These Precious Things...Nature

"Remember, remember, this is now, and now, and now. Live it, feel it, cling to it. I want to become acutely aware of all I've taken for granted."

~Sylvia Plath

There are so many reasons that I am in love with photography. The first thing that I recognize the most, is that I tend to witness life from a searching perspective. I try to appreciate the beauty in tiny, unsuspecting moments. I believe if I wasn't always looking for an image to create, I might have missed these instances.

I remember my first experiences with the visual medium so clearly. I believe my first photo session started at 10 years old. My luminous cousin Lauren (see below)can attest to the hilarious costume ideas and set-ups that I would suffer her through. If I was evil and granted permission (ha ha) I might post them here strictly for evidence sake. There was frequent bad makeup and insane hats in the mix. My parents had bought me a tiny pink camera and I could hardly wait for the pictures to be developed with every roll I finished. Riding my bike up to the corner store only to hear, "Two more days until they are ready." An agony of defeat only felt before one-hour photo was created.

Later, an old video camera with no film (it did make a serious recording noise) found in a closet of my parents home, became my tool of documentation. If, the camera had actual film...you would surely be watching a post of the kids in my neighborhood and our music video version of "Hungry Like The Wolf" by Duran Duran.

It didn't matter if the pictures were horrible or if there were no pictures at all! What had my attention was the fact that I could try to freeze time exactly the way I saw it, as I wanted it to be. It might be a normal Tuesday afternoon but we turned our family basements into production studios and movie sets. I could not WAIT until the date on my pickup slip indicated that I could see what the click of my shutter button turned those moments into.

I hope to post a series of photos to represent this notion called, "These Precious Things". They might not always be profound, but this moves me to keep searching for what I might take for granted, the things I love in life that even on my worst day, make me smile. I also hope that you might learn something more about me along the way.

I start this series with...Nature.

What could be more beautiful and free than a wild flower blooming, with no caution, straight from the ground and into all of our senses? Simple, wondrous, precious.

If you feel the urge to share what you find precious, PLEASE do so. I am always looking for inspiration and what is precious to you, might become just that much more to me.

xoxoxox.
bethelyn