And We're Off....

In The Prime of Autumn...

I was marching boldly into January, I really was. Happily working on a new project, setting a new routine, feeling industrious! Till I hit a snag. 

I strongly dislike how fickle technology can be. One minute you're happily working on files, posting in communities on line, and then whammo! The google-verse tells you you don't exist... again. Needless to say, I had a fit. Of the conniption variety. A big hairy conniption type fit if you must know. This happened about a month ago as well! (the inter-web problem, not the fit...) Luckily the house is empty with everyone gone back to school and work, cause it wasn't pretty. All I wanted to do was blog for you all this morning! Simple right?

So what did I do to calm down, and patiently wait for things to be resolved AGAIN, so that I even felt like completing this small task today and not throw my computer out into the ice encrusted snow bank outside my door? And then rain giant anvils down on it.... While lighting it on fire....?

One of my own personal types of therapy is to dig out old photo files. Yes, I keep them all, if not on my hard drive, then in my back up drive and on disk. But I digress, since I know all of you must do the same, as time consuming as it can be. I pull up older files, and the treasure hunt begins! And I start to focus on something that pulls me in, and the stress fades.

I don't know about you, but when I cull images from rambles, trips, and shoots, I go for the obvious winners first. And I work hard at making them terrific. Often I know which ones they are, cause I was excited just to take them in the first place. Then I go back and cull again, looking longer and harder, making sure I didn't miss anything that has potential, cause if I have the time, I include those too if they meet my personal standards in some way. But time, new techniques learned, and insights that come with that passing of time itself always mean that later down the road (sometimes years later) I can open a photo file and see possibilities that I skimmed over...

Today's photo is exactly that. For whatever the reason, I saw it with new eyes today. So I spent a bit of time with it, straightened some perspectives, pulled up detail that had drawn me to the university building to begin with, made sure to keep the integrity of the flaming autumn colours framing the century old building.... and by the time I was done, I could think clearly again, ready to resolve my on-line issues... and even post on the blog after all.

Do you use your photography as therapy? Looking at my finished image transports me to the ramble I took that day, exploring the city, totally in my element, relaxed while I discovered new historic sights with the Nikon. And I feel better.

And so I'm off! I'm ready to take on the rest of the week now! It'll be great! But if you happen across a computer laying in a twisted pile inside a snowbank with the remains of a dozen 2x4's and the tire tracks of a large SUV that's backed over the same spot for the last hour, walk away and pretend you didn't see a thing.

Thanks. :)