I’ve been neglecting my camera for the last several years. I haven’t been carrying it with me when I go to work, or on trips to other towns to watch my kid compete in athletic activities. I’ve been telling myself I’m too busy to stop and take pictures of stuff, let alone take some time to go out specifically looking for things to take pictures of.
But I’ve noticed it’s causing me to be a little more fidgety than usual. I have a grown-up job now, so I don’t have to rely on selling photos to make money to feed my family. But that doesn’t mean I need to quit taking pictures altogether.
I realized this a few days ago when I was heading in to work. We’d gotten a surprise dump of snow overnight, and the prairies were covered with a soft, pristine white blanket. Add to that the frost that rimed all the tree limbs and fence wires, and it added up to a magnificent spectacle.
In the past, I would have pulled over, gotten out of the truck, and taken five to 10 minutes to capture all that natural splendor. But I haven’t been packing the camera with me, so it wasn’t an option. I suppose I could have taken a few shots with my phone, but that’s just not the same.
It was further driven home to me that I need to start carrying the camera with me when I went home that night. The days are getting a little longer, and it was still just light enough on my drive home. As I passed the airport, there was a C-130 sitting on the end of the runway near the road, and it was perfectly silhouetted against a gorgeous sunset sky. Again, it would have made a spectacular shot.
It’s time to get the camera back out. It’s also time to start getting out in the wilds again, looking for cool critters and landscapes to shoot. If nothing else, it’ll give me an excuse to get outside just a little bit more.
