I Photograph

I walk, I look, I see, I photograph. ~Leon Levinstein, 1955

Seems like I’m always leaving something at Carrie’s house. After Bryan’s birthday weekend, I realized that I had left my two round brushes – for three days I walked around with frizzed out, curly hair until I got a box in the mail from my dear friend.

And then after Spring Break, we weren’t on the road home for 15 minutes before I realized that I had left my camera on her kitchen counter. I called her the second I realized I had forgotten it and of course she told me she’d get it in the mail ASAP. But for three long days I felt like I was missing an appendage. Until then, I hadn’t realized how much taking pictures has become part of my daily life.

Admittedly, I’ve spent the better part of the past year or so studying photography and things like ISO, aperture, shutter speed, composition, white balance, etc. Learning those important elements has helped me to take better photos and I’m really proud of how the exposure and composition of my photos have improved. This Autumn Clematis is a perfect example.

I still love this photo that I took back in the Fall of 2010, but now I can see that if I had increased the ISO I could have gotten a little sharper image. Plus the exposure and white balance could have been tweaked. With just a few simple adjustments in Photoshop Elements, I now have an image that looks much more reminiscent of those beautiful blossoms I saw that perfect Sunday afternoon.

I think happiness is a lot like like photography – sometimes it’s just in the way we see things. And I think what I love most about my journey in photography is that it has helped me to more more accurately capture in a photo what I see with my minds eye. Whether it’s the flowers in my yard, my messy kitchen, or my delightful daughter, for me taking photos is about being inspired by the beauty that surrounds me everyday and celebrating this ordinary, wonderful life that I am so blessed with.

That’s why I photograph.

Peace, Kelly