Pro-ed

I've got my Flickr account pro-ed today. It feels just great to have a dream come true, and it's perfect not to have to pay. A pro account to a Flickr addict means much more than its face value, and well, of course, it made my day!

Tản mạn: Protection

"Everyone needs protection," I said, in the weak light from my small lamp clamped on the bed's head board .
"No I don't!" she jumped up from the floor and curled into the blanket.
"You do, hon. You are defending yourself. It's self-protection."
And she was already snoring.

Protection. It's almost non-existent, but...

You have your purse zipped up and avoid ice-cream shops for one whole day after you buy a 1-grant-worth camera. The next day you think you've saved a lot.
You have a scar on your left leg, and when standing, you hide your left leg behind the right one, and lean your arms against the wall so that you won't fall.
You think a rose isn't a rose if without thorns.
You reckon that a boy or a girl just tries, and always fails, to act cool when s/he doesn't have someone to date.
You have a pimple on your face, and you spend 20 bucks on a tube of concealer just to cover it. When you regret later, you spend quite an amount of time persuading yourself into believing that you will of course use it in the future.
...
And one day you feel low, you're scared as you suddenly realize that you can't think of any name to make a phone call to...

Have you ever noticed hair on a poppy's stem? It's protection. A flimsy tent could offer you a little protection in the storm, and a little is whole lot different from none. Life is way better off when you know protection is just around to be found.

It

I call it an end. It's done, finally.

Chin up

Feel

Two people expressed their love on one of my chocolate photo pages. As sweet as any couple could be, he then proposed to her, and in reply she said yes. I'm just feeling pure happiness for them, although I don't know who they are. Well, two people on a cloud.

They must be having a blast; I can't understand their feelings though. What does love feel like? Doesn't it sound like a corny question? You may cry, "Oh, I'm hearing a reprise, over and over again," but I meant differently. One might feel it in a certain way of his own, but he may not know how it feels to his lover. It's just like when you taste chocolate -- you feel bitter on your tastebuds, and yet another person says it's sweet. Have you ever really meant it when you say "How are you?"...

Flickr CY admin

A secret admin voting session, a secret discussion, and no hint at all. One sweet day, I, wearing a fairly stupid face in front of the screen and drinking fresh milk (see?!), received an invitational mail from Flickr; I said yes. And so, that's how I became a Flickr CY Admin. No salary yet instant glory - that's their motto!

That something you know

-May-

I put my wishes in an envelope
and hide it under my pillow
Wishes are forever wishes
upon the stars above
higher than rooftop snow

I send my hopes to sparrows
On their wings, they will follow
To the north
of moonlit seaports
To the south
where it’s never cold
Along a creek
that shan't sleep
On river banks
where seeds like to grow

I instill my dreams in a nature song
That joyful birds would sing along
That streams would murmur in their flow
And salt breezes would be told
of a rhythm on the leaves
a melody in my soul

Dreams
aren’t only meant to come true
in a sleep, when the day’s through
A secret in golden sands might go
Yet in a day’s picture frame
an aurora ever glows.

Photo: Blue bike (ramblings)

Bikes are a great topic for photographers, perhaps because the vehicle is connected to romantic rides along river banks, under the shadow of maple trees, or on old cobbled roads in the drizzle.

I used to scoff at people who pointed their butts at the sky and took shots of bikes from various angles, from tires to derailleur. And yet one day I found myself doing the exact same thing when an old woman walked past me with a big grin on her face. Here is the product (not a good shot with a dreamy background as described, though), with an application of high key exposure. Anyway, this shows a fact that a photographer always adopts a very bad posture, so excuse me... ;-)

In sepia tone, suggested by im'art: