amazing grace

image bycitrushearts 

Focusing on gratitude is an amazing practice. Its one of only a few states of mind that can truly shed light into the dark places.

I would venture to guess that almost everyone reading this post would put photography on their list of what they are grateful for in their lives. Not to be over-dramatic but I honestly do not know what or who I would be without it. For me it began as a hobby, turned into a career and has ended up being a part of me that sometimes feels as important as air.

So, I ask you today, what exactly is it about photography that you're most grateful for? How has it shed light in your dark places?

Have you started your Memolio Gratitude Photo Album? If not, today's a great day to start! Memolio is giving away 5 free books to 5 lucky readers. Anyone who comments on this post between now and midnight tonight will be entered into the random drawing. More things to be grateful for!

Comments

[kayla]

would love me some memolio!!!!! thanks for the giveaway!

[robindiane]

I am grateful that photography gives me a way to preserve memories that I can go back and cherish the photographs and the memories later. Thanks for a chance!

[xanthe]

through difficult times, i've found it's important to remember the little blessings. there is always something to be grateful for....x.

[Meg]

Photography has been there for me for my upsand downs, ins and outs. It has been unconditional.

[KL]

I am grateful that photography helps me see the beauty that otherwise I might not notice.

Come on Lady Luck!

[flair4hair ~Kelly]

Lately I am grateful that photography is a way for me to stay creative when my "real" job is slow. I am just a hobbyist, but I might actually sell some photos to supplement my income! I am definitely grateful for that!

[melissa]

photography serves as an outlet from my main gig - SAHM to three. I would lose my mind without the 'just for me' factor it provides.

[cindy]

i'm grateful for finding like minded souls through blogging when it comes to the things i make. lovely giveaway!

[beth]

I'm most grateful for the person I have become while being a phtotographer

taking less for granted....smiling more....having more patience...being more accepting of people....

and now I see everything in a completely new way and light, which makes my world a better place....

[Lu]

I am most grateful for a new way of seeing.

[Sandy]

I am thankful I have the opportunity to be a photographer of everyday!

[Leah]

Oooh I'd love to win!

Photography is HIGH on my list of things I'm grateful for. Like, just after family.

[Marty]

Never have I been able to find another place that is at once so much me and so much not...somehow by looking through the viewfinder I step outside of myself and enter a world that isn't part of who I am...and somehow during that moment...whatever I'm focusing on enters into me and it becomes part of who I am...it never happens the same way...sometimes it's an even exchange...a giving and a taking...other times I just take it in...and then there are the times when I'm changed simply by leaving part of me behind.

[Becky]

I am grateful to have something in common with so many others out there. Photography has allowed me to see the beauty in everything.

Would love to win an album book... sign me up!

[Barbi]

I am grateful for so many things but my daughters and my hubby are what I am most grateful for. And photography helps to preserve some of those wonderful moments in our lives together. Thanks for the chance to win.

[angel]

I'm grateful that Memolio has thrown us such a cool opportunity!!!

[Arlene]

I love this site! I am starting some books now. I hope I can get them in the US. :/

[Arlene]

I forgot the I'm grateful for the memolio site AND yours!

[georgia]

i was just thinking about this last night. i bought a very simple camera just so i could take pictures at the zoo when i went with my husband last year for the first time in 20 years. i did not know it would turn into a hobby or dare i say passion} of mine. but it did. and i think the reason why is that it has filled some voids in my life and got me through some rough patches. and it has given me the creative outlet i sought for so many years. i don't think it will ever be a career--at least not a full-time one. but i love it and am pretty sure i always will. for THAT i am truly grateful.

great post.

[hanna]

I'm so grateful for my little son and my family.

[jenna]

i'm grateful for tiny beautiful moments that happen everyday. I find it easier to notice them through my lens.

[kristin]

photography for me has forever heightened my senses. i no longer coast through life. i can't help now but see the details. sometimes to a fault. a simple drive to the store now has me gazing out in all directions seeking the beauty around me. i now find myself stopping the car, hopping out, getting on my belly and taking a shot that before i would have just driven by. i am so grateful for these "new" eyes.

[Donna]

My camera is a daily accessory and I'm grateful for the hobby! I'm also grateful for generally good health and my 3 grandsons!(Who suffer pretty gracefully at the constant photography)

[Melissa]

I could make a list pages and pages long...but I most grateful for the condfidence that my photography gives me, and also those I photograph. I am grateful that through photography I can *show* others how beautiful they are. My favorite moment with every client is when they look at photographs of themselves and they realize that they are beautiful. You can see their entire countenance change. It is the best. I wonder if they know how much I take away from my time with them.

[Crystal]

Photography makes me look closer - and remember - the little pieces of each day. Sometimes the big worries take over but there are so many small things that together add up to be momentous when I consciously am grateful.

[Sandra]

I am so grateful for the way photography has changed my life....in more ways than I can count. I look at everything differently, noticing the small things, the details, and becoming ever more mindful of the beauty around me....every where and in every person.

[Emma]

I am new to Memolio and wow - what a fun idea! :)

Photography lets me celebrate some of the beauty I see. Often that's a tree or flowers, but sometimes it's graffiti or a crumbling building or...of course!...my cats! :) I feel like photography sometimes lets me absorb something I've seen more deeply than I would have otherwise.

[Jade Sheldon]

Photography has given me a better understanding of who I am. It has given me a way to express myself... given me strength... has made me more confident... has enhanced my artistic skills. Photography has also allowed my boyfriend and I to grow closer: it's something we love to do together. I can't wait to see how my photography grows and what the next few years will bring...

[Jacqueline]

I am grateful that photography has opened up my eyes to the world around me. I notice things I've never noticed before! And that it helps me remember some wonderful moments in my life.

[Alicia]

Photography allows me to see, to look and find truth in the moments I capture.

[Alyssa]

Photography is an amazing facilitator to help us slow down, notice, see what we wouldn't otherwise. Through all of that, so many more opportunities to see things we're grateful for!

[Alli]

I'm grateful that photography has taught me to appreciate the beauty in every single day of my life. Even when I don't have a camera in my hands, I see the world with new eyes.

[Kylie]

Photography has helped me in so many ways. I am also so grateful for so much more tho, recently I have started writing in a gratitude journal daily, and it is doing wonders for my mind and soul.

[Sharon]

I am thankful for photography, but also photographers--who inspire me, and keep me going, and help me to see beauty when I am having trouble on my own.

[Beth H]

Yes, definitely grateful for photography- what it captures, how it connects people. And loving all the fun ways to show off our photos, like Memolio!

[Chris]

I'm grateful for photography because it has become my 'drug of choice', and when my son was in the hospital a couple of weeks ago, photography was the only thing I had control over. I don't know what I would do without it.

[Krista]

I am grateful for sites like this that give me ideas and inspiration for my photos.

[darrah]

I am grateful for photography for so many reasons. If I had to pick just one, it would have to be that it helps me slow down, appreciate the world around me, and find the light, even on my darkest days. (Okay, that was three things!)

[Puna]

Photography has let loose my creativity. We are made to be creative. A person needs that...

[Lily]

I try to take a photo each day and share it on my blog.
And the search for the "right" pic gives me a joy I would not find in any other way.
When I come groggy from a hard day at work - I find a great piece of nature through my lens.
When I have a great time - I try to capture it, too.
It is my little bit of celebrating my gratefulness.

[Patti]

I am grateful for the new perspective on my fellow man that meeting strangers I've photographed has given me . You may think you do but you never truly know anything about anyone until you take the time to really talk to them. There but for the grace of God go I.

[amanda]

i am grateful for photography because it helped this quiet, painfully shy wallflower talk to people. my camera, my pictures create the opening and the conversation, sharing, and in many cases, friendship, follow.

[Yetta]

I'm new to photography and am enjoying my first class so much, and now I can't leave the house without my camera. I'm grateful for learning something new and finding inspiration on this blog every day.

[Elsie Escobar]

Photography has given me the opportunity to breathe my daughters changes daily. Photographs are moments of sacred remembrance and aha moments that give me a way to honor the love I feel for her whenever my heart feels the need :) I am truly grateful for that

[Kate @ Little House]

What a great give away! Thanks SS and Menolio :)

The picture with this post is beautiful - wonderful hues and an innate restfulness. Ahhhh. :)

[elk]

photography awakened creativity that had been simmering on the back burner for a few years~

[Sylvia]

Photography has given me a way to appreciate what I had taken for granted in my life. Grabbing that camera, being aware of my surroundings, taking a deep breath and taking a photograph of something lovely is truly....priceless.

This is my first time posting on your blog. Thank you so much for sharing your inspiring words and love for our art.

[janine]

For me, photography helps me to see things I would otherwise miss. It might be something pretty that nature has thrown out there or the way the light touches my son's curls, but more often than not it helps me to see that life is good and that I am so incredibly lucky to be living it. I haven't started my memolio book but it's my project for next weekend - they look so cute!

[Jenny Rebecca]

I'm grateful that my husband has a job after 11 months of being unemployed.

[Mira]

Yes! So very grateful for my photography. The creative expression that's all mine, while being a SAHM. And the unveiling, the lessons, of seeing beauty, of seeing darks and lights. Of capturing precious fleeting moments in time, that are also somehow timeless. I LOVE the memolio books and do hope to make one. A giveaway would be delightfully appreciated!