The beauty of photography

I was an avid reader when I was young; in fact, I read whenever I was not in school. My Dad and I had a bedtime ritual (three visits) ending with my father taking away my book for the night. When I wasn’t reading, I was making up stories.

And early on I realized that it was easier to make up stories with some inspiration. I turned to anything my eyes would fixate, and my imagination would take it from there. Some of my stories were long, and sometimes what had grabbed my attention couldn’t be found a second time. A butterfly in flight, a dandelion losing its seeds to the wind, the waves, a baby smiling, a bird grabbing a seed from your hand.

I appreciate being in nature

The revelation happened when I linked together finding something visual that appealed to me, repelled me, motivated me, infuriated me, softened me and the capability of capturing this visual.

The turning flashbulb!

I bought my first photo film and flashcubes with my allowance of 2 weeks. I also saved up enough to get the film processed. I don’t recall what I photographed, but I recall the exact moment I went with my mother to a stand-alone little booth in the middle of some parking lot where one person took in films to be developed, and photos to hand out to customers. I was hooked!

With my first paycheck from my first fulltime job, I bought myself a 35mm totally manual Pentax K-1000. The first picture I took using Fuji Slide film was one of the chandeliers at the National Art Center in Ottawa.

I’ve never looked back. Photography grounds me.

Photography allows me to get lost in the subject I am visually framing. I pay close attention to details. Macro photography is my favourite type of photography. I have spent hundreds of hours getting lost in macro photography. I love my garden which is a constant source of endless amounts of potential subjects.

Photographing fruits, vegetables, plants and flowers makes me appreciate the cycles of nature. Photographing animals makes me connect with them and learn about them.

Photographing people makes me very happy. I try to find the essence of someone and capture it somehow. I like to connect first with my eyes and then with my camera. Can I tell you that I would give gold to get photographs my early childhood, of my father, my mother, my siblings, my childhood house and my of grandmother?

Photography makes me slow down and really look at things in great details. Photography makes me appreciate life. Photography brings me closer to my human subjects (well some non-human ones too!). Photography makes me feel. Photography increases my curiosity about my subjects. Photography paints my life, my thoughts, my likes and dislikes. Photography gives me a unique way to enjoy travelling. Taking photographs helps me dream, influences my writing, makes me recollect and just simply makes my heart sing.

So if you see me around, know my camera is close at hand. Perhaps you will let me capture your essence?


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