After my husband died, I was interested in two pastimes: photography and writing.
The photography was new to me. Up to that point, I had only had point and click type cameras and a Polaroid for work as an insurance agent.
When I started cleaning and organizing after Ed passed, I found a lot of different types of cameras. LOTS. I didn’t know what to do with most and still have them stored. Many took film rolls and seemed outdated in today’s photography world. One, though, was a Canon Rebel, a digital camera. That was the one I chose to take pictures with.
I did try to find someone who talk with me about the various cameras without success. Nor did I find anyone who would teach me how to use the one I chose. I did find a couple of books; but without a mentor/teacher to assist me, I gradually put the camera aside.
About the same time that I chose to set it aside, I also discovered that a niece is an accomplished photographer. I tend to be intimidated by accomplished people, never feeling that my skills measure up. And my independent efforts seemed so unimportant next to her accomplishment.
Lately I have been allowing my thoughts to consider that my talent may not be professional quality, may not be money producing or acclaim worthy; but that doesn’t mean there is no eye for a good photo nor that my efforts are not worth expression.
I have saved every picture I have taken on an external drive. Perhaps the time is coming for me to weed through them and find the few that I truly like…and see what makes them likable to me. I think I would like to separate them into what I like, what I think could be improved and what is not worth keeping.
I already have a photo blog that I once dreamed would be a journal of my pictures. Maybe that would be a place to document and explore those photos that I like and to understand what makes them important to me.
[I am going to work on this part of the “thinking” post for a bit; I will address the writing part at a later date.]
Feathers of My Mind 