View allAll Photos Tagged blessing
Living in a screenplay she never read the end
and no one else is to see..
The pain of abrasions covered with a smile
no one's to look underneath...
In a lonesome night she ran
away in quest for light and then
she found fire....
Title: Blessings
Location: Port Lincoln, Eyre Peninsula
Year : 2016
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I noticed her as I was entering a building on campus and I liked the way her bandana and braided hair framed her strong features. When I approached her to participate in my Human Family photo project she was briefly hesitant but agreed once I explained my interest and showed her my contact card. Meet Blessing.
I asked her if Blessing was her given name or a name she had taken on herself and she said it was her given name. I replied that it must say something about how her parents felt about bringing her into the world.
I suggested we moved down the hallway a bit to the spot where I first saw her. It had more light spilling in from the lobby as opposed to the muted artificial light of the hallway where I met her. Blessing was patient with my photo-taking as students passed in and out of the corridor. I found her eyes particularly striking and knew that I wanted them to be an emphasis in the portrait.
Blessing was born and raised in Toronto and is 18. She is a first-year student in the Arts and Media program which is housed in the building where we were standing. When I asked how her first year is going so far she smiled and said “A bit too slow.” I was reminded of my own university experience when the early courses set the stage for the more interesting and specialized courses to follow.
Blessing’s advice to her younger self was “Stop trying so hard to please others more than pleasing yourself.” She is creative and enjoys painting and drawing in her spare time and would like to pursue photography too. When I asked about any decisions she has made that she regretted she recounted a day when she impulsively decided to give herself a haircut. I guess it didn’t turn out too well. Her mention of the haircut brought my attention to the fact that while I noticed her hair when we first met, it didn’t show much in the photos I took. She was obliging of my decision to take a couple of extra photos with her braids pulled into view.
Her goal is to be creative director once she graduates. I found Blessing to be rather quiet and soft-spoken and when I asked if she was shy she said “Not so much shy but I’m a bit hesitant about new situations.” I commented that my unanticipated request to participate in a photo project must not have been easy for her she smiled and said “To tell the truth, it did seem kind of strange to me… but then I figured How wrong could this go and why not? I mean, it was really pretty low-risk.” I could understand the reaction and told her I really appreciated her taking the chance.
When I asked her to share a few words friends might use to describe her she said "They would probably say I'm rather quiet but I also hope they would say I'm funny and a good listener." Nice qualities, all.
Blessing’s message to the project was “You don’t owe anyone anything other than kindness" and that "people should mind their own business.” I wished her well with her studies and she wished me well with my photography project. Our parting handshake carried the warmth I felt in our brief encounter.
This is my 821st submission to The Human Family Group on Flickr.
You can view more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
Follow-up: I received a nice email from Blessing which follows:
"Hi Jeff! It was great meeting you too and the pictures are great :) I'm glad I could be of service, it was cool and now I have a new story.
There's nothing more or less I would add, it's already in such a good place.
I hope you find success in whatever you're looking for it in and that your project carries on well!
Thanks for the cool experience!"
"Focus on one simple question: What small thing can I do today to bring a blessing
to someone else?"
~Thomas Kincaide
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"HaPpy SunDay Y'all!"
~Mary Lou
No Invites please ....
Just something to remember in going about our lives.
Seeing this young man just gave me a time to pause and reflect.
"Challenges make you discover things about yourself that you never really knew"
C. Tyson
Please do not copy, use and modify any of my photographs without my explicit written permission. All rights reserved.
~ The blessing Celtic Woman ~
for the textures only group competition #5
thanks for the original picture beggs and the angel Eddi 07
texture by jaiel
I had been enjoying the excitement that was the 2915 Ryerson University Orientation Week. The downtown Toronto campus was alive with excitement as the existing student body welcomed a new crop of students who are about to start the next stage of their learning adventure at Ryerson. There are two intersecting streets cutting through the urban campus and both are closed to vehicular traffic so students, downtown livers, and visitors are milling about, enjoying the party-like atmosphere. I was about to unlock my bicycle and ride home when in the midst of all this noisy activity I saw this beautiful young woman. She was checking her cell phone while standing in front of my favorite coffee shop. Ensuring that she wasn’t in the midst of making a call, I told her I wanted to ask her something. She smiled, lowered her phone and said “It’s ok. I was just checking it.” I introduced myself and my Human Family photo project and told her she would make a great subject if she was willing and had five minutes. She looked at my contact card and said “Sure. That sounds nice.” We shook hands. Meet Blessing.
I suggested we move a few steps past the coffee shop patio tables and make use of the sheltered light of the covered walkway leading (appropriately enough) to the entrance of the university Image Arts Department which houses the photography program. There was a serenity in Blessing’s posing. All I had to do is indicate the spot I wanted her in and ask her to look at my camera lens. No need to give a huge smile but just relax. I had to inform her a couple of times to take a little break because I was waiting for students entering the building to clear the background. Easy peasy.
