No Need to Go Far

This week I had a talk with my husband about what direction my photography was headed. Maybe I should say he had a talk with me. He pointed out that I am not really promoting it, or going after it as aggressively as I have in the past. I think he wanted to know what I'm doing with it. Even after all the jobs I've had this summer it seems as though I haven't been working. Its weird how distant I feel from it.

After our talk I really needed to think about the things he said and search my own heart about where I am with this whole photography thing. I know I love it but I haven't been acting like it. Of course, I'm always grabbing my camera to catch a shot or record an important event. I've even been taking jobs and completing them and people have been happy with the results. I had to ask myself, "Am I happy with the results, or the process, or whatever it is that drives me on in this pursuit?"

This fall I have become a co-leader in a women's group at church. I love the women in my group and really have a burning passion for my studies and for the time I spend with my friends there. I have put my whole heart into this endeavor and set my passion for photography on a shelf somewhere. I really believe God gave me photography as a gift and after taking some time to sort out my thoughts on this I decided to spend the afternoon with my camera.

I wondered if other photographers go through this process. In any relationship we have ups and downs. As in any relationship we need to cultivate it by putting in time and working on our skills as a partner. So, that's what I did. I just went into my own yard and looked around. I looked high and low. I looked at the big stuff and at the tiny stuff. I looked into the shadows and into the light. I began to remember what I love about taking pictures. I love seeing the light, and how things change when it hits them in different places. I love shadows and secret places I only see when I'm crawling around on the ground looking through my lens.

So, I ask you this. When was the last time you went out and shot nothing, for no reason but to spend the day with your sweet little camera, just because you love it?

I will admit my neighbors may think I'm a loon after seeing me lying on the ground taking pictures of the grass, or bugs or dead flowers, but what else is new? It worked though, I remember now why I take pictures. I remember why I love light and being alone in the yard looking at the sweat beads inside my Sparkletts water bottle. Its because no one sees exactly what I see, or how I see it. I think that's why I love to look at other people's photography. For a small moment in time I see the world through another person's eyes and that to me is wonderful and amazing.

So, here is my yard through my eyes, enjoy.

I like to call these fire clouds because it seems to me

they usually show up over areas that are on fire. Where

I live we have major fires in the fall and I see these clouds

often this time of year.

Atlas

Diamonds in the bottle

I really love the patterns shade and light leave in the ground.

I can't help myself, I like the broken stuff

This is actually my neighbor's yard. How much do you

love the contrast between the grass and bark?

This is what my house looks like when I'm lying upside down

at the bottom of my driveway.

My street

These flowers look pretty sweet dead or dying...

I hope you can see this one large

The following images are of a tiny space under my living room

window. The space is lit by the setting sun hitting the

window and lighting the ground below it. Cool. I was imagining

tiny houses here or a fairy or two, maybe it could happen.

I realize dead is not good but most of it is beautiful anyway.

I have to admit I usually get angry when I see this myrtle

tree because it was supposed to bloom pink. However,

today it becomes my favorite.

Babies soon to bloom

I love the little broken chrysalis shell on the dragonfly

stone.

Glass table top

Little kitty in a quiet shady spot.

Not only do I love light, but I love water and get stuck when the two of them collide. The sprinkler water began to look like melted metal sliding down the sidewalk. I had a hard time leaving this spot.

I've made myself a promise to go out at least one day a week and shoot nothing. I would love to have you join me. Just do it, just remember your love, and not just your job.