finding the beauty in the everyday.

i have no formal training in photography. i would love to take some classes, especially in post-processing and getting completely on the "manual" setting. i understand the basics behind aperture, white balance, ISO and shutter speed, but often wonder how they all go together on manual.

i can tell my mind works through composition, though, and particularly natural light. i'm not crazy about learning "studio" light. i've read websites and books that explain the typical set-ups, and i've seen some amazing pictures come from it. but more and more, i get comfortable with natural light and the wonderful golden hues that i see almost every afternoon.

i drive a lot for my job. especially around 5:30 and 6 in the evening, as the sun is setting over country roads and fields and barns. and I LOVE THIS. i pass the same deteriorating houses and sheds and barns that are shabby--but beautiful. overgrown with vines, in the shadows of bare trees, standing alone in the middle of an unused field--they are a part of eastern north carolina and a reminder of the farms that dotted the countryside so long ago. i've thought of taking my camera with me (and actually had it in my car yesterday for this purpose, before we got sidetracked on the whole psych commitment thing) and i want to document my travels for one week, capturing all of those landmarks that i pass daily and think "that would make an awesome landscape photo."

even today, as i was driving down one of the main highways, i saw a car pulled over right infront of one of my favorite barns. as i drove by, i turned my head quickly to see why they had stopped and found myself looking back into a camera lens. i'm not alone :)

or i'll be sitting in a client's home, talking with them or leading an activity, and it'll hit me--the setting sun will come in the back windows and illuminate a face just right. during the game we're playing outside, i'll find the perfect tree or background and wish i had my camera. my brain doesn't stop thinking in photographic terms, in ways that a musician can pick out a song that no one else hears or an architect pays attention to the subtle nuances in a building's structure. during that golden hour, i see the world through my viewfinder.

so next week i'll keep my camera with me and share some of my photographic spots. i'm excited about this, and i think it will show that between my scenic drive and new-found audio books, i actually don't mind the drive that much. i would rather drive miles on the back country roads than fight traffic on firetower, honestly (a fact which has resulted in researching many "short cuts" that avoid going through town to get home.)

be on the look-out for the photos next week!