Skip to main content

6 Things I Love About Photography



I enjoy capturing something in a moment that will never be the same again. The subject may remain, but the way it looks at this particular moment, will never be exactly the same in the future. I've learned over the years that if something catches my attention, make time to take the photo then. Don't wait. I've discovered that an interesting dilapidated building may get torn down. Or access to it may change. Nature may take over, obstructing the view with weeds. An engaging bit of graffiti may be painted over.
Graffiti artist - downtown Louisville

I take joy in doing something that has been a part of my life since I was a kid. When I was growing up, my parents had a darkroom in the basement. I spent many afternoons hanging out with my dad, talking with him and watching him develop photos. Seeing a photo magically appear on the paper after emerging from its chemical bath fascinated me. I'm very fortunate to have a close relationship with my parents and we still enjoy taking photos together - even today when we live in different states. My mom has also caught the photography bug over the years, so we always make a point to take a photo road-trip each time we get together for a visit. Fond memories I'll always carry with me.

Photography allows me to reflect back on where I've traveled. The past few months, I've been busy organizing my 5,000+ photos into Lightroom 5. In addition to adding keywords, copyright info, ratings, etc., I've used Lightroom's map module to geotag my travel photos. I'm a geek, I admit. I find it amusing to have a quick visual reference of where I've traveled. (I'm working on getting over my fear of flying, so I've not been out of the U.S. yet, but someday soon.)
I need to get out more. Time to explore out West!

It's an excuse to take the dog for a car ride. I love seeing the happiness and contentment on her face as she hangs her head out the window, sniffing the air, ears blowing in the wind. It always makes me smile every time I look in the rearview mirror at her in the back seat as she makes eye contact with me. I'm pretty sure she's saying, "This is the BEST CAR RIDE EVER!"
Roxy on a car ride returning from hiking in the park.

Re-visiting favorite places. When I go on a photo outing, I can never decide whether to look for new subjects or to re-visit favorite places to see how the subject may have changed since the last time I visited. Locally, I tend to drive around town and stop for a photo when I see something that catches my attention. When I go home to Texas to visit family, one of my favorite places to visit is the Suspension Bridge in downtown Waco.  The 475-foot bridge opened in 1869 and collected its first toll (5 cents at the time) in 1870. I enjoy seeing how the riverwalk has been expanded over the years. It's become a nice area for people of all ages to gather and enjoy the outdoors (even in the hot Texas heat!)
Detail from the Waco Suspension Bridge

Meeting new people through our mutual interest in photography. I'm a member of a local photography group that meets monthly for a photography-related discussion and photo contest. I'm still new to the group, but I've enjoyed talking with other photography folks, finding inspiration in what they're shooting and learning something new at each meeting. 

There are many other reasons why I love photography, but these are the ones that are most important to me. What are the top reasons you enjoy photography? Leave a comment and let me know - I'd love to hear your feedback.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The "Peeping Tom" photographer vs. a subject's right to privacy

Where does a subject's right to privacy begin? A "peeping Tom" photographer/artist, Arne Svenson, in New York took photos of his unsuspecting neighbors through their windows. The photos (including those of children) are now featured in a gallery exhibit in Manhattan. Needless to say, the subjects are not pleased. According to the photographer, no invasion of privacy took place because the subjects in the photos can't be identified. I call B.S. on that. While faces may not be shown, I would bet that someone who knows some of the people in the photos could easily recognize them. I do agree that if you want your daily activities in your home to remain private, then you should close your curtains or window blinds. However, you should also be allowed to assume that your daily activities won't end up being turned into a gallery exhibit, raking in thousands of dollars for the so-called artist. And as this article  points out, people don't pay huge amounts of money...
2 comments
Read more

Would you deface a piece of history for a photo?

I read an interesting article yesterday on CNN. Russian photographer Vadim Makhorov and a group of his friends apparently disregarded rules that prohibit the public from climbing the Pyramids of Giza - just to get a few photos from the top of the pyramids. Were the photos worth it? I'm not sure. Yes, they were nice, but the idea that the photographers not only ignored safety regulations, but risked defacing one of the great wonders of the world - all for the sake of a photo - pissed me off. Now don't get me wrong. Oftentimes I do photograph a subject with the "It's better to ask forgiveness than permission" mantra. But I'm always respectful of my chosen subject, be it a person on the street, a field of wildflowers or a national monument. Of course Makhorov says he "would like to apologize for this ascension. We didn't want to insult anyone. We were just following the dream." Uh huh. He's not apologizing for doing it. He's apologizin...
2 comments
Read more

A Long Absence

It's been five years since my last blog post. Five years. I realize how pitiful that is. Why even bother with a blog if I'm not going to update it, right? Very good question. I started out with good intentions, but...well, you know what they say about good intentions. Part of the delay was due to my procrastination in writing a new blog post. Sometimes writing doesn't come very naturally for me. I struggle with what to write about. Other times an easy topic comes to mind, but my nit-picky nature comes out and it feels like it takes me forever to find the right words. By that point, my interest in the topic has waned and I've moved on to other things. "Squirrel!" Various life events happened during the past few years that resulted in my website and blog being pushed to the back-burner on my priority list. I got married (after waiting 20+ years for it to become legal. YAY for marriage equality!). I changed jobs in 2015 (same organization, different te...
Post a Comment
Read more