Turkey etc.

Nope, I didn't get one single picture of that delectable turkey.  In those moments, my focus really was getting the food made and not on the pictures.  I'm trying to improve my skills in both photography and cooking, and trying to do them both at the same time just doesn't really work out!

Thanksgiving, hmm..what a day!  Something I heard recently that I found so important: To check one's motivations.  Are you doing each task out of love or fear?  Fear is a motivator, and can move us to do things we'd prefer not to do, just to avoid negative outcomes.  

I'd like to do more things out of love.  Love for the people I'm doing them for, love for my crafts, love for the beautiful moments.  But I, just as the rest of us do things out of fear of negative consequences as well.  

The take-home message of this post: Fear or love?  You make the call.

-ae.

Vacation!

These are my top favorite Costa Rica pictures.  Why are these my favorite?  I'm not sure why, but they just are.  Thanks to the humidity, there were very few good pictures.  The lens would fog up almost instantaneously.  I'm realizing that I really like taking pictures of nature, or life just as it happens.  I'm really less into still photos of people smiling than of capturing motion, the life that's constantly updating moment to moment.

I'm reading a great book about mindfulness.  I'm taking it in really small pieces, as it's so large to take in at once.  The analogy was about a man eating a tangerine, which he had sectioned.  Before he had finished one slice, he was already about to pop the other one in his mouth.  The teacher noted that he really couldn't enjoy the bit in his mouth while he was looking toward the next piece.  Somehow this really relates to my goals with photography.  

I want to capture moments, (as they really happen).  Like this one with the horse, while I don't know these people (or the horses for that matter!) This was one beautiful moment in that specific place that will never happen again.  I happened to be lucky enough to be standing on that beach with an incredible camera and got the chance to capture it. Those tracks in the sand (some of which were mine and my family's) are gone and won't be there again.  That picture says so much about the value of time and the importance of photographs.

Easy days.

This post is way overdue, but I haven't had internet and have been traveling.  SO, I wanted to make this post a while ago, and here goes.  These little shoes are not what's so important to me, it's the little feet that go into them.  A very special friend owns these shoes, and I got to make some wonderful memories with him while he was visiting.  This picture reminds me of a great week where I got to spend time with people I really love.

I'm pretty thankful for the time I had that week and the pictures that came out of it were really nice.  I am so thankful to have the opportunities to spend with people I love.  This picture really is worth 1000 words to me, because it reminds me of all of the memories from that week.

Simple, yet complex stories that lie beneath.

So these pictures are incredibly random, I know.  But these are just the things around me as I go throughout my day.  They may seem insignificant, but it means something to me to capture the "normal" things in my life.  There is a lot going around me that is hard to stomach, but somehow it's in these very normal things that I find some comfort.  Life is so simple, yet so complex in the same moment.  

To me these very simple things: a cup, a fence, a tree, seem pretty insignificant upon first glance.  But really, how many people touched that cup before I did?  It wasn't even my drink, it was my friend's.  But this day was a really good one for me.  This cup reminds me of such a fun day where I spent time with three people I really love.  We were able to have great talks as we usually do.  And this simple picture reminds me of that fun day.  

The fence probably has a story of its own.  Between who built it, where the different pieces of wood came from, and how long it has been there.  I wonder the stories of it, it looked old and warped by the sun.  How nice it would be to have so many stories, to be old and still standing tall doing ones' job.  

The trees, well I grew up taking the beauty of palm trees for granted.  It's time to start appreciating them.  Who put those there?  Well, I really don't know that story.  I just know I'm lucky to be able to see them. 

Moments around me..

beginnings

Blogging is a very interesting phenomenon.  This digital world we live in is quite interesting in it of itself.  I find myself reading blogs written by people I do or don't know.  I've been able to commit to two blogs in my time, and both times they were extremely rewarding.  


This blog, will be something different. I'm not quite sure what it will be yet, but I'm starting it just to see.
I've recently ventured into photography.  I've been very interested in this art for a long time.  As I'm constantly pursing renewed mental health, I've lately been trying to be more mindful.  As I do this, I'm suddenly seeing all kinds of things I haven't seen before: Flowers in the middle of the interstate, is just one of these new sightings.  


Taking photos allows me to own something, own a moment in time that will never happen again. As I take pictures, I feel connected to what's around me.  Being mindful is a great pursuit and I am confident that taking pictures is one way to celebrate said mindfulness.


So if you're interested, come back often.  I'll be posting the pictures I take and what they mean to me.  I'll probably also post other inspiring things I learn.


pursuing.inspiration.