close-ups, photoshop & extravagance

I recently discovered the magic that is all wrapped up in a package called Photoshop CS4. Hello, new obsession. Editing photos now goes way beyond converting to black-and-white or cropping into a square instead of a rectangle. I do realize that the program has been around for ages and has been mastered by countless numbers of people and photographers, but as a newbie, I am finding great joy in watching my images take on new shapes, forms, colors and interpretations. I can turn the simple into the abstract, the abstract into just plain weird. Click on the image to blow it up if you need to... I hope you think it's as fun as I do. | much love, sara

This gerbera daisy was a table centerpiece at a restaurant we visited for my dad's birthday. Sometimes all you need is a close-up view to turn the plain into extravagant:
Another close-up, with a quote that is a recent favorite of myself and Craig. From the book The Power of Intention, by Dr. Wayne Dyer:
I was walking through a park in the middle of downtown Appleton when I saw this little guy. A small patch of flowers had been planted next to a chain link fence. The best part about searching for extravagance is that you sometimes find it in the most unexpected places:
The power of Photoshop ... I took this picture of my Grandpa Roggenbauer at a picnic this spring. I completely underexposed it; it turned out much too dark and I thought I had missed a great opportunity. But I messed around with it a little in the editing program and it turned out to be a pretty unique image. You have to stare at it a second to figure out what you're looking at, but I happen to love it. What do you think?

in loving memory

On June 13, the Soley family (my mom's side) gathered at the Soley farmhouse for cleaning after the passing of Grandpa. I think he would have been proud of all of us that day -- We worked hard, we worked together. We remembered. We laughed. We were family.

Here are a few of the day's extravagant moments...

Laura & mom model mom's '76 Adams-Friendship letter jacket:

Nate models some sweet '70s-style clothing:


In loving memory of Gordon Soley | 1919-2009

[...] And when great souls die,
after a period peace blooms,
slowly and always
irregularly. Spaces fill
with a kind of
soothing electric vibration.
Our senses, restored, never
to be the same, whisper to us.
They existed. They existed.
We can be. Be and be
better. For they existed. [Maya Angelou | When great trees fall]

TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF MORE PHOTOS FROM THIS DAY,
CLICK HERE

this small extravagance

Welcome to my first post on my new blog!

First, why that name? ~ this small extravagance ~
Well, I like to think I'm clever, and I'd like to think I cleverly came up with a play on words. I'll explain...

"Extravagance" comes from the day Craig and I were married -- I know, let's all say awwwww. If I could draw a heart here I would. :)

On our wedding day, our pastor gave us a word that we were to assign to our marriage and seek to fulfill as a couple and as a partnership. That word was "extravagance." She challenged us to find the extravagant beauty in all things -- in our marriage, in our love, in our family and friends, and in the small things we often take for granted. If it is possible to find extravagance in a smile from a stranger, a phone call from a friend or the random flower that blooms on the side of the house when you didn't plant anything there, then it is possible to learn to live a life of abundant love. How thoroughly empowering.

"Small" is where the play on words comes in. By definition, "extravagant" is anything but small. First of all, the word is 4 syllables long. I think it earns you 22 points in a game of scrabble. You'll find words like "excessive" or "unrestrained" listed under it in a thesaurus.

But even the smallest of things can have the most extravagant impact if you look hard enough. Or, more importantly, if you assign it a meaning that makes it extravagant.

So I think that's where this blog will come in. I like to write. I like to take pictures. I am on a quest to find extravagance in my life. Sometimes the pictures I take have a story. Sometimes they don't ... in which case, I may or may not just make one up. :) Either way, I hope you enjoy.

Feel free to make requests or comment. And please please please forward this to anyone you think might be interested in seeing what's on here. I am always working to improve and what better motivation than to put these out for you to view and (hopefully!) invoke a response.

much love,
sara