For the first 50 years of my life, my perfectionist self mistakenly believed it was all about knowing more, getting it right, planning, attempting to prevent bad things from happening, and keeping all of my chicks in a row. It took me this long to discover that the JOURNEY is all that matters. This quote from Gilda Radner sums it all up:

"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
"


Monday, June 6, 2011

Somewhere, Right Now, At this Moment...

A great thing happened on Saturday!

It may not seem so exciting to some,
but for me it brought back a lot of memories.

It brought back memories of a day in 1977
when I spent $300 for my first nice camera.
I couldn't put it down.
A whole new world had opened up for me.

On Saturday,  my friend Andrew
made the best purchase of his life.
He bought a sweet Canon 5D!
He plans to minor in Photography in college,
so he will no doubt put it to good use.

I recognized the look on his face - probably much the same as mine that day back in 1977.

I couldn't begin to count the number of pictures I have taken since then.

I found this article on a photography blog that pretty much explains why photography is so GREAT!



Somewhere, right now, at this moment....

A photographer is preparing to make a photograph that may change someone’s life, forever.

A mother glances at a photograph of her now grown son, when he was only 14. It makes her smile, and remember that time when…

A photographer is awaking, ready to embark on the biggest job of his career. Anxiety and excitement fill his thoughts… and he carefully prepares.

A photograph is being shown to someone who never thought they could look that way. They can’t wait to share it. The photographer smiles.


Somewhere, right now, at this moment…

Someone is writing their two week notice. They have been planning for this for years, and it is time. 
Trepidation, excitement and fear and wonder all make for a bit of nervousness. But they know they have to do this.

A photographer put the finishing touches on the new portfolio. It will be called in day after tomorrow… but he doesn’t know that now.

A photographer is going through an edit of the best work she has ever done. It all came together on this shoot, and she is absolutely thrilled to be able to show the client.

A photograph is being made of someone who is dying. The image will be a last remembrance of their life for the ones who will miss them. The photographer fights back tears, but works with a smile to make the shot.

A photographer just took a photograph that will change the way thousands, maybe millions of people think about something important. 

Somewhere, right now, at this moment…

An editor is preparing to assign a photographer to a project that will result in an image that will shock and surprise everyone.

A photographer sits at a computer carefully retouching a photograph for a new client. It has taken a couple of hours, but it is close to perfection… just one more layer and…

A bride has made the decision, and a photographer is about to receive a call.

A photographer has reached out for a mentor, and a photographer has responded with guidance and help. It will forever change both of their lives.

A photographer suddenly understands something about her own work. She saw it while shooting today, and it just felt right. A style is evolving.

Somewhere, right now, at this moment…

A young person is picking up a camera for the first time. We don’t know their name… but we will someday. 

A hobby is becoming a passion for a photographer. The passion will become their vocation and avocation soon.

A camera is being focused on a subject, and decisions are being quickly made, and the inevitable shutter click will record something we haven’t seen before.

Somewhere, right now, at this moment, something that will happen only once in a lifetime is happening… and a photographer is there to record that instant, that tiny fraction of a moment that a photograph records. It is time frozen, a moment recorded forever, to be held in the time it was made, while the rest of the world grows old.
It is a photograph. 

Somewhere, right now, at this moment…

A photographer is making something magical, unique, important, remembered, and special.
That’s pretty cool, if you ask me.

1 comment:

  1. Hi Gayle...I just read a quote by Eudora Welty that goes along with this post:
    "A good snapshot stops a moment from running away"
    Ann

    ReplyDelete