Break down those walls and dance as though no one is watching!

Armin van Buuren & Markus Schulz - The Expedition (A State Of Trance 600 Anthem) (Music Video)

#textureblendphotography #textureblend +Texture Blend Photography +Gemma Costa #BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club #selfy

 #TextureBlendThursday +The Official TextureBlendThursday Photo Theme Page Created using two grunge textures and one peeling paint texture... 

A big thank you to you all for making my birthday extra special yesterday! Loved everyone's wishes, you totally rock! ♥

At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities...

~ Jean Houston

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club 
#sentimentalsunday +Sentimental Sunday Theme 

Wishing you all a smile filled Sunday!

Her dreams led her back to Venice...


Underneath Day's azure eyes,
Ocean's nursling, Venice lies, 
A peopled labyrinth of walls,
Amphitrite's destined halls...


~ Percy Bysshe Shelley "Lines Written among the Euganean Hills" 














#feelgoodfriday  +Rebecca Borg +Jason Borg +FeelGoodFriday 

#feelingsfriday +LeLinda Bourgeois #love #italy 

#textureblendphotography +Texture Blend Photography #breakfastclub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

Life is never monochrome with you...

謳歌-Ouka- リングアーツ新作 Ringarts with music note

#10000photographersBWmonochrome +10000 Photographers BW Monochrome +Robert SKREINER 
#MonochromeMonday  
+Hans Berendsen +Jerry Johnson  +Steve Barge 
#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

Laughter is the closest distance between two people...

~ Victor Borge ~

For #WomenWednesday Curated by +Niki Aguirre , +Athena Carey , +Teresa Stover , +Lee Daniels & +Christina Lawrie

Have I changed much?! :D 

Dedicated to +Michael Bonocore 's adorable boxer, Rocky! 

So, like a forgotten fire, a childhood can always flare up again within us...

~ Gaston Bachelard


#blastfromthepast  +Cheryl Cooper , +Mark Rodriguez & +Isabelle Fortin 

+Blast From The Past  #breakfastclub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

The unforgettable city where dreams become reality and happiness is almost tangible...

#WhereWednesday +Where Am I Wednesday Curated by +Todd Williams 

PS: I cannot take credit for this photo, a big thank you to the photographer ;)
I am still travelling non stop for work and my move not having quite gone according to plan means my good camera is in storage... Cannot wait to be settled at last, unpacked and back on here as I used to be, miss you all! ❤

Inspired by Marlowe's poem V. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love  

Texture blending with moss, wood & African flowers...

Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove  
That hills and valleys, dale and field,  
And all the craggy mountains yield.  
  
There will we sit upon the rocks          
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,  
By shallow rivers, to whose falls  
Melodious birds sing madrigals.  
  
There will I make thee beds of roses  
And a thousand fragrant posies,   
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle  
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle.  
  
A gown made of the finest wool  
Which from our pretty lambs we pull,  
Fair linèd slippers for the cold,   
With buckles of the purest gold.  
  
A belt of straw and ivy buds  
With coral clasps and amber studs:  
And if these pleasures may thee move,  
Come live with me and be my Love.   
  
Thy silver dishes for thy meat  
As precious as the gods do eat,  
Shall on an ivory table be  
Prepared each day for thee and me.  
  
The shepherd swains shall dance and sing   
For thy delight each May-morning:  
If these delights thy mind may move,  
Then live with me and be my Love.  
 
~ C. Marlowe ~


#TextureBlendThursday +Matt Suess & +Christine Hauber 
#textureblendphotography  #BreakfastClub +Gemma Costa 

The three great elemental sounds in nature are the sound of rain, the sound of wind in a primeval wood, and the sound of outer ocean on a beach...

~ Henry Beston

#africantuesday +African Tuesday +Grobler du Preez , +Dick Whitlock& +Morkel Erasmus #arniston #africa 
#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 
 #10000photographersaroundtheworld +10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World +Robert SKREINER 

Wishing you all a blissful week!

Long Way From Home 

Run Casper run ♥ Life on the farm in Africa.

