Photo Essay: The Abstracts of Life

A Series of Abstract Photographs Taken During One of the COVID Lockdowns

I took these abstract photos during one of the COVID lockdowns. I’m running this post from the Archives today as I work on taking it a little slower in the past week and getting some extra rest. Although this post is from the Archives, when it was originally posted Words and Pictures had about 1/10 the subscribers it does now and I feel this post and the photos deserve a wider audience.

I hope you all enjoy this Photo Essay!

Thoughts were swirling around in my head when I looked at the a vase of tulips on my desk.

I had been taking photos of the double white tulips opening in my sunny desk window, and I had my camera at hand. After taking some photos, I sat down at my desk and looked into the bottom of the blue glass vase. I noticed there were a lot of bubbles around the base of the inside of vase, and on the tulip stems.

I picked up my camera and focused my lens.

What I saw through my lens, was vastly more interesting than what I saw with my eyes. Not only were there bubbles, but the bubbles also formed lines.

When I uploaded my photos into Adobe Lightroom, browsing through the photos to process them, I realized that in a few shots it even looked as though there were waves inside the bottom of the vase.

As a photographer I am drawn to colors, shapes, lines, patterns, and textures.

Water I find, is an endlessly fascinating subject, especially when it involves reflection.

I often find myself reflecting on the abstracts of life.

Constantly changing, always moving like water, life is a very fluid process that takes us through so many complex situations that can perplex us, as a piece of abstract art might.

When life is moving along in a phase where circumstances are relatively going well, we feel perhaps that our lives are amidst a comforting circle, a safe place and space when we can relax in our everyday lives.

It was hard to relax in the midst of COVID.

Everyday, I found myself running through a variety of emotions as I tried to make my way through the weight of it all. It was all so heavy emotionally and physically.

Even now, many people still struggle with how COVID disrupted their lives with Long-COVID, or other health issues that kicked in during those long lockdowns. For me, it was my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome kicking up a notch or two to full blown Fibromyalgia.

As some readers might know I had COVD for the first time over Christmas 2024 and that kicked me into a hypertension issue that I am still dealing with, though it does seem to be righting itself again.

I remind myself daily to try to stay fluid and go with the flow.

I try to let my thoughts be like the water and bubble up, and swirl around, and then I work to release them with gratitude... Because gratitude is what carries us and keeps us afloat.

If you enjoyed this post and the photography, I hope you will chime in and leave a comment and share this post!

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Wishing you all a blessed and beautiful day today… Remember to breathe when things get stressful and as always, be kind to one another.

As I like to say, “Be in the moment and go with the flow.”

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