Farewell Winter!

Spring has returned. The Earth is like a child that knows poems.
~Ranier Maria Rilke

I can trace my passion for photography easily enough. At the age of 12, I smuggled the family’s Polaroid camera out of the house to photograph a neighborhood pond flanked by a gracious overhang of tree limbs. The place felt so sacred, so special to me at the time, I wanted to have a photo of it to tuck away in my secret treasure box. A decade later I found myself working as a reporter for a small community newspaper, and often took photos to accompany my stories. It only took a single photograph to re-ignite my interest in the art. While covering a county fair, I captured the image of an 8-year-old girl eating a slice of watermelon. At the moment my finger released the shutter, she had gazed mischievously up at her mother with the most perfect droplet of juice glistening from the side of her chin. Years would pass, and the newspaper’s method of not “fixing” the final published photographs in the darkroom eventually aged and yellowed the print beyond recognition. Although fleeting, that image stayed with me all these years. I’ve taken thousands of photographs since then, I guess in an effort to keep reliving that initial excitement. It’s also my way little way of, in the words of Anais Nin, “…tasting life twice, in the moment and in retrospection.” I never sought formal training in photography, and many of the technical aspects of the art still baffle me. I sometimes envision my photography friends snickering at my awkward, amateurish compositions or faulty exposures. One day I am sure I will learn the proper balance of aperture and shutter speed, but even if I don’t, that’s okay. The most important thing is that I’m having fun, getting good exercise, and embracing the beauty around me in a way that lifts my spirits and makes my heart sing. The following link contains some of my most cherished photographs from this winter, along with my most treasured quotations placed beneath each. Enjoy! It really is an amazing world we live in. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=152668&id=834298699&l=5fed02611e