Home, the spot of earth supremely blest... A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest... ~ Robert Montgomery ~


#africantuesday  +Morkel Erasmus , +Grobler du Preez & +Dick Whitlock 
#BreakfastClub +Gemma Costa #10000photographersaroundtheworld +Robert SKREINER & +Nikola Nikolski #jackrussel #dog #africa

So good to see the +Selfy Sunday project up and running again, my contribution for today... Many thanks to +Jeff Smith & +LaDonna Pride

~ Subtly Does It ~

#SelfPortrait

For #ThrowAwayThursday #TAT Curated by +lynn langmade +Doug DeTraz , +Michael Lawson & +Mary Sass Clark

It's the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance... It is the dream afraid of waking that never takes the chance... It is the one who won't be taken who cannot seem to give... And the soul afraid of dying that never learns to live...

~ B. Midler ~

One of my Selfy Sunday shots which hit the cutting floor ;p Dancing with Milanese dog and Swiss pug... Always shine, even when it's raining, you never know who may be watching...

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden...

~ Claudia Ghandi



#breakfastclub +Breakfast Club  #textureblendphotography +Texture Blend Photography +Gemma Costa  ♥

~ Africa ~

I hear the drums echoing tonight 
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation 
She's coming in 12:30 flight 
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation 
I stopped an old man along the way, 
Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies 
He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, It's waiting there for you 

CHORUS

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you 
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do 
I bless the rains down in Africa 
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have 

The wild dogs cry out in the night 
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company 
I know that I must do what's right 
As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti 
I seek to cure what's deep inside, frightened of this thing that I've become 

CHORUS 

(Instrumental break) 

Hurry boy, she's waiting there for you 

It's gonna take a lot to take me away from you 
There's nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do 
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa 
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa 
I bless the rains down in Africa 
Gonna take some time to do the things we never have...


Toto 'Africa' - Songwriters: SCHEFFEL, GOETZ


#breakfastclub +Gemma Costa #africa #flowers #nature
#10000photographersaroundtheworld +Robert SKREINER 
+Nikola Nikolski 

~ To the little bug the center of the flower was his world ~

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend... ♥

#FlowerFriday +Tamara Pruessner  #Africa 

#breakfastclub #textureblendphotography +Texture Blend Photography  +Gemma Costa #feelingsfriday

"Style" is an expression of individualism mixed with charisma.. Fashion is something that comes after style...

~ John Fairchild ~

Happiest of birthday's to you +Ian Gunn 

Jewelry Designer: +Louisa Catharine Forsyth Bagaceous™ 
Model: by Lisa Barsten, part of The Dream Team 
http://www.bagaceous.com/lifestyle-events/worldwide-photoshoots/modeling/

Components: Turquoise and 925 Sterling Silver Bespoke Necklace







#saturdaystyle #sas +Lynn Langmade & +lane langmade 
#BreakfastClub  +Gemma Costa    #jewelry #bespoke  

+Beth Akerman , Tom's little post the other day inspired this ;-) 

There's symmetry in the way you cut me straight in two.
Each side reflects the image of a crowd in an empty room.
You're a match that can't be lit.
Spark a flame, burn infinite.

You broke me like a mirror.
Seven years keep adding up.
Walk barefoot through the glass,
not a single cut.

Direction - I'm walking on fences.
It left me defenseless.

You broke me like a mirror.
Seven years keep adding up.
Walk barefoot through the glass,
not a single cut.

Balance - I'm losing it and the ground beneath does not exist.
You're a match that can't be lit. Spark a flame, burn infinite.

Balance - I'm losing it and the ground beneath does not exist.
You're a match that can't be lit. Spark a flame, burn infinite.


~ "Symmetry" By TITLE FIGHT 


"Never take someone for granted... Hold every person close to your heart because you might wake up one day and realize that you've lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stones..." Dedicated to all those who came before me... Never allow anyone to break your wings...







#selfportraitsaturday  +Marcin Pękalski #breakfastclub +Gemma Costa 
+Breakfast Club #photostorysaturday +Dave Beckerman 

~ All It Took Was A Smile ~

#sepiasaturday Curated by +Renee Stewart Jackson
#selfportraitsaturday Curated by +Marcin Pękalski
#BreakfastClub Curated by +Gemma Costa & +Andrea Martinez

If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them...

 ~ Phil Pastoret

Missing home and my furry ''baby'' in Milano... especially our shared brioches after antics in the park, like the day you ---- in the chihuahua's eye!

Kisses to you darling Gnunga!


#sentimentalsunday +Sentimental Sunday Theme Curated by myself, LCF
#breakfastclub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

~ Roses ~

You love the roses - so do I... I wish
The sky would rain down roses, as they rain
From off the shaken bush... Why will it not?
Then all the valley would be pink and white
And soft to tread on... They would fall as light
As feathers, smelling sweet: and it would be
Like sleeping and yet waking, all at once...

