~ A Story To Tell ~

---

Many of you are probably tired of seeing flower pictures over and over in your feeds... but Swedish Winters here are long, cold, and dark. So I don't mind taking advantage of the Sun and color while it's here for as long as it's here!

I know that photography is an art by itself and getting great captures can be tricky. Sometimes, if you can, you have to tip the scales in your own favor though! Some days I want to just post my single best shot and other days I want to post all 100+ that I took. Some posts I want to write a novel about how I came upon the shot or how I had to hover over something for minutes just waiting for the wind to die down in order to get the snap.

Some posts, I don't want to write anything at all and just let the imagery speak for itself. Often, I want to point out the elements of composition and the techniques I use to stabilize and frame the subject matter. I frequently want to acknowledge how basic and cheap my camera is. In fact, a 20 to 40 dollar smartphone takes better resolution images than my point and shoot digital cameras. This is where patience, skill, and if I believed in it... a little bit of luck come into play.

Never Give Up... Especially When The Chips Are Down!

---

I haven't been able to post as much lately... and no it isn't because of the declining markets. I have still been taking my photographic captures but haven't had much time to share them here. So this is where the title comes into play.

I decided to help a neighbor in her yard recently. She already has a beautiful setup and things really just need a bit of a manicure. I really hate money and dislike haggling over pricing or pay. I decided to just work for photographs! I told her I would do the work but only if she let me take pictures of her Swedish Sanctuary!

I had seen and missed opportunities to shoot her flowering trees and such because I didn't want to encroach on her territory. I felt wrong leaning over her fence or even just looking up and taking the shots. She wouldn't have minded and probably would have said yes I only I had asked. Many of the yards here in Sweden are absolutely stunning. Based on the looks around here... I think Spring and Summer gardening must be the national pastime here! So needless to say, there are many things I feel based on my integrity and ethics, that are off limits and so very tempting!

Now that I was able to Work for Photography the scale has tipped in my favor a bit as far as my options are concerned. This neighbor is Iranian and her gardening tastes are more familiar to my Texan sensibilities! This Summer and Spring gives both of us options that wouldn't normally be available in our native locations. The Winter is something to consider though... and Winter IS Coming!

I have been working in our own yard since it warmed up around here. It's been very laborious and extremely rewarding. However, it has not been without it's challenges and frustrations as well. I am not usually one of those Before & After types so I forgot to get some key shots to understand the work I did. Hopefully, what images are there tell the tale well enough.

Before I go into explain the images mode... I want to share one image I took before I went home to Pay Myself for a hard days work! If this doesn't exemplify just one of many reasons why I might have actually gotten the better end of the deal... then you will have to just wait until I go there to get to workin' on my own job Capturing the beauty. This was sure motivating to foster the potential for more beauty with the fruits of my labor!

ENTER THE TIM

---

So, I show up at her place with a small bag of tools and some beverage. We say hello and chill for a bit. It's interesting because with her limited English and my limited Swedish skills... we at about an equal footing. I am just glad we didn't throw some Farsi in the mix and get things really confusing. After a bit of instruction... I put on my mp3 player and got to work.

As I said, I am not much of a before and after type of guy... so I didn't think of it until after I already started. These next two images show where I started after I started. The white chair acts as a central anchor. The first of the two shots would be left and the second image would be panning to the right.

After chilling for a while... I told her I could talk and work at the same time otherwise I wasn't going to get any work done. She went in to get ready for the Iran World Cup match that evening and I took off my flip-flops and got on my knees to get some work done. I shifted to a comfortable spot on the cement and turned on my mp3 player for a bit of motivational music. Just in case you are wondering I will be including my day's soundtrack via Youtube videos here as well.

ENJOY THE MOTIVATION!

I was just supposed to clear out some of the weeds but I couldn't just do my job... I had to go and get ambitious! hahaha The board that was seperating the concrete from the dirt was super warped and it was leaning into the walkway right where the door swings open. This nice lady is an older woman and I know how much damage a fall can be... so my thought was

I thought I could just dig out some of the dirt behind where the door is and move that wood back and wedge just the corner sticking out. After digging out some of the dirt I realized just how difficult and ambitous my after-thought was. As you will see, I ended up removing the entire board. I realized that this was going to be a Fight to Survive!

The wake of my destruction revealed how much work I had done... but also how much work was left to go. I was really just getting started and technically not even working on what I was supposed to. If you look closely at the image above you can get a rough idea about how warped that board was!

I was jamming and trying to figure out just what to do to get things at least back in the condition they were in before I got involved! I started to notice and appreciate the weeds and figured it would be a good time to give them a little appreciation before their demise. They were actually quite beautiful so I tried to capture a little of that beauty whilst I racked my brain to find a creative solution to this mild dilemma.

