Member Spotlight on Quinn B. Your Favorite Pics feature article for the week of June 11, 2007.

  The members of Your Favorite Pics are a wonderfully diverse and lively group. What we share in comman is a love of photography. In these weekly feature spotlights on members, my intention is to not only show the type of photography they enjoy posting but to reveal "a little about themselves".  The group began as a venue for me to do " before and after photo make-overs" but it has become a place to deepen our connections between members.

This week, our member spotlight is on Quinn B. I choose her because I feel she embodies the open, kind and positive spirit that the Gather community can be. She always signs her comments with her signature "wishing you laughter".  Like many of the creative people on Gather she finds expression in multiple mediums. From poetry, creative writing, crafts to photography, she enjoys them all. I encourage you to explore her articles and images at www.entwife@gather.com

Please read the important notice at the end of this article. 

Quinn B. with her grandson 

'A few words from Quinn...

  "Hmmm, I really dislike moments when I am asked to "tell a little bit about myself" as I so rarely know what to say! Seems so...hasty lol. I started out in California made it to Pennsylvania as a young girl in the 80's and for all my traveling about, have at least lived only in this one state since my first appearance in 1980. A turbulent and quirky childhood taught me some of the most important survival skills in life...awareness, balance, optimism and an open mind being some key ingrediants. My parents split when I was two, but I was fortunate to spend so many formative years with either one parent or the other.

I went to regular yoga and meditation meetings with my mother before I was enrolled in school and she made a point out of taking me at least once to as many different kinds of religious/spiritual congregations as she could. I'm grateful for that as it really set the tone for my life. My father encouraged my sense of self-worth, friendly competition, and an eager mind, for which I am likewise grateful. Both encouraged my early love of all art and took me to see many different forms of art. Trompe L'oeil is a favorite form with me, but I could spend days just finding different forms of art to appreciate. I'll never forget viewing the King Tut exhibit as a young girl. The art and history combined in a stunning display.

I spent the majority of my adult life up to this past year or so devoting myself to my three wonderful children as a stay-at-home mother and my husband of 20 years who can't readily find anything in the cupboards below his knees. No PTA, but several years as a Scout Leader kinda wrung the last community service energy I had from me. It was probably the extended Bush administration that really took the wind out of my sails though.

I had planned once to get back out "into the world" much sooner than actually happened, and in a sense I am now so eager I'm not really sure which direction I want my life to move in next lol. I often feel like one of our large and gangly pups clattering back and forth across a slippery floor as I try to make up my mind between open door or foodbowl! I'll be going back to school this Fall with a Masters in Library Science as my end goal, but for now...I am consumed with a feverish desire to simply create in whatever medium I can...to sew, to photograph, and especially to write. To share some of these thoughts that have been rattling around in my head for so long now.

I definitely think that photography has a grace all it's own though...a simplicity that slices through cultural differences or language barriers. A wonderfully expressive medium that I actually know very little about, other than how to appreciate it! My husband, dear soul that he is, realized that I haven't been drawing much since my hands began hurting after an allergic reaction to excessive chigger bites about four years ago during one of my many trips across the nation. After seeing how much I enjoyed playing with a friend's digital camera he decided I needed one too. It's just a simple Sanyo with a decent amount of pixilation available. I've been taking pictures of everything and anything since receiving this lovely gift.

As anyone can tell by looking at the pictures that I take, it doesn't take much to please me! I'm happiest capturing family moments or nature shots, most likely because these are two things that bring me great joy. I like shots that have a quirk to them, an image that I didn't quite notice when something prompted me to take the picture, a texture that invites the touch, something that made me laugh, or a graceful line that catches my eye are common. I take more pictures of my family and our dogs than they can really stand. I can't help it...I see a look come across their face and want to capture it forever. And who doesn't love puppies?! Yeah, not a sentimental bone in my body lol.

The fall of light through trees, the dazzle of light and shadow across a body of water, the amazingly expressive face of a child or elder, the sudden discovery of a favorite Animal or Plant is all the inspiration I could ever ask for really. I like the crispness of black and white with a hint or bold splash of color somewhere in the shot to really set it off, but I also love to capture the beautiful colors of the natural world as these are so often personally inspiring. I'm a Pagan, when you get right down to it. I see Beauty everywhere I look, and am hopelessly in love with the World we live in. Photography allows me to occasionally share some of what I see, which is a good thing because sometimes... words just fail me. It's the gifts that you can't wrap that really mean the most and each picture that I take successfully has been a gift that gives in both directions, to me and, I hope, to those who view them."

I've selected images that have a "circular" theme. There are a couple of 'before and afters' Thanks Quinn  for letting me 'tweak' some of the others.

"Before"

"After"

"After 2" 

  Rogue with her pups

Quinn's embroidery handiwork

 Quinn with her family 

 "Before"

"After"

Thank-you to all the Your Favorite Pics members who post regularly. I really enjoy browsing through the images in particular. Unfortunately, I no longer have the time to comment as much as I'd like. I have alway had a reciprocal commenting policy. If you comment on something of mine, I will do my best to comment on something of yours.

I can't promise how many more member features I can do. The  recent Gather glitches have made posting articles with images untenable for me. Personal commitments require that I radically cut back on my gathering. It was that or quit all together. So my dear friends, I'm not leaving but you'll be seeing less of me this summer. I will try to continue with posting my usual one or two images a day and hope all of you have a enjoyable summer!

Layla