~ George Eliot ~

#TextureBlendThursday Curated by +Matt Suess & +Christine Hauber

Three textures: peeling paint, wild roses and grain...

For the #PurpleCircle Curated by +lynn langmade , +Craig Szymanski , +Sinead Sam McKeown and +Alexis Coram

~ CARNIVAL ~

Venice robes her for the ball;
Decked with spangles bright,
Multi-coloured Carnival
Teems with laughter light.

And beneath the mask I know
Bloom of rosy lips,
And the patch on chin of snow,
As she by me trips!

~ Excerpt from a poem by Theophile Gautier ~

#Venice #Italy #Venetian Carnival #BreakfastClub

Flowers are love's truest language...

~ Park Benjamin (1809-1864) 

You woke me from my slumber... You are the air I breathe, you’re the voice inside my soul.. You’re the fire in my heart...

Elvis Blue - Lighthouse

#textureblendphotography  #BreakfastClub +Gemma Costa   #selfy 

As Summer comes to a close in Italy, beautiful day spent soaking up the sun...

Birthday wishes to three of the most amazing souls on G Plus, flowers from the land which holds my heart for eternity... Sardegna, Italy...

Firstly to my wonderful co curator of +Elephant Wednesday , +Diego Cattaneo it is such a pleasure to curate every Wednesday with you and Matthias. Happiest of birthdays to you, may today be your best b'day yet! With love from Africa!

And to the wonderful sisters +Lynn Langmade and +lane langmade , may your birthday be filled with much love and smiles! Lynn, my poet sister, you light up my life with all you bring my way and Lane, your style is always inspirational! Thank you to you both for being so fabulous! 

#happybdaylane  or #happybdaylynn #BreakfastClub +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club #flowers #Sardinia #nature #friendship

Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint you can at it!
~ Danny Kaye ~

My contribution to Black & White #PortraitTuesday
Curated by +Laura Balc
Damen Leather, for hay days, holidays and special nights out;)

~ The Secret of the Sea ~

My soul is full of longing
For the secret of the sea,
And the heart of the great ocean
Sends a thrilling pulse through me...

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~

#HawkeasFriends +Hawkea's friends Curated by +Fabio Bucchieri 

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club 

Earth laughs in flowers... ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

This is what was due to be my contribution for #FloralFriday as my original shot was of wild poppies growing within the grounds of Castello Sforzesco, Milano...

However, thanks to two of you who kept me laughing way too much while I was post processing the poppies, it has ended up being a rather psychedelic contribution to the #PurpleCircle curated by +lynn langmade , +Sinead Sam McKeown , +Craig Szymanski & +Alexis Coram ヅ

My contribution to #WomenWednesday Curated by +Athena Carey , +Christina Lawrie , +Niki Aguirre and +Lee Daniels

Sometimes all it takes is a smile ;)

You know my name, NOT MY HEART

Forever & Always-Parachute Lyrics

#feelingsfriday +LeLinda Bourgeois  #selfy   #love  
#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

As he looked me in the eye, I bared my soul... 

Savage Garden - Truly Madly Deeply

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club #selfportraitsaturday +Marcin Pękalski 

A sneak peak into what is coming from the latest Bagaceous™ Pearl Collection...

#Bagaceous #LouisaCatharine #Pearls #Bridal #Bespoke

Editing this thanks to one of your questions ;) This is my design from the latest collections...

My contribution to #WomenWednesday Curated by +Niki Aguirre , +Athena Carey , +Kerry Murphy , +Teresa Stover , +Lee Daniels & +Christina Lawrie

My soul is set aflame every time I set foot on African soil as some of you know all too well... From my first encounter with an elephant at the age of five, Africa found a place deep within my heart... To sharing shade with rhinos in sweltering temperatures... And last but not least, volunteering in Crossroads and seeing the joy on the faces of the children who are thankful for the smallest gesture, even if it just be a kind word... I wear my tribal work with pride as Africa will always be a part of me... I look forward to working on the next project with some of you in 2012 and once there, your hearts will beat in time with the wild too... ~LCF~ ♥

Sweets For My Sweet 

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
Your first sweet kiss thrilled me so
Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
I'll never ever let you go

If you wanted that star that shines so brightly
To match the stardust in your eye
Darling, I would chase that bright star nightly
And try to steal it from the sky
And I would bring

