Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Get a Hobby 1: Photography


I have always enjoyed taking pictures.  When I was growing up I took pictures of my cousins, my dogs and, on a trip to CA with my aunt and grandmother, Disneyland and those ginormous Redwood Trees!  I even took a course while at college- back in the days of 35mm film- and learned more about processing the film than how to use my camera.  Nevertheless, I enjoyed snapping pictures everywhere.  As the children came along, ample photo opportunities presented themselves every single day as I recorded each daughter's life photographically- which explains why it took me so long to put those 4 scrapbooks together as narrowing down which photos to use is NOT AN EASY TASK.
When Tucker (the most wonderful little dog in the world) and I started our daily walking outside in January-which is very easy around here because it never really gets all that cold here in the lowcountry- I noticed some amazing creatures lurking about where we go to walk.  My absolute favorite was the blue heron, and he was there nearly every single day.  I decided to take my camera on these daily walks and ended up with some amazing photos (due more to my camera than to my ability) and a renewed interest photography.   As the days warmed up, more and more people began coming out to walk and the heron stopped coming as much so I decided to get some bird seed and lure the  back yard birds to the deck rail for some picture taking.  The first day, after sitting for over 2 hours, a little wren finally landed on the railing.  I was so excited that I watched him eat the seed and completely forgot to take a picture.  Good Lord.

Over the last several months, I have gotten better at remembering to take the shot.  I have hundreds of bird pictures including herons, ducks, cormorants, gulls, cardinals, jays, wrens, sparrows, grackles, and a tufted titmouse (identifying birds has also become a hobby).  And squirrels!  Good grief! There are so many squirrels out there.  And Tucker LOVES to chase them up a tree.  I have several pictures of him looking up the tree at a squirrel as the squirrel looks back down at Tucker.  There are pictures of flowers and trees and landscapes.  I even got some nice shots when we got snow this year (yes, I am serious. We actually had SNOW).

Of course, with the temporary addition of the big dog, I don't dare take my camera out on our daily walks.  I'm quite occupied by constantly switching hands with the leashes and protecting my elbows and shoulders from becoming dislocated.  No problem, really, because we have a bird bath in the back yard now and the holidays are fast approaching.  Plus, you never know when grandchildren will show up! 

   









3 comments:

  1. I love your pictures! I have been taking most of the pictures for my blog now since August. I only have a point and shoot but am hoping to "upgrade" to an SLR soon. I have always left the photography to my sister because that was her thing. But I think I secretly had a desire to take better pictures for myself! Thanks for stopping by my site today- have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mother. Would you kindly cut it out with all the not-so-subtle references to your lack of grandchildren? I am NOT amused. Also, the way you worded that part about Tucker and the squirrels made it sound like your dog literally chases them up the tree. Hahaha, Tucker the amazing tree-climbing dog! Lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Great photos! I'm with ya on the inability to take photos while walking the dog. I did actually take photos once while walking my pit/pointer mix and lab/shepherd mix. Did a whole post of photos ... then swore I'd never do it again. Thank God a fox or deer didn't cross our path that day -- I'd have lost an arm ... or at least the camera!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to comment! It makes me feel connected to everyone even though we may live far apart! Have a wonderful day!

 
Design by Imagination Designs
Illustration by MerryLittleDoodle
Background by CinnamonDove