Eat Pray Love and Take Pictures

 

As I join Elizabeth Gilbert on her journey to India, the epiphanies come fast and furious. That may seem a little un-Yogic of me but I think I’m just wired that way. The first few pages have my mind racing as I read the lines that seem to speak to me directly (not to mention everyone else who has read and revered this best seller). It only takes a few paragraphs for me to acknowledge that I LOVE Yoga more than any other practice I have attempted, for one. And secondly, that my passion for photography equals, if not supersedes my love of Yoga. Here comes the Light Bulb Moment. Could it be that my zeal for both of these disciplines stem from the same inner desire? I think it’s quite possible. Hear me out.

I have read and reread the early part of the 38^th Chapter (or Tale as Mr. Gilbert considers it) and have nodded that indeed, what she writes about Yoga is all very true in my experience and is precisely why I love it as much as I do. Of course I don’t practice like I could but this isn’t the time to rehash that old story. What I find fascinating is that there is more to here that perhaps I realize. I was astounded to discover that when I replace the word Yoga with Photography, the text still makes perfect sense to me.

Disclaimer—A note to Ms. Gilbert—I do not wish to offend you or anyone else here and only take these liberties to illustrate my point.

I read these lines out loud to myself, “[Photography] is about…the dedicated effort to haul your attention away from your endless brooding over the past and your nonstop worrying about the future so that you can seek, instead, a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise.” Exhale.

Here’s what I am longing to hear—do any of you find yourself on a similar quest? Are you seeking “a place of eternal presence from which you may regard yourself and your surroundings with poise?" and if so can you find that place using photography as your Guru? Too far fetched?  Well, more simply, do you have any images you've captured that as that shutter clicked, helped you to “haul your attention away” from all distraction so that you could focus on something divine in yourself or the world around you?  I would really love to see some of those photographs. Are you willing to enlighten us?

Om.

Season Speak

Winters in Southern California are mild to say the least. The weather we experience is but a breeze in the howling wind of what true seasonal weather should be. Mind you, it’s totally fine by me and one of the reasons I can’t imagine leaving my native California. This season, although still fairly temperate, we have had some weather. Storm systems have been flying through here like they’re in a hurry to get somewhere. Like another state perhaps where they can really wreak havoc. But as they race past they leave a lingering trail of the visual delights that So Cal photographers like myself rarely witness.

This morning as I set out on my daily rounds, the landscape here was luminous. With the air washed clean of the normal daily haze, the earth glowed a saturated green and the clouds looked like something from a dream. A tumultuous storm brewed over the mountains and a rainbow playfully danced in and out of my rearview mirror. I couldn’t help but feel like I was being romanced by my surroundings. Winter here can do that for you. It can tenderly remind you that everyday isn’t just like the one that came before it. Receiving a gift of perspective like that is invigorating. Each day is indeed a new day that begins fresh and clean and the possibilities are endless. Sometimes you can see it in the sky. It’s no wonder I’ve been carrying my camera with me everywhere I go.

I love to see how you translate the season with your cameras. I've been intoxicated by the images in our Flickr pool like those from  joannerim, strawberrygoldie, monsoonaz3 , carol brown and tonyapool.  Wow. Just plain wow. Keep them coming ladies. I feel a deep cleansing breath coming on and I like it.

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Now onto some Shutter Sisters business—

First, our apologies to everyone for the inability to subscribe to our feed. We are thrilled that you are so eager to get us into your readers! Just so you know, we are aware of the problem and promise that you all will be the first to know when we’ve got it worked out so hold tight!

And on a more fun note, we are pleased to announce that we will be kicking off our very first photo contest next week. Are you are ready to get down and dirty for this one? We thought we’d give you a week to get a jump start on shooting some pix to submit for the CleanWell Moments Photo Contest so get clickin’! Get the nitty gritty at ‘click with us'.

Seven AM

Nature’s gifts never cease to delight and inspire me. I’m often drawn to the smallest, most delicate of objects in my home, on the street, out and about. If something calls out to be noticed I rarely nod and just forget it. Inexorably guided by my passion to create photographs, I have to stop everything I am doing and get a camera.

I discovered this lone leaf the other morning looking like it had been meticulously placed there on the lid of our trash can just for me. As I was in the midst of emptying the garbage it caught my eye, still bleary with the morning, as it seemed to be boasting its juxtaposition of dainty ruffles and crooked lines. Accentuated by the soft early morning light (a contrast against the dark slick surface ) it stopped my in my tracks. I stood there in wonder…in the street…in my pajamas. And then of course, I got a camera.

How is it that no matter how many leaves, pods or blossoms I study, I am continually amazed at how striking and inimitable each one is? And then I notice the way each photographer can uniquely capture them in a photograph and I am forever charmed by their beauty.

Finding my Center

What drives me to see photographic images everywhere I look? How, when life can be messy and the world ugly, can I just put my blinders and find beauty in even the unlikely places? Why is it impossible for me not to seek little tidbits of delight in the most mundane moments? When am I not captivated by the way light gives shape to a landscape, illuminates my children or highlights something ordinary that sits on my coffee table?

The answers aren’t clear to me and I don’t really know why I’m asking. But there is something curious here. I do know I am not alone. There is a community of us in which these same questions resonate. The reasons behind them do exist yet they are different for each of us.

For me, I believe that is in these details of daily life that I am delivered. Where there is beauty, there is peace. If I can look around my home, jam packed with vibrant family life (aka, dirty dishes, toys, books, mail, shoes, a ring around the bathtub—need I go on?) and look past the chaos, amidst what often overwhelms me and discover a tiny whisper of wonder, of calm, I am transported to the place within myself where reverie lives.

What about you? How do you answer the whys?