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
Your first sweet kiss thrilled me so
Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
I'll never ever let you go

If you wanted a king to keep you smilin'
I'd tell the sandman you were blue
And I'd ask him to keep that sand a-pilin'
Until your dreams had all come true
And I would bring

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
Your first sweet kiss thrilled me so
Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
I'll never ever let you go

And if you wanted a love to last forever
Darlin' I would send my love your way
And my love'd not only last forever
But forever and a day
And I would bring

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
Your first sweet kiss thrilled me so
Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey
I'll never ever let you go


Lyrics by the Searchers

#breakfastclub +Breakfast Club  #textureblendphotography +Texture Blend Photography +Gemma Costa 

Have I changed much? ;)

"A grownup is a child with layers on"... Woody Harrelson

My first contribution to #blastfromthepast +Blast From The Past Curated by +Mark Rodriguez , +Cheryl Cooper & +Isabelle Fortin

Seduce my mind and you can have my body...
Find my soul and I'm yours forever..

~ Anon

#textureblendphotography #textureblend +Texture Blend Photography 
 #10000photographersaroundtheworld +10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World +Robert SKREINER 
#BreakfastClub +Gemma Costa +Breakfast Club 

Happy Tuesday all!

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature...  ~ Gerard de Nerval ~

#TextureBlendPhotography Curated by dear +Gemma Costa 
+Texture Blend Photography   #BreakfastClub

The larger version on 500px: http://500px.com/photo/12675573

~ The Tree Of Life Stood Strong ~

Within the grounds of Castello Sforzesco, Milano

#TextureBlendTuesday Curated by +Gemma Costa
#TreeTuesday Curated by +Christina Lawrie
#MyTownTuesday Curated by +Melanie Kintz & +Eric Leslie
#BreakfastClub #TextureBlendPhotography

~ Reflective Thoughts ~

For #MoodyMonday Curated by +Philip Daly
And #mirrormonday Curated by +Gemma Costa

We are all just blowing in the wind...

Blowing in the wind - Bob Dylan

A windy, yet beautiful day at Arniston beach yesterday, one of my favorite spots along the rugged African coastline... 

 #AfricanTuesday +African Tuesday +Morkel Erasmus , +Dick Whitlock & +Grobler du Preez 

#10000photographersaroundtheworld +10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World +Robert SKREINER 

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

Ever met someone and felt you had known them forever, another place, another time... No need for words, just blissful recognition and an instant inner feeling of coming home at last...

~ LCF ~

Edited for +Mikko Tyllinen to include #SurrealArtSaturday as requested ;)

My contribution to #SepiaSaturday Curated by +Renee Stewart Jackson
#BreakfastClub #TextureBlendPhotography

."It must be love he said..." She just looked at him and smiled...

This is what keeps me away from G+ at times, my bespoke designs ;)
Working towards the next Fashion Week featuring these bracelets... 

Wishing you all a great Monday!

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom...

~ Anaïs Nin ~

'Spring is back' theme for this week's #hawkeasfriends
+Hawkea's friends As promised +Fabio Bucchieri ;) :)

#BreakfastClub +Stuart Williams

~ He took my hand in his and set my world on fire ~ LCF

This week's theme for +Hawkea's friends 'Hands'
Curated by +Fabio Bucchieri #HawkeasFriends

Sometimes all you need is a smile...

#textureblendphotography #textureblend +Texture Blend Photography 
+Gemma Costa  #BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club  #selfy  

Wishing you all a great weekend! ♥

Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a dad...
 
 ~ Anne Geddes

Being in Hermanus again brought back so many beautiful memories... 















#zensunday  +Zen Sunday +Nathan Wirth , +Charlotte Therese Björnström  and +Simon Davis-Oakley 
#sentimentalsunday  +Sentimental Sunday Theme 
#beachsunday  +Ross Campbell #africa 

Always remember to be happy & let your inner light shine, as you never know who's falling in love with your smile...  

~ 'Sunshine Lou'


#sentimentalsunday +Sentimental Sunday Theme 

The day the rains came down, she lost part of her soul...

Pablo Neruda said: "You can cut all the flowers but you cannot keep Spring from coming." 

Despite the darkness she never lost her smile as she believed light follows darkness and she refused to give up hope...

~ LCF

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

Someday's All He Needed Was Her Smile...

