Kaleidoscope #294

by D.M. SessousJune 10, 2018May 20, 2018

Who’s to say that it takes something like a drug to mess with your perception of reality? How did Hitler deceive a nation? How can one group of people look at the world and see one thing, and another see something completely different? One sees a town, another sees a desert. One sees beauty, another sees chaos.
― Ted Dekker, Skin

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Grand Canyon during the tail end of the sunset golden hour. The colors were glorious and I’m so pleased with the watercolor intensity. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Kaleidoscope #293

by D.M. SessousJune 9, 2018May 20, 2018

She laughed, and the desert sang.
― Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at a scenic view and hiking trail outside of Sedona, AZ during a recent vacation. I was surprised and delighted to find this patch of royal-purple irises. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Kaleidoscope #292

by D.M. SessousJune 8, 2018May 20, 2018

Every habit he’s ever had is still there in his body, lying dormant like flowers in the desert. Given the right conditions, all his old addictions would burst into full and luxuriant bloom.
― Margaret Atwood

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Riparian Preserve in Gilbert, AZ during a recent vacation. This has become one of my favorite spots to see when visiting family in the area. April might possibly have been the best time to visit with everything in bloom. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Kaleidoscope #291

by D.M. SessousJune 7, 2018May 20, 2018

For me the world is weird because it is stupendous, awesome, mysterious, unfathomable; my interest has been to convince you that you must assume responsibility for being here, in this marvelous world, in this marvelous desert, in this marvelous time. I want to convince you that you must learn to make every act count, since you are going to be here for only a short while, in fact, too short for witnessing all the marvels of it.
― Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This gathering of saguaro and funky gourd-like cacti were part of the landscaping in front of my Gramma’s house in Mesa, AZ. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Kaleidoscope #290

by D.M. SessousJune 6, 2018May 20, 2018

One of the world’s most tiresome questions is what object one would bring to a desert island, because people always answer “a deck of cards” or “Anna Karenina” when the obvious answer is “a well-equipped boat and a crew to sail me off the island and back home where I can play all the card games and read all the Russian novels I want.
― Lemony Snicket

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This is a close-up of a vibrant flowering bush taken outside our hotel in Mesa, AZ while on a recent vacation visiting family in the area. April was truly a lovely time to visit, everything was in bloom! No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Kaleidoscope #289

by D.M. SessousJune 5, 2018May 20, 2018

I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul.
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken at the Grand Canyon during a morning hike along the southern rim on the Greenway Trail. I’m still fascinated by the stark beauty of this dead tree, juxtaposed against the vibrant green of the pine and the watercolor sky. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Kaleidoscope #288

by D.M. SessousJune 4, 2018May 20, 2018

Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.
― Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road

Below is the original photo used to create this image. This was taken on my last night in Arizona, just outside of Mesa during a recent vacation. The skies had been almost crystal clear, and I was grateful to have a vibrant sunset, I kept excusing myself from dinner to run out to the parking lot to take more pictures. I especially love how the cloud formation looks like a bird in flight. No special lighting or retouching, just a snap from my smart phone.

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Kaleidoscope #287

by D.M. SessousJune 3, 2018May 20, 2018

I feel I stand in a desert with my hands outstretched, and you are raining down upon me.
― Patricia Highsmith, The Price of Salt

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Kaleidoscope #286

by D.M. SessousJune 2, 2018May 20, 2018

What makes the desert beautiful,’ said the little prince, ‘is that somewhere it hides a well…
― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

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Kaleidoscope #285

by D.M. SessousJune 1, 2018May 20, 2018

Men come and go, cities rise and fall, whole civilizations appear and disappear-the earth remains, slightly modified. The earth remains, and the heartbreaking beauty where there are no hearts to break….I sometimes choose to think, no doubt perversely, that man is a dream, thought an illusion, and only rock is real. Rock and sun.
― Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness