sunshine and a revelation

As much as I may like fog, sunshine is a welcome sight as the winter is disappearing. Add in big fluffy clouds to make the sky interesting as well as fun shadows on the ground, and I am a happy camper. That was the scene that I saw Sunday on a bike ride, so after I regained my ability to stand I headed out to capture some fun light. I went back to a familiar place, Pheasant Branch Conservatory, only this time to the top of a hill and this time all the snow was gone.

It’s kinda sad the polarities that I jump between with my photography. The other day I was ready to throw in the towel, but today I had a lot of fun. Little scary actually. At first I was thinking that it is because I tie my “success” on any given day to my overall success as a photographer.  At the same time, I know that not all days are good days with this craft. It was not until I talked with my insightful and understanding wife that I realized that it might be a bit more to it than that. She mentioned that I am excited about some of my photos, like the missionaries in Bangkok for example, because of the story that they tell and what stands behind them. When I am taking photos of things with less obvious stories (trees, grass, snow, leaves) I see less meaning in the photos instead of enjoying them. Maybe that is why I fell like none of those photos are ever meaningful, because they don’t have the same type of story to them as Scott in California. Today I tried an experiment, to just take photos and see them as just that, images of something, not trying to tell a story that will compel me to feel something. Now that said, I do know that nature, landscape and abstract photography can tell a story and make the viewer feel something, but I am not that intelligent…yet. Also, I do not claim to have this all figured out because I bet I will revisit these conflicting emotions soon, but at least I am starting.