We spent a lovely Saturday and Sunday with my husband's family in Wauconda, Il. One of my favorite parts about that too short trip was a walk to the beach with Troy's mom, sister, my nephew, Isaac, and son, Ben. It was cool by the water and threatening to rain but yet crisp and still bright behind the clouds. The boys played in the sand while Jan and Michelle talked, and I wandered around with my camera snapping photos. "These will be brilliant," I thought, while pointing my Kodak up at the sun's rays shooting down between patches of fog. On my small LCD screen the pictures looked stunning. When I got home, however, and uploaded them to my computer those same images felt flat and unimpressive.
The shot above, of a rusted old boat, was one I took just for the heck of it, without any expectations. I'd completely forgotten about it, to tell you the truth, until scrolling through all of my weekend photos fairly late last night, then (surprise!) there it was - my absolute favorite of the bunch! It's fascinating to me (as an amateur) how similar photography is to writing: The big and grand pictures I so zealously aim for seem to frequently disappoint. It is those quiet, peripheral, and unexpected revelations, born out of the creative process itself, that most often contain within them the potential for beauty and truth. The trick for both, I am discovering, is to stay flexible and available - willing to change direction at a moment's notice.
On my, "On the Necessity of Beauty," post from a couple of weeks ago, I received a comment from Elizabeth in which she told me about a neat project she'd taken on involving snapping one photo a day for a year. A couple of days ago my friend, Sylvia, let me know that the website she writes for (Blissfully Domestic) was inviting readers to participate in that exact same project. I jumped at the opportunity (having "projects" gives me energy!) and am now on day two of a 365 day journey. I am excited about this! I love looking for special moments, for interesting view points to capture. I love enhancing my photos through Picnik, bringing them to life through digital editing. To me, it is just like story telling. You can follow my progress on this blog or by clicking HERE (I'll add a link to my blog's side bar) or better yet, you can join me by signing up HERE! At the end of the year, I hope to compile my photos into a hard cover book to keep on my coffee table!
So there you have it! Photo number two, entitled: Nostalgic.
Who knows what'll unfold tomorrow!