If you can keep your head when all about you   
    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
    But make allowance for their doubting too;   
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   
    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
    And treat those two impostors just the same;   
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
    And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   
    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
    If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   
    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

'IF' poem by Rudyard Kipling 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa  #feelings  
#love   #friendship   #happiness   #sincerity   #comfort  

Processed using #nikcollection +Nik Software Color Efex Pro 4

*Leave the cracks in life behind you and turn your face to the sun... Hope is 
always just around the corner, ready to greet those who look towards the light with a smile... As Sunshine always keeps on shining...* LCF 

#TextureBlendThursday #textureblendphotography  #BreakfastClub #selfy 

Magical places are always beautiful and deserve to be contemplated ... Always stay on the bridge between the invisible and the visible...

~ Paulo Coelho

Happy belated birthday 'Merlin' +Mikko Tyllinen 

A little something extra to add to the ''bunnies'' 

~ Fairy Land ~ 

Dim vales - and shadowy floods -
And cloudy-looking woods,
Whose forms we can't discover
For the tears that drip all over!
Huge moons there wax and wane -
Again - again - again -
Every moment of the night -
Forever changing places -
And they put out the star-light
With the breath from their pale faces.
About twelve by the moon-dial,
One more filmy than the rest
(A kind which, upon trial,
They have found to be the best)
Comes down - still down - and down,
With its centre on the crown
Of a mountain's eminence,
While its wide circumference
In easy drapery falls
Over hamlets, over halls,
Wherever they may be -
O'er the strange woods - o'er the sea -
Over spirits on the wing -
Over every drowsy thing -
And buries them up quite
In a labyrinth of light -
And then, how deep! - O, deep!
Is the passion of their sleep.
In the morning they arise,
And their moony covering
Is soaring in the skies,
With the tempests as they toss,
Like - almost anything -
Or a yellow Albatross.
They use that moon no more
For the same end as before -
Videlicet, a tent -
Which I think extravagant:
Its atomies, however,
Into a shower dissever,
Of which those butterflies
Of Earth, who seek the skies,
And so come down again,
(Never-contented things!)
Have brought a specimen
Upon their quivering wings...

Poem by Edgar Allan Poe

Fairy tales do exist ;-)

#textureblendphotography  #breakfastclub +Gemma Costa 

The Gecko

The Gecko lying on his stone 
Is always very much alone, 
Nor is the reason hard to trace 
By those who've seen its form and face 
It's hard to realise a mite 
Can be so venomous a sight, 
Or in its little frame compress 
Such concentrated ugliness. 
Now wonder other creatures fly 
Each time a Gecko ambles by. 
No wonder that its chosen mate 
Recoils from the connubial state. 
Yet underneath its skin, we're told, 
There beats a heart of purest gold. 
Its children do not know neglect; 
It treats its mother with respect. 
It never, ever beats its wife, 
And lives a most unblemished life. 
Its aspect is its sole defence 
Against the world's malevolence. 
So when you see a Gecko stay 
Uncharitable thoughts and say:- 
"The gruesome are not always gross- 
even a reptile bears its cross!"

~  Leon Gellert

*My four legged unexpected visitor last night, I didn't stand aroung too long
photographing him as he was about to fall on my head! "Only In Africa"* :-)

+Shawn McClure this sure beats those wabbits ;-)

#AfricanTuesday "Only in Africa" +African Tuesday 

+Morkel Erasmus  +Dick Whitlock +Grobler du Preez  

#breakfastclub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

Blissful thoughts... 

~ In the depths of the night we stumbled across your beauty... Spring held a hint of promise and hope ~ LCF

Crocuses In Netherlands (WK#11) Mar 12 Theme Spring - Autumn
+Project52-2012 #2012PROJECT52 +GPLUS::P52::2012

Curated by +Kate Church , +Gene Bowker , +Greg Berdan , +Gretchen Chappelle , +Sandra Parlow , +Sue Butler & +Gary Munroe

The four seasons which held just the hint of promise... She walked the fields straight into his heart... And he in turn led her home... ~ LCF ~

For #FourSeasonsFriday Curated by +Karin Nelson & +Stephonie Ogden

This is for those of you who asked to see the full pic as G+ automatically cropped it when posted as my new profile shot ;) 

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret; it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye...

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

No barriers, no textures, just a soul laid bare... Including the freckles from a few months out in this harsh African sun ;) Happy weekend all ♥

 #10000photographers +10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS +Robert SKREINER 
#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

Love has its own instinct, finding the way to the heart, as the feeblest insect finds the way to its flower, with a will which nothing can dismay nor turn aside...

~ Honore de Balzac 













#breakfastclub +Breakfast Club  #africa   #beetles   #flowers

My contribution to #FeelingsFriday Curated by +LeLinda Bourgeois

To know you is to love you... Your touch so gentle, your memory eternal

~ LCF ~

From the first day I touched Harry when feeding him, I lost a part of my heart... One of the most gentle, loving souls I have had the pleasure to "grow up" with...

Dedicated to +Maggy Meyer ♥

My contribution to #WomanWednesday By +Niki Aguirre +Lee Daniels +Christina Lawrie +Teresa Stover +Kerry Murphy

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do... So throw off the bowlines... Sail away from the safe harbor... Catch the trade winds in your sails... Explore... Dream... Discover...
~ Mark Twain ~

~ You hold my heart in your hands ~

#TextureBlendThursday Curated by +Matt Suess & +Christine Hauber

Two textures: Damask Silk and Crinkled Paper

❧ He Makes Me Blush ❧

For #WomenWednesday

Good morning, afternoon, evening all!

~ Double Chocolate, good for any time of the day ~

#BreakfastClub

Your Love Gives Me Wings...

Christina Perri - A Thousand Years (Official Music Video)

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words...

Many thanks to +Jeff Smith and +LaDonna Pride for all their great work on the +Selfy Sunday project! 

~ Turn your scars into stars ~ Robert H. Schuller

#FeelingsFriday Curated by +LeLinda Bourgeois
#BreakfastClub

The 'tree of a thousand thoughts' finally shared it's shade with both of them, not just the girl it used to guide... Showing them both a window of light into the world beyond the darkness... A future filled with happiness... They treasured every moment, knowing that they had made it through and were finally home... ~ LCF ~

#PlusPhotoExtract

By removing her mask she bared her entire soul... 

Dash Berlin feat. Jonathan Mendelsohn - Better Half Of Me (Acoustic)

#TextureBlendPhotography +Texture Blend Photography 
#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

#Venice   #Love   #Feelings   #Italy   #woman  

Her Inner Fire Continues To Burn

In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out... It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being... 

~ Albert Schweitzer,

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club   #TextureBlendThursday +The Official TextureBlendThursday Photo Theme Page 
#TextureBlendPhotography +Texture Blend Photography +Gemma Costa 

~ Blowin' In The Wind ~ 

Dedicated to +Gemma Costa 

How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea?
Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head,
Pretending he just doesn't see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.


Lyrics ~ Bob Dylan – Blowin' In The Wind




#WomenWednesday  #textureblendphotography #love #life #portrait

We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understandings and our hearts...

~ William Hazlitt “On Taste” (1859) 








#soocsunday +John Kosmopoulos Straight Out Of Camera 
#BreakfastClub +Gemma Costa 

~ Fire And Ice ~

#moodymonday +Moody Monday Curated by +Philip Daly & +Carole Buckwalter  #BreakfastClub   #paintography    #textureblend

Once Upon A Dream...

Dedicated to +Peter Vooijs who changed the way I see the world when out shooting... From that first moment in Milano seeing him work many months ago, to his nature photography when in Holland... My deepest thanks for being more than inspiring Peter! This shot is from today in my new temporary back garden... If you do not know Peter's work yet, do follow him on here and check out his website too: http://petervooijs-photography.com/

+Inspirational Saturday Curated by three very special women of G+, +Charlotte Therese Björnström , +Khrystiane Friedli & +Mylah Nazario I miss you all, looking forward to the day I am settled and have a regular internet connection again... ♥ #inspirationalsaturday #BreakfastClub

~ Awaken To Spring ~

And Spring arose on the garden fair,
Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest.

~ Percy Bysshe Shelley ~

My contribution to Power #PortraitTuesday Curated by +Laura Balc

Never underestimate the power of a woman when she has just woken up ;)

Rain is beautiful when it comes hurried and passionate, fleeing from the storm wind, hurled, like a volley of small musketry, against your streaming panes... It is beautiful in the Midsummer, when it comes in light, soft showers, or, more in earnest, accompanied with thunder-music, straight and heavy; when, as the poet says: "Rolling as in sleep, Low thunders bring the mellow rain..."

~ John Richard Vernon, "The Beauty of Rain," 1863, quoting Alfred Tennyson

Beautifully blissful days/nights on the beach, midsummer rain and all...


