Here are a few shots from my recent hunting trip to Carlsbad beach. Instead of taking time to integrate them into a written piece, or essay, as is my typical modus operandi, I thought I would present the shots and try to let them stand on their own. These were taken with my borrowed Rebel 350D with the stock 18-55mm, if you are into that kind of thing.
I have a camera now.
I’ve always had a love for photography, but somehow I’ve never gotten around to actually picking up a camera. Yet, the desire, the interest has always been there. I have a love for pictures, actual pictures, moments of real life hung suspended in a split second of frozen light.
Alan Watts has a speech talking about desire. In it, he says to ask “what would you do if money were no object.” Whatever you answer is what you should do with the rest of your life. Basically, by removing the fear of failure, you are free to find what you desire your life to be. I’ve asked myself this question many times, and I still don’t have an answer.
But I’m getting closer.
When I ask myself what I would do with my time if money were no object, if failure were no object, a thousand ideas spring to life. I want to write. I want to paint. I want to create, draw, get lost, teach, and travel. I want to capture fleeting moments and preserve them. I want to discover and share what I’ve found. I want to travel.
What I’m beginning to understand, is that all of those things are not mutually exclusive. I don”t have to pick one hat; everything ties together. Still, in that little private space of my mind I would hold an image of my future self. In that image, two things were always clear: I would travel; and I would take pictures.
Yet, I never once picked up a camera.
So a few weeks ago I decided to change that. I borrowed a body and a lens from my mom (Rebel XT and an EFS 18-55mm), and spent the afternoon in a bookstore consuming every scrap of information I could find. The next day I went out with a head overstuffed with technical information and my camera in hand. I tried to take pictures.
I didn’t know what I was looking for. I wandered, I took pictures, and I learned. The shots were competent, but boring and unfocused. It wasn’t until the second day I went out with the camera, that I realized that you can’t force a moment. You can’t force a message into a scene because you think it might be profound. You have to stop searching, and start observing.
The moments will come to you.
Weasel Tea 