A hobby revisited

Unfortunately, my travel down to Florida for a few days of meetings this last week produced little in the way of an interesting post.  Sitting in conference rooms, no matter how scenic the locale of the buildings, just doesn't lend itself to fascinating pics and stories.  So, in light of the lack of a noteworthy event in which to blog about, I will back up and bring you up to speed on a revisited hobby...photography.

Louisiana boiled crawfish

I think it was the Christmas of my 13th year when Santa left a brand spanking new Pentax K1000 35mm film camera for me under the tree.  For the next 20 years, that camera documented my travels around the world and ingrained in me an appreciation for composition.  Composition not only of a picture, but composition of my life.  That chunk of metal and glass lens embedded the concept of context within my brain and heart.  A boat on the water or food on a plate can be pretty dull.  But frame that boat on the water with a Louisiana bayou in the background or that food as a Greek peasant salad on a beach cafe table on the island of Crete, and you've got yourself a story and memorable experience.  So, after a digression to point-and-shoot cameras over the last few years, I've gone back to manually operated equipment.  I recently purchased a Cannon EOS 60D dSLR and am rediscovering the thrill of looking at life through the lens.  Yes, the compactness of the point-and-shoots prompted me to take more pics, but I had lost the pleasure of telling a story through a lens.

Oysters on the half shell

 
There's no denying, I love to take pictures of food!  The pics of boiled crawfish and raw oysters on the half shell are from my trip down home on the bayou during Christmas vacation last month.  Although my palate has been exposed to delicacies ranging from Peking duck in an acclaimed restaurant in Beijing, China to Nutella crepes from a street vendor under the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, the foods of my childhood remain at the top of my favorite foods list.  In my quest to explore my current home state however, I have been cognizant to explore more than just food as photographic material.  I've learned to be more attuned to the everyday sights I encounter.  This pic of cotton ready for picking in North Carolina depicts a scene I see regularly during my daily travels.

North Carolina cotton field

I hope that as this blog progresses, you'll see my photography skills mature and give shape to the stories I long to tell.  I challenge anyone reading this blog to look at your daily routine as a window to the unnoticed beauty around you.  No, the world is not always a beautiful place, but there is always beauty to be found in it.  So look around and discover what has gone unappreciated in your everyday life.