 #breakfastclub  #stormyweather  #africa  #hermanus  #love

~ You Can Leave Your Hat On ~

#TextureBlendPhotography  #breakfastclub #textureblendtuesday #TextureBlend Curated by +Gemma Costa Three texture layers

Turn your face to the sun and the shadows fall behind you...

~ Maori Proverb ~

#selfportraitsaturday Curated by +Marcin Pękalski
#smilography Curated by +Eloísa V. #breakfastclub
Playing with film effects grain

My contribution to #ShadeSaturday Curated by +Roy Ross & +Kev Isabeth

And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair...

~ Kahlil Gibran ~

Sweet Tooth time ;) ~ Millionaire's Shortbread ~

This is what just having an apple all day brings on!

For recipe:http://www.cakebaker.co.uk/making-millionaire-shortbread.html

~ Passionate About You ~ 

It’s beautiful when you find someone that is in love with your mind... Someone that wants to undress your conscience and make love to your thoughts... Someone that wants to watch you slowly take down all the walls you’ve built up around your mind and let them inside...

~ Anon 




#breakfastclub +Breakfast Club   +Gemma Costa  #PurpleCircle +PurpleCircle  +Lynn Langmade  +Sinead Sam McKeown  +Craig Szymanski  & +Alexis Coram 

For #ThirstyThursdayPics Curated by +Giuseppe Basile & +Mark Esguerra
And for #HistoryThursday Curated by +Matt Shalvatis +History Thursday

~ Castello Sforzesco, Milano ~


In the 14th Century Castello Sforzesco was built by Galeazzo Visconti II. The oldest historic part, called "Porta Giovia, was built betweeen 1360 to 1370 alongside the medieval city wall in Milano.

The work was carried on by the following generations, Gian Galeazzo and Filippo Maria, to enable the Castle to enable the walls and 4 towers to be completed.

Francesco Sforza, the General and husband of Bianca Maria Visconti, daughter of the Duke of Milano, Filippo Maria Visconti, became patron of the castle in 1450 and commenced the expansion of the castle.

The architect Filarete constructed a 70 meter high clock tower, named Torre del Filarete in the center of the facade of the main portal. Through the gate you can reach the courtyard, which in the past served as a parade ground and held many an unforgettable event.

On both sides of the courtyard are gates with drawbridges... For more detailed information, see the website, perhaps this will entice some of you to visit Milano too... ~ LCF ~
http://www.milanocastello.it/ing/home.html

Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being...

~ Albert Schweitzer ~



#selfportraitsaturday +Marcin Pękalski #smilography +Eloísa V. 
#breakfastclub #textureblendphotography  +Gemma Costa 

He called her Autumn with a heart so warm he constantly felt alive as in Summer... Louisa Catharine 

The larger version on 500px http://500px.com/photo/13673339

Created By Layering Three Textures

#portrait  #textureblendphotography #textureblend #colors #imagination #dreams #womenwednesday  #BreakfastClub  

~ Venetian Transport ~

It is the city of mirrors, the city of mirages, at once solid and liquid, at once air and stone...

~ Erica Jong ~

#TransportTuesday +TransportTuesday Curated by +Gene Bowker , +Joe Paul , +Michael Earley & +Steve Boyko 

#BreakfastClub Curated by +Gemma Costa & +Andrea Martinez 

~ The Passionate Shepherd to His Love ~


Come live with me and be my Love,
And we will all the pleasures prove
That hills and valleys, dale and field,
And all the craggy mountains yield.

There will we sit upon the rocks
And see the shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow rivers, to whose falls
Melodious birds sing madrigals.

There will I make thee beds of roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroider'd all with leaves of myrtle.

A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty lambs we pull,
Fair linèd slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold.

A belt of straw and ivy buds
With coral clasps and amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me and be my Love.

Thy silver dishes for thy meat
As precious as the gods do eat,
Shall on an ivory table be
Prepared each day for thee and me.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me and be my Love.
~ Poem By C. Marlowe ~

Don't forget to allow your inner light time to shine as you never know who may be watching...

Wishing you the most beautiful year ahead in 2012! May it hold untold happiness for you all... Much love, Louisa

This photo is dedicated to +Laura Balc who made my day, thus appropriately placed in her theme album! Looking forward to seeing you soon ♥

His touch makes the magic happen... Muticolored moments...

