Anyway, by my teens I was taking nature photos that were (I am
told) very good. Then somewhere around then I discovered girls
and my interest in nature was put on the back burner for a decade
or so.
What follows is more or less where I am now, how I go about
photographing these days, not the somewhat long journey of how I
got here.
I am not a “gotcha” photographer. My interest in chasing down
critters and capturing their photos has passed. I did that and never
liked it too well at best, and gradually that kind of photography lost
interest for me. It was too much like taking snapshots, just because
I could and not always because I wanted to or that the subject was
that interesting to me.
Today you could perhaps call me a photographer of the “found,”
subjects that I just come across when I take my camera out in the
woods or garden. And for something to be “found,” in my eyes it
has to appear beautiful to me. Notice, I said, “to me” and not to you.
Taking pictures for others as a primary motivation might be good for
professional photographers, but I have no intention of making
money from photography. I do it for the beauty of it, so beauty is my
main motivation.
Years ago if I came across a scene or critter that was remarkable I
would photograph i, but looking at these shots later they seemed to
be just snapshots of something I didn’t really care about. These
years I walk on by unless I am struck by the natural beauty of what
I am seeing. Only then will I photograph it.
I may be looking at a beautiful flower, but unless I can see the
beauty right here and now, unless I am moved by it, I won’t
photograph it. And I have to relax when I go out photographing. My
day-to-day job (yes I still work a fulltime job) is busy enough to
distract me from what is really important in life, so just walking
outside with a camera in my hand does not equal good photos. I
have to unwind.
It takes time for me to relax and open my eyes to what is sublime.
There are days I can walk for a long time before seeing anything
worth photographing. And at other times everywhere I look is
incredibly beautiful. Does this tell me something? Sure does. It tells
me that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that what we see