Through The Lens

A friend of mine suggested a great cure for dealing with the stress of everyday life – take a day or at least part of a day every week and do something just for yourself! Turn off the phone, go away, see something new. Just make time for yourself and do something you love. When she asked what I would do with special time each week I didn’t even have to think about it – I immediately told her that I would take my camera and ‘wander’! It was a good idea – a plan that never got off the drawing board. Life has a way of moving time for myself to the end of the list. Yesterday I heard an idea that seems possible.

A friend in our church is a photographer. He teaches photography and always has a quick idea that inspires a few of us who love to hear his thoughts on the subject. He told another photographer friend that he takes at least one photo every day! He keeps his camera handy wherever he goes and he looks for opportunities to capture the beauty, the humor or the intrigue of something each day. His eyes are always open to the possibility of a photo; he sees things others miss.

I plan to follow this friend’s example and see what I find. Many of the things I capture will be close to home but I often see things during the day that I wish I could capture with my camera – if only I had it with me. It’s time to follow the advice of another photographer friend: ‘Always take your camera with you. Everywhere you go! You never know when you will wish you had it with you.’ Kodak moments happen all around me and I often regret that I’ve not been prepared to make them mine. So, my friends, I am starting out this week with the intention of ‘catching’ one of those moments whenever and wherever it happens. I will share some of them with you – and there will be others that will never make it past ‘the cutting room floor’. Some of the things I capture through the lens will be common things from daily life - things in my home and yard. And things in the homes and yards of those dear to my heart. Some will be the result of 'a-ha' moments that take me by surprise!

I hope this new venture takes me to places I never dreamed I would go, seeing sights I never dreamed possible and pushing my eyes to see things that were there all the time. That’s the plan – I think it’s possible. At least one photo a day. One at a time.