Tiësto featuring BT - Love Comes Again

#BreakfastClub  #selfy #love #magic #feelings #touch #tiesto 

~ Always Retain A Little Mystery ~ 

Inspired by +Mikko Tyllinen & more than a year of seeing his wonderfully mysterious works emerge, every day is gift! 

#TextureBlendThursday Curated by +Matt Suess & +Christine Hauber 
#textureblendphotography #breakfastclub +Texture Blend Photography 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I may not be as active on here as I used to be a few months ago, however, thanks to all the floods down south, we still seem to be having internet connection issues...

Despite it, still happy and missing you all, when back in Europe/USA be prepared to be bombarded yet again ;) For now, thank you all for being so supportive, the drive to the farm today to use a slightly faster net connection than where I am was worth it, though I doubt the Merc will agree with me, dirt roads and cars do not go together! 

Wishing you all the best day xo

~ Standing My Ground ~

#Trams #Transport #milano

~ They Fell In Love Where The Wild Roses Grow ~

As promised +Fabio Bucchieri my first contribution created especially for your new page +Hawkea's friends #HawkeasFriends This week's theme being 'PINK'...

#roses #love #pink

My contribution to #WomenWednesday is a little different today, I hope you girls won't mind;)

I dedicate this to my late father, whose birthday it is today...
This was the first modeling photograph of me which he treasured and always kept beside his bed... He would have loved you all and been just as inspired and thankful as I am for what you bring into my world!

Thank you dearest +Niki Aguirre , +Athena Carey , +Teresa Stover +Christina Lawrie , +Kerry Murphy & +Lee Daniels ♥

~ They Became One ~

She reached up tracing his contours,
The rough with the smooth...

Losing herself in that perfect moment,
Knowing she would never be the same again...

~ Louisa Catharine ~

My contribution to:
#TextureBlendPhotography Curated by +Gemma Costa
#TreeTuesday Curated by +Christina Lawrie

At the beach, life is different... Time doesn't move hour to hour but mood to moment... We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun...

~ Unknown

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arniston,_Western_Cape 

#AfricanTuesday +African Tuesday +Grobler du Preez , +Morkel Erasmus & +Dick Whitlock #Arniston
#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

How did it happen that their lips came together? How does it happen that birds sing, that snow melts, that the rose unfolds, that the dawn whitens behind the stark shapes of trees on the quivering summit of the hill? A kiss, and all was said...

 ~ Victor Hugo

Texture blended with three layers

#textureblendphotography #textureblend +Texture Blend Photography +Gemma Costa  #BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club  #rose  #love

It's in the way that you hold me... And the way that you know me... When I can't find the right words to say... You feel it all night long...

Clay Aiken- The Way lyrics

I love you beautiful soul...

#textureblendphotography +Texture Blend Photography  #breakfastclub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa 

~ Like A Moth To A Flame ~

Love is like an eternal flame, once it is lit, it will continue to burn for all time...

~  Kamila 














#breakfastclub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa #flowers 

~ Tears In The Rain ~

Never take anyone for granted and do not waste a moment... Hold everyone you care for close to your heart and cherish those moments forever... As life has ways of changing in a heartbeat like mine did over night... Learning to accept is the hardest part, but somehow we do when our inner strength comes to the fore and we learn that it is okay to cry tears in the rain... ~LCF~

The will to grow and feel complete was too strong to remain hidden any longer... The time had come to to fly... Taking his hand, she followed him into the light... The thorns faded away, just like the bricks which fell behind her as she emerged blossoming again...

~ LCF ~

My contribution to #FloralFriday Curated by +Tamara Pruessner
and #TextureBlendPhotography by +Gemma Costa

Gentle Caress 

I shot an arrow into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For, so swiftly it flew, the sight
Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,
It fell to earth, I knew not where;
For who has sight so keen and strong,
That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak
I found the arrow, still unbroke;
And the song, from beginning to end,
I found again in the heart of a friend...

Poem 'The Arrow and the Song'
By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

#FloralFriday #ColorsOnFriday #Flowers   #textureblend   #friendship  

Long before we saw the sea, its spray was on our lips, and showered salt rain upon us...

~ Charles Dickens, David Copperfield

Toto - Africa

#BreakfastClub +Breakfast Club +Gemma Costa  #Africa #Sea #Nature  

#10000photographersaroundtheworld +Robert SKREINER +10000 PHOTOGRAPHERS around the World