Vishnu, the Preserver

When my friends came into town briefly before our wedding reception, one of the major tasks they undertook was to help Eric & I build the foundation for our Meditation Garden.  We put Claudia in charge of helping us find the statuary at Sig's Pottery, and amongst other things like wind chimes and a bench, we came home with an absolutely gorgeous (and very large) bust of Vishnu.  He weighed about 1000 pounds... wait, did I say 1000?  I meant about a million pounds, and we laughed and strained and sweated it out as we moved him from Eric's SUV up two stairs into our home, through the entry way and around the dining arena and out and down two stairs into the garden.  (The Meditation Garden is an open patio area surrounded on all four sides by our home.)  There, he sits peacefully in a corner, overseeing all the activities in the garden.

I did a little research on Vishnu; Vishnu holds a high status within the Hindu pantheon. He is the prominent second god of the Trimurti, the Hindu Triad, while Brahma is first and Shiva is third.  The major theme around Vishnu is he is the preserver.  Perfect!  I would like to be preserved for all eternity, and now I don't have to turn to Twinkies with all of their inherent preservatives to accomplish that goal!

But back to the subject.  I have been trying for a very long time to enhance the images of my jewelry that I've been taking, but even as my knowledge grew, my output remained somewhat stagnant.  Acceptable; I was getting really sharp images of what I was trying to capture, but not stellar.  Even when we moved to this new home, I recognized the meditation garden as a good place for photography, but my pictures were lacking for a certain quality.

In come Vishnu.  The Preserver.  I didn't get the connection right away, but after the Wedding Reception was over and things started settling down in my life, I began working on my Etsy Store and other beading pursuits, and was getting inherently better pictures.  Earlier this week, I picked up a number of new props, and went right to work with them.  And look at my work preserved...

(To be listed in my Etsy store shortly as a Sale item)

Yellow Enamel Butterflies already listed at $17.50.

 

Close Up of my Wedding Necklace...  Swarovski Crystals, Glass Pearls, Gold Plated Delica Beads, Czech Seed Beads.

(Soon to be listed as a Sale Item in my Etsy Store)

Hopefully to be added to my Etsy Store before Thanksgiving... but definitely before Christmas!

How is it that I can suddenly take the same old props...  ceramic bowls, vases, and a whole bunch of stones that Eric & I bought at a rock quarry

and where before I was getting only satisfactory pictures, I am now coming up with this?

Does this guy have anything to do with my sudden enhanced ability to preserve my work in a way that can be shared with others?