....monochromatic.....

  “Our lives at times seem a study in contrast... love & hate, birth & death, right & wrong... everything seen in absolutes of black & white. Too often we are not aware that it is the shades of grey that add depth & meaning to the starkness of those extremes.”  Ansel Adams

This week mine and Nicole's word is MONOCHROMATIC.... holy cow what a word!!!  :)  Be sure to click on over and check out Nicole's shot this week too!!  Now before I even get started let me clear up a few things....  YES these are SHOT GLASSES....  and NO they are NOT full of tequila!!  :)  My purpose for shooting these glasses was to capture a natural monochromatic shot....  I didn't want to just desaturate my shot in Photoshop...  I wanted to capture the monochrome that exists naturally...  the extreme contrast of light and dark... and more importantly the GREY'S that are present in our lives!

Now the FIRST thing I think of when I think of monochromatic photo's is Ansel Adams.....  his work takes my breath away...  but the above quote is the thing that I love most from him!!!  It is one of my favorites!!  I think I love it so much because THAT is how I see life!!!  Too often we feel that we should only live our lives in the "black and white"....  the place that is obvious....  clearly defined....  safe!!  The place where a strong sense of right or wrong, good or bad exists!!  The place where EXPECTATION lives.... At least in our minds any way!  :)  What a HUGE injustice we do to ourselves.... trying to live in only the black and white!  I believe that we need to open our eyes and see the GREY that exists....  the places, thoughts, beliefs that are not so clearly defined!!  The grey area is where we learn and grow!!  It is the unexpected and unforeseen....  the place where things don't turn out like we had hoped....  the place where things go wrong!!  It is sometimes a scary and difficult place because it forces us to look outside of ourselves.... to see things differently....  to DEAL with the HARD things in life!!!  And while I would prefer to live my life only in the black and white (and who wouldn't...  things are a whole lot easier there!!)....  I believe that God really intends for us to live in the shades of grey....  to realize daily that this life is a test....  it is not meant to be absolute or predictable!   I can't tell you what my path in this life is supposed to look like.... no one really knows that about themselves!!  We can plan.... we can hope.... we can dream.... But the truth is this.... you get what you get!  Simple as that....  And our disappointment in life comes from believing that we can have some sorta control over that!!!  I'm not saying that you just need to wander aimlessly through this life with no purpose or desire....  I'm saying that you should take what you get (cause ya really have NO CONTROL over what ya get!!) and turn THAT into what you need!! To me....  THAT is living in the shades of grey!!!  THAT is the place where you give your life depth and meaning....  and THAT is the place that I want to live MY life!!!