I was listening to Delle and Christi this morning on RX when they mentioned the poem Desiderata and how they would like to memorize it. I was curious about the poem so I decided to look it up. I was familiar with the poem title as I have encountered this on one of my literature classes before. I am not easily inspired by words but while reading this, each word sinks deep. Very inspiring!

“Desiderata”
by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Trees by Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Since I had my camera, I was always reluctant to take shots during the night. For one, I feel intimidated about taking shots in the dark and not use flash. I say this because I realized that unless you have rock-steady hands, taking night shots by hand is quite difficult, take a look below

As you can see, I have very shaky hands ^^, and if you’re going to shoot at night, I strongly suggest you get a tripod.

What I like about night photography is that it adds more characters to your shots;

Normal scenes create more impact;

and you see normal places in a different light.

Trying to capture moving lights in the day would rather seem odd, take a look below;

You really can’t appreciate its beauty in daylight.

There are a lot of things you can do with night photography, difficult as it is to perfect it, taking great shots will definitely be worth it. And here are a couple of things you can do with night photography:

Play with fire;

or see amazing fireworks!

Capture breathtaking light projection;

or even turn your niece into a fairy!You can draw silly images;

and even say hello to your friends!

There are a lot of things to do with night photography, go out and try to experiment with them!

I had this assignment on a photography forum that I joined. What we are told to do is to drive/walk 10 minutes away from home and then take a photo of whatever laid on that location. The instruction is that you should stop at exactly 10 minutes of walking/driving and make the best out of that location. I ended up taking these photo along with the other ones.

A shy cow looks away as i took its photo…

A little “malunggay” tree, top view

Yellow bell flower

And then after walking for a total of 20 minutes, I go home and find a beautiful person. It makes a tiring walk all worth it!

Back when I didn’t have a DSLR and I had to take photos with my cellphone, I was already fond of taking photos in macro mode. I was always amazed on how a camera focuses on a certain object and blurring the rest of the frame. Now having a DSLR, taking photos in macro has always been a part of my snaps. I am liking it! (:

Took this picture when I was testing the aperture of the camera.

Being new at photography, I am a bit hesitant in taking photos of people especially little kids since they move around a lot. Taking pictures of non-moving objects for me sometimes are difficult, then can you imagine what will be the outcome if I took moving subjects? But in times like these, how can you resist seeing kids having fun and reminding you of how you were when you were at their age? I can’t help but shoot away (:

Here’s EJ and Sasha goofing around in front of the camera. Can’t help but smile whenever I look at this photo (;

When I started taking photos, I noticed that I like taking photos of plants and trees. Maybe because I find them easy to photograph because they’re really not moving (:

Above is a picture of a tree named aratilis/saresa a local version of cherries.

Some of the plants that are scattered around the house

I have started this hobby last April 15, 2010 when I brought home a Nikon D40. Yes it is an obsolete model and yes it is not brand new, but who cares? What’s important is now I got a camera and I am venturing into a world full of joyful things! ü

The photo above is my first try on aperture, I had to take a couple of shots to get a photo without shake.