and here we are! It's funny, because I didn't have a lot of emotion when I took the picture, but the picture evoked a lot of emotion in me. I look at this picture and see years of ups and downs in marriage. I see over 30 years of life and lessons, hardships and joys. I know that's not a lot, but there are times I feel like I've been through a lifetime's worth of experiences in my young life. I look at this picture, and see the covenant of love that I made with my husband in 2001 (do you know we've been married 10 years now?!), and I see the birth of our firstborn. I know this picture may not mean a whole lot to anyone but me, but it speaks many things to me. Who knew that I would end up with such an emotional picture as I carelessly clicked away?

Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 22:00:00 +0000

My husband and I can be a bit crazy sometimes. Usually, when one of us is crazy, the other is rational, but there are rare moments when we are both out of our minds crazy. My husband was the crazy one, the Thursday before Labor Day. He convinced me that it would be fun to take a spontaneous, 10-hour drive camping trip to Virginia Beach for the weekend with our two children, both under 3. It sounded fun, but I really thought he was a bit nuts. Not only was it a long drive, but we couldn't afford a huge vacation. His solution...take any food we had in the fridge/freezer/pantry with us. We had an air mattress, and a lot of our own camping gear. We didn't have a tent that would accommodate our family (we had a 2-3 man tent from our pre-children days). He said we could borrow one! My reasons for not doing it were dwindling. Besides, I like that he keeps me young by wanting to do such playful things! I looked online for available campsites at the area state parks. Nothing was available...no wait! There's one! Oops...it's taken. No wait...it's available again! I grabbed it. We were committed. Yikes! So, we threw our stuff together, found a willing friend who let us borrow their family's tent, loaded up the kiddos, and took off for Virginia Beach for Labor Day weekend.

It was absolutely gorgeous, and we made some wonderful memories as a family. Was it a little crazy? Sure! But what is life without a little crazy to keep us sane?

Photo Challenge: White

noreply@blogger.com (Leslie) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 19:55:00 +0000

I know, I know . . . it's been a while, huh? Since giving birth to my son in June, I've been a bit preoccupied. But, I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. I'm still photographing things, so stay posted! I haven't gone anywhere!

I subscribe to several photo blogs, to keep me inspired and thinking of new ways to capture the things I see. This week's theme at I Heart Faces is "White." Here's my entry:

It's one of my favorites from this past Easter. My daughter found these steps at the place we had stopped to take pictures, and kept going up and down them, over and over and over again. On this particular decent, she picked up her skirts—like Cinderella—and very daintily came down the steps. Whenever she's pretending to be a princess, she gets really serious about it, as you can tell by the focus on her face. I love it!