Hello my friends, it has been awhile since my latest blog, I apologize. As Ferris Bueller instructed us, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Well, I think we all were pretty shocked when life came to a screeching halt in March of 2019, just as we left the Island of Hawaii. As of this writing~756,000 people in the US have died of COVID-19 and almost 5 million worldwide. Life stopped, businesses closed, jobs were remote, people sheltered in place, and masks were worn. I am one of the fortunate people, in that COVID did not directly effect my immediate family but I have heard stories from close friends that are heart breaking. I count my blessings everyday that my family has made it through this storm and all are healthy and thriving. I hope this finds you all unscathed from this pandemic as well or at the very least starting to heal from illness or loss of a loved one. I think we are trending to a healthier time and that we will all be back to a new normal soon!
My natural world was a saving grace through this historical time. Being outside, breathing fresh air, tracking wildlife and grabbing some decent photos has been a tremendous outlet. Posting to social media helped me connect with family, friends, and other nature photographers worldwide as we all struggled to be “locked down”. However, I felt compelled to post daily and that started to get repetitive, exhausting, and I wasn’t feeling happy in the shots that I was getting. I switched to videography and spent 6 months filming the "Life of Osprey," I'm so very proud of this little documentary but yet...I can't get views and that is disappointing. It gave me great joy to be with those osprey and that is what I should hold on to not what social media dictates but it was a crushing blow to my motivation.
At the same time, our children were moving out and getting settled into their adult lives. We are “empty nesters” now. On top of that, our dearest Labrador retriever also passed away after 13 years of amazing companionship. My job as full time mom has transition into a supportive phone call and a listening ear. 24 years of taking care of everyone else, planning my photography outings and time on the computer around busy schedules. Thinking of everyone else first for so long, this is an adjustment. It’s truly an interesting feeling getting up in the morning knowing that the day is mine. I don’t have to plan my hikes, I don’t have to rush my post-processing to throw up an image on Instagram or on the website, I can take more time for myself and my photography and grow.
So this time has been very contemplative. I feel as though my photography now can make the transition from a hobbyist to a more professional and considerate artist. I’ve been working more on composition and story telling instead of just throwing up any and every image. So many years of great birds but many are of the same species, boring! Recently, I cleaned up my website and Fine Art site to what I think personally are the best images. I’m sure someone professionally would advise me to take down many more images but I also use the website as a personal journal so there are images that are for my personal memory too...maybe that’s not the best approach for a business but I’m still working on it, it's so hard to hit DELETE. It’s been a struggle though to figure out how to translate this personal growth into tangible professional growth. I don’t know how to measure success in this field. Photography for me has never been about making money or helping with the bills although that would be nice! I thought for a while it was about “likes” on social media platforms but that didn’t get the traction that I was hoping for and trying to learn how to use the Instagram algorithms is a whole different beast that honestly I can’t understand. It was exhausting mentally and taking away from the joy of being outside. I want to get that joy and passion back. I love abstract photography and exploring new photography techniques. I want to continue to move and grow. I want to be considered a skilled artist not just the mom who took photos in her spare time.
So this is 50, more contemplative, more creative, more patient, more thoughtful, more joyful, more kind, more healthy, more prayerful, more thankful, more loved. I’ve always followed Ferris’s advice but I’m going to stop and look around awhile so I don’t miss anything just a little bit more! Learning new techniques, traveling and taking a deep breath hopefully will produce new images that will be composed better, be contemplative, be more creative, or INSPIRE a new generation of naturalist or artist. God Bless, MC
Working with Water Droplets
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