Friday, April 9, 2010

Yellow spring...


I didn't have much opportunity to take pictures today. I had planned to use my old point and shoot that I passed along to Kya but when we couldn't find the USB cord I essentially gave up. I went about my day thinking that I wouldn't be taking pictures for a few weeks and the most amazing things unfolded, some photography related, some not.

First of all I realized that I see photo opportunities everywhere now. The sky, flowering trees, cars, stoplights, food, children playing, the list goes on and on. Several times today I would see something and wish I had a camera to capture it. This is strange and exhilarating because I'd begun to complain that I've already run out of things to shoot and was feeling uninspired. Yet here I am, one day without my camera and all I feel is frustrated because there were so many inspiring things I missed.

Second of all I made time for other passions that I've been ignoring. I am a writer. Not in the sense that I make a living by selling words to other people but in the sense that writing is how I make sense of the world. I write to shape and articulate ideas. I write to share information and insights. I write because when I do I feel more centered and grounded. Lately I've haven't been taking the time to write and didn't even realize that this is why I haven't been quite myself lately. So, this afternoon Jace was invited to a birthday party. It was to last about 3 hours and I didn't want to drive the 30 minutes home just to turn around and drive 30 minutes back. If I'd had my camera I would have gone to a park and taken pictures for at least some of that time. But I didn't have a camera so I spent 3 hours at Panera writing. I did a blog post for my unschooling blog that I basically abandoned 6 months ago. I also wrote a personal essay that helped me organize some thoughts around some things I've been contemplating lately. I sat there sipping my chai tea and I wrote. It was heavenly. (Obviously, since now I'm rambling on my photography blog, lol.)

After all of that writing I thought perhaps it was going to be good for me to be without my camera for a few weeks. But then on the way home I saw the most brilliant night sky- midnight blue with just a hint of purples, reds, oranges, and yellows. There was a single star and all I wanted was a camera to capture it. I called my mom, asked to borrow her point and shoot and stopped by to get it before I went home. I didn't have time for much because it was late when I got home and I still wanted to spend time with my family. I also see that mom's camera has some fun settings I might be able to play with so I'll try more tomorrow. But for today, simply spring.

4 comments:

  1. well first off, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw this picture and thought you took it with a point and shoot! LOL!
    I think you are very right, sometimes we can become so involved in one thing that we ignore others and I'm so pleased that you found your writing again. You know that the word of our life (not week) is BALANCE, and I'm glad you found some!

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  2. It is a point and shoot! Mom's is a little nicer than mine but still a little Kodak. I think I just got lucky on this one, lol.

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  3. Ok, I thought you pulled a professional shot b/c you didn't have a camera! It's amazing! It just proves that it's 99% photographer and only 1% camera!!! Love it!

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  4. Thank you! It's definately an adjustment when I don't have control over things like color and bokeh so I'm happy when I can get a decent shot just by framing it properly. Hopefully I'll stretch my creativity!

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