Focal Point
"Life is your art.
An open, aware heart is your camera.
A oneness with your world is your film". -Ansel Adams
As if being an herbal tea farmer wasn't unique enough...
My photography has been a significant part of my business from its inception.
Nearly Every Photograph...
On every webpage
And every e-love letter
Was taken by me
(the same person harvesting your berries and mint, and packaging each tea pouch you enjoy)
Walking through my fields...
In early dawn
During a summer rain
Surrounded by honeybees
The things I see here...
I am compelled to share them
With You
The Angle
"Ten people can go to exactly the same scene and get ten totally different images, although they might have the camera in the same position." -Ansel Adams
Perspective is Everything
In photography, I love to ask:
"What does the world looks like from a caterpillar's point of view?"
As a tea farmer, I often ask something similar:
"How do others enjoy my teas?"
What compels you?
To Pause.
Sip.
Linger.
Taste.
Experience.
What a gift we give ourselves and others...
When we take time to see the world from a different point of view.
And ask:
What does life look like from your angle?
The Timing
"You can’t wait until something happens and then take a picture of it. It’s happened so fast that you’ll be late." -Ansel Adams
There is a Moment
In each day called "magic light."
Just after sunrise.
Just before sunset.
The sun's angle creates light that is infused with warmth, softness, radiance.
When I wait, prepare, setup for that moment...
Such beauty is captured
To wait for the perfect moment requires:
Patience
Practice
Focus
Clarity
Understanding
Such practices cultivated as we savor a gentle cup of tea.
Sip
By
Sip
The Subject
"The clear realities of Nature, seen with the inner eye of the spirit, reveal the ultimate echo of God." -Ansel Adams
What are you focused on?
Is your teacup half-full or half-empty?
Your answer may reveal your focus.
Sometimes I feel inundated with images of sorrow, violence, pain...hurt caused by others.
But, there is beauty all around us.
Simplicity.
Light.
Kindness.
There is goodness.
I need only shift my focus.
"The whole world is, to me, very much “alive”
-all the little growing things, even the rocks.
I can’t look at a bit of grass and earth, for instance, without feeling the essential life-the things going on-within them." -Ansel Adams
Dear Tea-Drinker,
My blessing to you this month, may we:
Look through the eyes of one another. Try new perspectives. Consider different angles.
Consider our timing. Cultivate patience. Practice waiting until timing is perfect, revealing warmth, softness and radiance.
Shift our focus. See the beauty all around us.
As always:
Thank you
I'm honored to be your herbal tea farmer.
Be well,
Shannon