Christmas Shopping

One of the things I want to work on is my camera-courage, the gutsy take-the-photo-anyway approach that helps to get the shots I want. It's hard to sneak shots of people. People have camera magnets wired into their systems. If you have a camera, you are immediately on their radar. Even in my hired sessions, I find that I need at least 20 minutes with a person or a group to find them in my viewfinder.

Last year, my husband took me and my camera to Charleston's King Street for a crisp walk and some photo fun, which I had. He corralled the little one while I went "shopping" with my camera. We didn't spend anything, except for lunch, but the take-home was more than enough Christmas for me!

(Image © Informal Moments Photography)

Forty-Nine - Freedom that is Wild

This morning, I couldn't find a picture to take - nothing was wild enough, crazy enough. dark enough, intense enough. I was doing insane things with my camera settings and nothing felt like enough risk. So I went to play the piano. And tried to sing. Which usually helps. And it didn't this time.

I was ready to burst into tears and start screaming mindlessly when my husband, who had been out grocery shopping, dived into the house carrying a bouquet of spiky wild orange tulips, just in time to hold me while I fell apart in his arms, blubbering nonsense about how he'd love me even if I wasn't everything I wanted to be, how I needed him, how much I loved him too...

This is my moment for today, the one that said, "I'm alive, and I'm free." There is nothing holding me back but me, and even that is released into love...

Forty-One - Overexposed

I figured out as I was processing my photos from today that my camera ISO was set at 1600 (which also explains yesterday's shot!). If you know anything about photography, you'll understand why this would wash everything out and dump a lot of grain in. It wasn't intentional, but hey, at least I got something shot today.

I hope your Valentine's weekend is lovely and inexpensive and spent with the people you love.