Saturday Snapshots {November 21, 2009}

“Derive happiness in oneself from a good day's work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.” ~ Henri Matisse

{The sharpness of this shot is what ropes in your attention first, but milliseconds later you realize that you’re even more enamoured with the refined beauty and definitive grace that radiates forth from the strikingly lovely young women in this classic 1940s portrait.}



{A mother keeps watch over her three young sons as they tuck into pink balls of cotton candy, in this shot for which no background information is provided. Given the setting and the crowd in the background, I tend to think they might have been enjoying a fun day out the county fair or a carnival that was in town for the weekend.}



{Here a lone trouser wearing woman reaches out gingerly to feed an elk (or is it a reindeer?) who just happens to sport a rather impressive set of antlers. Though no information is given for this shot, I’d venture to guess it’s from the 50s and was probably taken a zoo or animal park of some sort, judging by the tall wire fence separating the two.}



{Though your eye may naturally gravitate towards the woman pushing her bike up this bustling street in Copenhagen, Denmark, there is a trove of assorted sights to see in this lovely city scene image from 1955.}



{Dashingly good looking and dressed to the nines, a handsome young man and his beautiful date (don’t you just adore her pink halter neck dress?) pose on the sidewalk (perhaps in front of one of their homes) before heading off to senior prom is this terrific colour shot that I’d peg to be from the 50s.}



{No people fill this shot, yet is seems to be every bit as alive as if they had, for the sophisticated, artfully presented furniture in this gorgeous 1937 living room seems to take on a chic life of its own the more you stare at this delightful vintage home decor image.}



{A love-struck young couple steal a smooch atop the pavement of what appears to be a tennis court; she in an alluring zebra print bikini, he in a pair of swim trucks, both of them looking as though they could have stepped right of a 50s or early 60s surfer film.}



{A preciously adorable, curly fur covered white poodle almost seems to be smiling or laughing playfully for the camera, as he (or she) sits atop a metal chair (though it almost looks to be a children's slide or even a lifeguard’s seat) adorned with cute images of Charlie Brown.}



{Seated closely around a table in a busy eatery, a group of young women, circa 1956, tuck into their meals while visiting the Hollywood Farmer’s Market in LA. While this shot is terrific for many reasons, it was the unconventional expression of the gal sipping her carton of milk through a straw that really made this photo memorable for me.}



{From the narrow street lined on both sides with (now vintage) autos to the snow slicked sidewalks, from her dainty pearl necklace to the whimsically sweet dear motif on her sweater, there is nothing about this wonderful and understatedly elegant photograph that I don’t love immensely.}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}


Thick fog like grey marshmallow fluff hung heavy in the air through part of the week, yet it broke today and a trickle of sunlight rapidly waltzed across the living room through the half-drawn shades for a brief while. So too, as Matisse – that brilliant magician of colour, peer of Picasso, creator of myriad remarkable pieces – insightfully points out, can the thick cloud that is the contrast worries, doubts, and stresses that perpetually surround us as we venture onwards, also be parted by the light we create from how we love our lives.

In a way this message – as so many do – ties back to fact that we often have the ability to mastermind a very sizable percentage of our personal level of joy. Of course there will always be grey days, tempests, and fogs that only time itself can part. Yet within every person this world has ever known, lies the ability to seek out and embrace sufficient happiness so that you can always shine enough of a light ahead to see the next step on the journey of life.