Happy Friday!  It's great to be back here on the Beautiful Beasties' Network's blogroll, and I'm realizing that we are already half-way through this 52-Week Project.  What an enriching experience! I have learned so much by coming to this space to be inspired each week even when I am not able to participate. The creative and passionate photographers I have met here challenge and encourage, and they have helped me tremendously in my own creative process.

This week's challenge is all about seeing the world in black + white, and I am feeling the excitement that I used to feel when I was first drawn to create images through a lens and watch them come to life in the darkroom.  Black + white is where I started and it feels right to go back there from time to time in order to add a little intrigue to the stories behind the photos.

This is Mimi.  Many times when I look into her soulful eyes, I wonder how anyone could ever have abandoned her on a viaduct in heavy traffic along a Mexican Highway. 

Had it not been for the compassionate work of the International Street Dog Foundation, Ollie would have been another victim of Thailand's illicit dog meat trade.

Oreo has taught me that one person's throw-aways are another person's treasures, that garage sales are fun and that open garage doors offer beautiful natural light on a subject.

I always look forward to viewing the work of Pavlina Sanborn Photography, Saint Augustine, FL, who is next up on the blogroll. Her compassion for animals shines through.