Serenity

Lately, there has been something about nature that just calls out to me.  When I leave my house with my camera to go explore somewhere new, there is this feeling of peace and serenity that just washes over me.  Even though most of the time I end up deleting two thirds of the pictures I snap, being outside and trying to capture the beauty that surrounds me puts my mind and soul at ease.

While wandering through this park near my house the other day, all I wanted to do was to sit and absorb everything around me - the older couple picnicking on a bench nearby and the small children feeding the ducks; the sound of the water spraying from the fountain and the smell of the fresh cut grass.  All of my senses were awakened and allowed any sorrows I was feeling to be replaced with that serenity as I relaxed.

I believe this ability to recognize a particular window into one's own soul is a true blessing.  Many people wander through life and never know how to make themselves truly happy.  But for me, to know that going out into the sunshine with my camera and capturing the life that surrounds me can provide this overwhelming peace is such a comfort at times.

To switch gears just a little bit, looking at the two pictures featured above, what do they make you feel?  It can be both pictures - the combination of the two - or maybe each picture invokes a different reaction.  For me - the open road is inspiring.  When taking the photo, I was thinking about how it represents the promise we have in life: that we can travel whichever road we choose, but at the same time we don't always know where that road may take us.  It depicts opportunity.

I also have a fascination with fences.  I'm not sure why, but I love photographing them.  In this particular picture, it gives you a sense that you are currently in the present and although we can see a little ways into the future, it sometimes gets blurry.  But that's okay.  As your eye can follow the line of the fence, so will our lives follow the path we create for it.  It may not happen quite the way we expect it to...but we will get there eventually.

I want to challenge you.  Even if you don't always know at the time why you are taking a particular shot or what you are trying to communicate, try going back through your photos and see what types of emotions or reactions they evoke.  You may be surprised at what you discover about yourself and your artwork.  I know I have been.