Purpose

I've decided to change up this blog yet again. I think I'm going to post a photo on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I'll probably continue to post some thoughts on Sundays, which means all I'm really doing is cutting out the verses. To be honest, I was posting the verses more for me than for anyone else. If you really liked the verse postings, let me know and I'll bring it back.


Earlier tonight I pondered all the different blogs I've tried to start and how each time I've struggled to figure out the purpose of each blog, I think I finally realized why I struggle. In my opinion, my best thoughts are the thoughts that come out in conversations with others. It's through conversations that light bulbs come on, dots are connected, and I have, "ah ha!" moments. A blog is a pretty one-sided conversation.


There's just something different about photography, though. I love taking photos. I love doing what I can to capture a moment's good side. A certain angle, certain lighting, and certain camera settings can make something ugly, beautiful and vice versa. A photographer has the capability to lead the viewer to see something in a new and/or specific way.


Some people are purists when it comes to photography: no Photoshop. I think it's fun to play around with editing tools, seeing how small changes can completely change the mood of the photo. Other times I use Photoshop to edit the photo in such a way as to make the picture look more how I remember the moment in my head. This, of course, is assuming that the moment in my head is the most accurate representation of the moment.


Another aspect of photography I've noticed I enjoy is I like hiding behind the camera. When I'm the photographer, I pretend I'm hiding under an invisibility cloak, capturing pure moments.


Sometimes it's been hard to be the photographer. There have been some events for which I've specifically chosen to leave the camera at home so I experience the event instead of capturing it. This can be a really hard decision. It's kind of like Heisenberg's uncertaintly principle: the more precisely you measure a particle's position, the less accurately you can measure the particle's velocity and vice versa. The more I attempt to capture a moment, the less I am able to experience the moment and vice versa. At events where I chose to leave the camera at home, I do my best to take as many mental pictures as possible in hopes that the memories will last as long as a photo would. But just like photos, memories can be unintentionally and intentionally altered.


I've strayed far from the topic of the changing purpose of this blog. Oh well.


As I go back to making this more of a photography blog, I hope you enjoy see small moments of my days in the ways I choose to remember them and show them.