While I love actual people as a subject, I feel like abstract photos with simple elements as a subject just draw me in. I can remember when I first started to get to know my camera. I would just lie in the grass on a hot summer evening taking microscopic photos of a blade of grass , or a flower pedal, or a drop of dew for hours. Just lost in time. Yesterday as I sat on the side of the sledding hill watching Seth, I noticed a snowflake land on the windshield. I saw how it was an actual little snow flake, just like the kind we would meticulous carve out in elementary school with our scissors and a piece of loose leaf folded into four. Recently I've been following a photographer and his "snowflake a day journey" ( Don Komarechka). Don captures intense close ups of natural elements. He is a beacon in macro photography. So, of course, I took inspiration from it. Im not near his range of telescopic clarity of course, but its was a fun challenge. I forget how the simple subjects can be so rich in artistic quality, an abstract art in a sense. I usually scrap these pics , or use them for a desktop background every now and then. But, now, I appreciate them again. The work that goes into the image-the patience! It took me and hour just to get half a dozen mildly clear close ups of snow flakes. It took 30 minutes to get a photo of a water drop that froze and then fell in what seemed like a split second. But I felt a little triumph when I finally got it! Most of all- it felt to good to get lost again:)
There is definitely a different dynamic in raising girls versus raising boys. The worry is different. The worry is equal, just different. With my daughter, I have the standard worries, mostly boy worries. Granted, these are things that we haven't encountered yet, non the less, I worry. Will she meet a nice boy when she's ready, will he be a little jerk? Will I have to rough him up ? With Seth, my concern is different- the opposite. Will he be a nice guy? The kind of guy I want my daughter to find. It's a heavy responsibility on my part to bring him up to be the good man he deserves to be . I want him to be one of the nice guys. I usually think of Lynyrd Skynyrd when I think of Seth as a grown adult.Just want him be a simple kind of man!
I know he's only 7, but he has an old soul. He's kind, and sharing- empathetic. On the same token, he can be cranky though- but it's that cute " cranky old man, you don't get offended because he's even cute when he's grumpy" kind of thing. I've come to respect the fact that time goes by much too quickly. Of course I know that photos, and quality time are the obvious ways to make the best of it all. I just wanted to find a way to really make it all count with my one shot. I caught myself being one of those moms. The "babying" kind. Letting him go to bus stop all by himself just because all of the other kids do it, and he wants to be like them- can be a hard adjustment for a mom like me afraid to let go. But, i did it. I felt like, maybe I will just respect his wishes a little , within reason , sometimes. I need to let him advance when he's ready, and maybe this will help him to make good decisions for himself when he's older. Have a mind of his own kind of deal! Regardless, it seems to work for us. I give him respect and admiration and he returns it to me-in abundance. He knows how to love, and be loved in return. It helps me to see this progress that we have. I feel like maybe one day I won't worry about him at all the way things are going. After all, he's already the greatest little guy I have ever known:) So, ALLLLLLLLLLLL that being said, this is a glimpse of Seth. He loves his dog, trains, Pokemon cards and his "men". He loves his best friend Emma, and despite what he say, his sister Chloey too. Of course,m he loves his mom too! I guess he already is a simple kind of guy:) |
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September 2017
CategoriesStephanie J Budden |