I stalled on the fixing the board by cleaning out and manicuring the dirt which is what I had come to do originally. I found some really cool rotted leaves. Since she has fruit trees... there are little fruits that will never get any bigger than their fallen states. I tried to capture a little bit of that as well. Procrastination never looked so good!

NEXT LEVEL MOTIVATION!

---

It was about here when I thought maybe some new motivation would be helpful. I had loaded some music based on a comment I got a while back ago from my buddy @andyjaypowell. He brought up Miami Vice... and I was not disappointed for the reminder! I forgot how much I miss the 80's and looked up the music.

WoW! I can't believe how much of this soundtrack was forgotten, yet still familiar to me! Thanks, Andy for the Next Level Motivation!

I even noticed a group of bugs having a party on this dried up Dandelion. It looked like everyone was having some last minute fun. In fact, I didn't even realize how much of a party they were having until I came home and saw the image up close. Crazy how small they are and how many of them there are. It's hard to even tell which ones are bugs or not if you look close enough!

I even caught one little buggah' trying to "Weaze My Juice!" That's ok... I don't mind sharing!

When Life Gives You Lemons.... TAKE PHOTOS!

---

At this point, I got called in for a break where we talked about many things. She brought me one of the best small cups of coffee I have had in a long time! I drank it black and if you know me... I like coffee with my sugar and cream, not the other way around! I don't even know if it had cream even... but it was on point! I would have guessed she was Turkish from this little cup of joy!

We talked about the cultures of Iran and Sweden. She shared with me some of her experiences. It was quite an interesting conversation. This nice woman didn't seem as concerned with giving me real direction of the job or criticism of my work. She seemed more like she just wanted company.

Personally, it's moment like that when I feel like I understand things. If I was there to just do a job... yes, money is the payoff and everything else would be a bonus. This is the other way around. I went there to do the job... but really, I just wanted to be a pair of helping hands on an able body as well as keep her company.

We also discussed propagating her indoor plants and I shot a couple images of her Lemons. She was very fond of this Lemon Tree. I like the contrast of a big old lemon next to a baby that just dropped it's petals! Life is quite amazing when you consider it in all of is't myriad forms and stages! What a magnificent design, Truly!

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

---

Strapping on my headphones for a final push to get things to a stopping point for the day, I delved even deeper into my magic bag of music... and came up with this beauty! You can check out the entire score playlist by clicking “Nuk Soo Kow”

Even Bees Need Breaks!
But Break Time Is OVER Back To Work Boys!
I hope my new friend doesn't have too much of a BUZZ!
(pun fully intended!)

I thought of a creative solution for the warped board. Remembering the scene from KickBoxer where J.K.V.D. kicks the bamboo tree down with his shin, I decided to cut this board into sections. I wasn't feeling my Muay Thai Kickboxing skill at this time... so I got a saw. You can see my tools and a foot in this shot!

Work smart, not hard!

• Section ONE

• Section TWO

• Section THREE

Now that I finally got back to square one at the end of this first day's session... I can start to see a little daylight. It already looked nice to me... and now it's looking even better! I can't wait to come over when my only tool to bring is my camera!

I finished by starting the next sessions work. I began to clean the perimeter edge of the property. Once again, I didn't think of doing a before and after shot until I had already started! You can see in the far right corner of the next shot how you can see through the bottom. Well, it wasn't like that before I got to work. I started in the corner and worked my way down the line to the left.

You can see from the pile of debris... a little manicuring goes a long way. This was about the third or fourth such pile. It would have been many more if I had stuck to the original game plan... but nothing wrong with going the extra mile! Even if it's a Swedish Mile!

Denouement

---

I sat beneath the undergrowth of this hedge. It was super hot for a Swedish Summer day about 85f which in Texas terms is a Winter's Day! It was stiffling though with no wind, even this Texan has to admit. So, I wasn't feeling it anymore but I tried to remind myself why I was here doing this and took a few snaps that are probably my favorites. Tell me what you think?!

_{I took these photos with my trusty Nikon CoolPix S4300}

I have been back since most of the shot in this post. I also went on a walk today with shots that I haven't even been able to even review yet. I can't wait to share some of THOSE with y'all. I know without even looking I captured some gems! I will leave you with a gem I took before leaving the neighbor's for the day.

There is still much work to do here and there... and everywhere! I will try my best to keep a healthy balance. The moral of my experience here is summarize in a scripture that I try my best to live by...

Colossians 3:22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

When I go back to finish, which is a relative term, I will go heartily. My only reward is the good company and appreciation for the beauty I am blessed to interact with. I am blessed to have you share in this expearience with me to a mild degree. I am all about sharing beauty and my experiences with it and if you can vicariously get just a sliver of joy by joining me in my ramblings... then I do in fact consider myself blessed. And no matter what you believe... you have to admit, there is a beauty in that!

&
STEEM ON MY FRIENDS