Spread My Wings Out In To The Dark

Strangely enough, Brittney Spears' "Femme Fatale" has been the soundtrack to my Easter weekend between burning it in Isaac's on my work break to singing every word today on the drive to Boiling Springs. But those eight words have seem to struck me the hardest tonight.

 

 I feel like lately, I've been spreading my wings into the dark a lot. A few months ago, I was given a camera and sent to France with only the hopes of crisp pictures. I never thought I'd be flipping through photography guides, books and blogs.. trying to follow countless tutorials on new techniques and editing photos (which, honestly, I hate to do). 

I don't consider myself a photographer, I don't consider myself good at what I do but everyday, I wake up with an itch to shoot, to capture, to collect moments on "film" (so to speak).  I find myself watching the world outside my car window like I'm looking through a lens. Debating what ISO is appropriate, figuring out what f stop would really do the scene justice - and then reminding myself to keep my eyes on the road.

Today, I started an inspiration journal. A place to keep photos, projects, goals, blog addresses, favorite manual settings, Aperature preset forums. Something to keep me accountable, something to make sure that this "OH point and click" becomes a more thought out and deliberate process. 

 

In the meantime, the Easter Bunny made my goals a bit easier with a beautiful (and tall) tripod, tucked behind a basket of healthy-gluten-free goodies (yum!). This week, I will be shooting photos of the Blue Heron and our food to recompose our webpage. I'm working on making myself reliable, one step at a time.

I don't really expect to work miracles, to make something big of this but if one day, I can photograph my children like Kelle Hampton or Beth Fletcher, well, it'll be worth the while. I like the idea of freezing time. Of capturing light filled with memories. My mom always made it a point to get everything on film (35mm, developed, in a canister). If you don't believe me, I have a hundred page scrapbook to prove it. Now, I'm trying to make sure that the rest of my life is so meticulously recorded.

 

I'll fly away on a trip to your heart.