Thinking of Spring

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Victoria's Electronic Life

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I can't really, fully, comprehend what life so totally attached to electronics must be like. This is my daughter Victoria who can't seem to separate herself from her phone even when dead tired. Here she is on vacation glued to her phone. If it's not the phone, its the computer. If its not the computer, its her ipod. The phone rings during dinner and she jumps. I'm sure as parents we have all set our limits on this and more. It's not that I don't make use of the exact same technology myself, but I do remember when we were not all so dependent upon it. My father commented to me how he had seen the movie All the Presidents Men recently and he was struck by the fact that not one desk had a computer on it. That might seem like a long time ago to you but it sure wasn't to him. Where will all this take our children? They will grow to become so vulnerable if we all aren't already.

Rayko Gallery

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I am pleased to announce that my image above, part of my Winter's Melancholy series which has yet to make it up on to my website, has been accepted into the 4th Annual Juried Plastic Camera Show at Rayko Gallery. Taken with a Holga camera.

Stress

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Last night I was exhausted. I sat down in front of the tv about 9 or 10, can't remember and watched this science program about stress. It was a National Geographic special. The research came out of Stanford by way of Robert Sapolsky. He is Professor of Biological Sciences and Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University. He's an expert in studying prolonged stress and it's impact on health. Well, the picture is rather frightening. Through chronic stress we actually wear away the ends of our chromosomes, impair our immune systems and die much sooner. Stress management is much more important then I realized. Just because everyone else is stressed doesn't mean I have to be. We can separate ourselves and decide to relax. Mindfulness is certainly one way to do that. Not to run on autopilot all the time. Living in ones head is not a prescription for happiness. I think competition generates a lot of stress and Americans are competitive. We certainly inherit that from Sopolsky's baboons. We are always concerned with getting someplace, somewhere, aquiring this or that, instead of enjoying the now. Taking it slow and having some faith in the future. We can't have it all right away. Things take time. That's just a fact. So, take a deep breath, look around and be confident that if you are in a bad place, this too shall pass.

Our Universe

I don't know whose image this so I can't place credit.

Yesterday I was reading reviews of new books on bookforum.com concerning the universe. It's amazing to realize, that with all the fancy technology and instruments available today, 80 percent of the universe still remains a mystery. Last night I mentioned to my husband, how from time to time, I envision all of us on this planet hanging in black, dark, cold space. The beautiful earth just hanging there unsupported, (I know about gravity silly, I'm taking poetic license here). My husband added, we're also tilted spinning at approximately 1000 miles per hour and hurdling thru space around the sun at 65,000 miles per hour. Now, I don't know about you, but these facts blow my mind. What's the impetus behind all this incredible activity and life? Of course, most of us were raised to immediately answer God. Which may or may not be a fact. I won't venture down that road today. I just wanted to point out the mystery of it all. So, be nice to everyone you meet today, after all, we're in this together.

Happy Birthday Alexandra

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Let me introduce everyone to my lovely daughter Alexandra, my oldest. Today is her birthday. This morning my husband and I were reminiscing the day she was born. It was a bitter cold, snowy day in Manhattan. She was born in Greenwich Village. She's in college now. That's the thing about parenting. You get so caught up in the process that it goes by much too quickly. Now we have two kids who only want to rock n roll. Nothing wrong with that of course. What else is college for? Education you say, well yes, that too. One certainly hopes to get something for their money! So to all you Mom's and Dad's out there, take it slow and enjoy the process.

To my darling daughter have a wonderful happy birthday and a splendid new birthday year.

We love you.

Patchwork of birds

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

A Corona Day

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Today was definitely a Corona day. Hot, sunny and humid here in Florida. It's 81 degrees. I know this is mean to post in view of the impending storms up north. Somehow it's hard for me to realize it's mid January with temperatures like these. Today is 1-11-11. Maybe these are lucky numbers for someone today, I sure hope so.

New Year Thoughts

This evening I was thinking about all the wonderful people who have taken the time to visit my blog over this past year. I wish I was able to meet everyone and find out about your lives and interests. The Internet with all it's interconnectivity is such a unique experience and hopefully will bring forth more goodness and camaraderie in our world. Recently I've had visitors from Brunei, India, Poland, Malaysia, Hungary, Norway, Netherlands, Russia, Estonia and Canada. Not to mention New York, California, Washington, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Utah, and many more. I would like to thank everyone and wish you all a very happy new year. All the best.

Water Reflections

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Floridian Reflections

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Water Reflections

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

I have been fascinated by water reflections all of my life, but here in Florida I am mesmerized by them. Part of the reason is that water is such a prevalent part of my everyday life down here. We are surrounded by water. There are the ocean reflections, the Intracoastal reflections, the canals, the lakes, the ponds and all the swimming pools. I think I will post over the next few days some of my results. I hope you will enjoy them.

New Years Day 2011

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Last night we ventured out to the movies. We wanted to see the movie the social network before it left the theaters. Not having much experience with living in Florida we were in for quite a shock. The theater we generally go to is usually nice and mellow. Well that all changed yesterday. People had warned us about the "snow birds". We all know who they are. People looking to escape the winter blues and flock to Florida. They were out in full force last night. I guess they arrive after Christmas in time for New Year's.The parking lot was a mad house. One woman in particular was worthy of note. She was trying to physically save a space and caused a huge traffic jam. To the point where one man basically ran her off the spot by pulling in quite dramatically and dangerously. It was nuts. Of course we didn't stay and headed out for dinner instead. I tried a beer I have never had before. I think it was called "Long Island Blue Point". It was delicious. Try it some time. Happy New Year to everyone.

Happy New Year

© 2011 Constance Hobbs. All rights reserved.

Here we are with yet another year gone by. It was a challenging year for me living half the year in Europe and then relocating to Florida for the remaining half. All the while working and marketing my work. It was a productive year all and all and I look forward to what 2011 will bring my way. I did not contribute to Lenscratch Blog's end of year favorite photo exhibition this year but I encourage everyone to go and stop by. It's a wonderful group of contemporary photographers exhibiting their own favorite photo from 2010. I wish everyone a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year. May it be filled with love, peace and joy.