Happiness in Life: Photography

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This summer I have discovered another source of happiness – taking photos. With my smart phone, no less.

Several weeks ago, I commented to a friend that one day I would like to take a basic photography course. While reading Tammy Strobel’s RowdyKittens.com blog two days later, I was tickled to discover she was offering a 15-day mini-course online, called Everyday Magic.

The little girl I once was used to pretend to take pictures. The summer I was seven, my parents took their only trip to New York City, and they brought the dearest tiny cameras back for my sister and me. They were no more than 1.5 inches in any direction. I was in nirvana.

Any camera I have ever had was a point-and-click. No lenses or other paraphernalia. No settings other than flash on/off. I sought no training about perspective, lighting, composition. All of those labels lived in a mysterious world.

Let the Decoding Begin

The new Happiness has 2 main factors:

* 1) The structure of the course includes daily assignments. These are very easy to follow. Above all, I have been entreated to slow down and to sharpen my observational skills of the Everyday Magic that always surrounds me.

* 2) In following the assignments, I have learned to use some of the features of the camera. This is the very same camera that has been mostly dormant inside a phone I bought last August when my previous mobile fell apart. I did not investigate the camera features on my own, maybe it was my techno-phobia. (What I did do this spring was to play with the point-and-click-ness of the droid to capture blossom images in the yard. And I figured how to email them to myself, then found out this was using massive chunks of data usage.)

The result of it all has been my childlike delight in taking pictures. It really doesn’t matter much what the subject matter is – – I experiment with different angles and distances, with different features of the camera and of software program options once I download the pics. (Right before the course began, I went to the Verizon Wireless store to learn how to transfer photos to laptop – yay.)

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I want to share an excerpt from the little photo journal Tammy suggested we keep. On Day #1, we were encouraged to answer the question, “Why do I take photos?”

A 1-word answer –> BEAUTY. Photos of the beauty in nature. It is simple, real, divine. Experiencing, appreciating, the beauty in nature opens my heart – – to gratitude, love, wonderment. My inner child adores taking the pictures. Using the camera in the droid (even without knowing yet how to zoom and whatever other actions are possible) allows for close-up details my own eyes are not able to discern. Love the digital immediate gratification, to see the finished product right away!

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Another bit of the Happiness is sharing a couple photos here and there. Above is a close up of a tulip poplar leaf after a gentle rain. To the right you will see one of several shots I took on my father’s screened porch, where we have been enjoying some evening meals lately. And, a tiny pale pink rose from an enormous rose bush in my aunt’s yard; I turned it black-and-white via a thingy on the camera.

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Dear Reader, I invite you to discover more happiness in life. What activities light you up? Is there something on your life list you might explore?

Blissings, Dena

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