snapshots

Everything is a photo op. 

I was driving to Dairy Queen tonight and was stopped at a stoplight. The way the light was filtering through the trees on the next block up made me swoon. "Everything is a photo op" swam through my head. 

I have held this mindset before. The first time was when I discovered photography as a coping mechanism. A camera might as well have been a third limb at that point. I loved what I was doing. I loved the release that came from taking pictures and and the calm that came from playing with them in a bootlegged version of Photoshop. 

My first 365 taught me how to channel this feeling and put it out into the world. I was taking a picture of myself every single day for a year. When inspiration ebbed, that attention to detail and wanting to capture everything caused a shift in me: suddenly, everything was interesting and I had an endless stream of photos to choose from each day. Those days were my favorite, chasing the setting sun home to relax and edit photos. I was excited about what I was doing and I wanted it to last forever. 

Things changed when I started working at the studio. Photography changed for me big time—making it a job took the fun out of it for me when I got home. When it felt like I was lost, I noticed light and the way it danced across my bedroom walls. That's when I knew I could never give this up.

Life now feels very full. I think I've found that balance between a "stable" life and my creative ebb and flow. Life feels colorful and happy and full, and I'm so happy my pictures taken over the last month show that.