I learned that Blessing is 18 and came to Toronto from Edmonton Alberta just three days ago because of Ryerson University’s highly-regarded acting program. If she was a bit overwhelmed by the jumble of confusion and excitement surrounding her at Orientation “ground zero” on Gould Street, it didn’t show. Her goal is to be an actor and she figures she is in the right place to do her training and (hopefully) launch her career. “How do you like Toronto so far?” “It’s been great but I need to get settled. I’m basically homeless right now. That’s what I was doing when you introduced yourself: Continuing my housing search.” She has already met some fellow students and they are working together to find accommodations to share as roommates.
“How would friends who know you best describe you?” “Oh, they would probably say I’m introverted, active, and like to keep busy.” “Introverted, and you want to be an actor?” (She smiled.) “I know, but on a stage I can take on a role and be really outgoing.” I pointed out that most who undertake street photography projects, especially street portraiture, describe themselves as a bit shy and that doing their projects help them to be more outgoing. “Exactly” she said. “So, what do you do when you’re not acting or rushing around looking for an apartment?” “I read a lot, especially classics and mystery books.”
“Do you have a message to share with the world through my project?” “Yes. It’s always good to plan ahead, especially when you are moving to a new city. Find your accommodations before you move!” I got the sense that Blessing wasn’t overly-stressed and was confident that things would work out. The few minutes we shared together were delightful. I got a taste of the excitement of the young at the very start of a new adventure. In Blessing’s case it is the adventure of higher learning but also the adventure of a new city and new friendships. It was fun to share that excitement through her presence.
Thank you Blessing for taking time out to meet and participate in the Human Family project. Have a great time at university, make friends, study hard… and good luck with your apartment hunt!
This is my 30th submission to the Human Family group.
See more street portraits and stories by visiting The Human Family.
.. husband blessing his wife, after finishing rituals of worshiping gomti river.
see more COUPLEs here.
2 romans visiting the local shrine to get a blessing from Apollo, the god of music, healing and truth. Build for Vignweek hosted by RebelLUG, day one, Ancient.
The blessing is, that almost everyday, I could spot this adorable creature on this specific white Lantana plant!!! And that she would let me for a long-long time capture her beauty from very close!!! She was, indeed, so much in love with these lovely white Lantana blooms!!!!!!!!
Pilgrims doing a blessing ritual in Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, at their planetary post, determined by the day of the week they were born on (there are eight posts - in Burmese astrology the week has eight days, with Wednesday actually split into two). Pouring water over the Buddha statue is considered to bring good luck.
morning birdsong - birds playing in an abandoned water bucket - skirting - a little time with Harley
The Blessing
is the moment of sunsplashed brilliance,
the walking-in by chance at the time
of greatest need. The blessing is swallows
alive from Africa, cavorting in English sky.
The blessing is a surprise, like luminescence
seen from a boat at night, between islands,
and the way it rises on the swell, the shallows
all aglow with it, the tide a woman’s sigh.
The blessing doesn’t choose. Its substance
is just bestowed. We have no right.
The blessing is the rustling of willows
when dawn comes, and mayflies love and die.
We are much in need of blessing. Its essence
will not distil: it evaporates if we try.
It’s lurking in shadows; it skulks in hollows.
It weeps, yet bids us fly.
Poem by Giles Watson, 2013. The picture shows a detail of an early 20th century wall-painting in Compton Beauchamp church, Oxfordshire.
Model: Blessing de Claryss
MUA: Aisha Haq
#OttawaPhotographyMeetup
Bronica SQ-A, Zenzanon-PS 80mm f2.8, Kodak Portra 160
Blessings Perish Through Ingratitude
2 Chronicles 20:26; Psalm 100:4; 145:10; 2 Corinthians 4:15
Every blessing that God confers upon us perishes through our carelessness, if we are not prompt and active in rendering thanks. - JOHN CALVIN
Elliot Ritzema, 300 Quotations for Preachers from the Reformation (Pastorum Series; Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).
Michigan wildflower called Queen Anne's Lace Gone to Seed.
I have found great delight in taking macro shots with my camera this year! Look at the intricate lovely details of this 'weed'. Appreciate what is all around you and that you did not notice or were not thankful for before! You will be blessed to start making your list of people, things, events, and details.
For example, have you ever thought to thank God for every heartbeat or every breath He has given you?
COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!
Heb 13:15
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
On Sunday we attended the prayers and ceremony where the sand mandala is destroyed, swept back to the millions of tiny grains of marble dust. It was a moving ceremony and all those attending were given a tiny bag of the coloured marble dust.
The mandala is started from the centre and, working outwards, the monks use metal funnels called chak-pur to place the minute grains of coloured sand over a pre-marked outline design of the mandala. The vibrations of the chak-pur being grated with a metal rod cause the sands to flow like liquid.
Once completed, the mandala - a two-dimensional image of a Buddha's palace - is destroyed during a ceremony in which healing blessings are requested from the deities. As the monks chant, one monk begins the destruction by scraping a knuckle through the sand, creating a cross of grey sand. Another monk then takes a brush and carefully sweeps the sand from the perimeter to the centre of the mandala where it collected and traditionally dispersed into flowing water, a way of extending its healing powers to the whole world.
The destruction of the mandala is seen to serve as a reminder of the impermanence of life.