Ansel Adams I Am Not, But I Keep Taking Pictures Anyway

For as long as I can remember I have loved photography. Through the years I've purchased expensive cameras, taken photography classes and taken thousands of photos.

At one point I even had a dream of becoming a nature photographer. That obviously didn't pan out, but regardless of that, my love for nature photography has never waned.

Despite the fact that I don't make any money from it, I still take hundreds, even thousands of nature photographs each year.  (All the nature photos you see here were taken by me.)

This is self-care. This is one way that I show myself love - by tapping into something that brings me joy, and allowing myself time to do it.

No, I will never become wealthy by selling my photos. I will never be featured in a photography magazine or win a contest. I will never be like my photography idols John Shaw, Galen Rowell,  and Ansel Adams, all of whose works and lessons I have studied at great length. 99% of the photos I take are only seen by me.

But I keep taking nature photographs because I love to do it. And I love what I capture. And most importantly, I love what I see. When I am walking outside in nature, my eye always catches that lone flower, or fencepost, or tree, or bird. My eyes are always looking. And seeing beauty. Every day. And that is such a gift - to be able to see beauty every day, despite the fact that life can be hard, and that some days really suck sometimes. Through all the painful times, and difficulties in life, I have found solace in nature, and in capturing it's beauty.

 When we have that one thing (maybe you have more than one!) that can soothe us, that brings us peace - it makes all the difference. Especially through the hard times. Self care, and allowing ourselves time to do things that we love, just for us, is one of the most important parts of life. This is how we free our soul, how we live in the moment, how we enjoy our limited time here on earth. 

I understand that when others are walking or hiking or traveling with me, my "habit" might seem annoying. It's very likely that I will constantly stop and say "Just a minute. I see something. I want to take a picture." I don't know if it bothers others. Sometimes I mumble a little apology, while knowing full well that I probably couldn't stop myself even if they asked me to. Correction, I know that I wouldn't want to stop. Because for me, this is living. This is loving life. In small ways, all day long. And I am grateful for this gift that I give myself. 

I hope you have something that you love to do. Something that you do just for the heck of it. Because it brings you joy. I hope you find time in your busy day to do the thing that you love. Take care of yourself today and every day.

Go and do, with grace.

xo
Nancy