One picture | One paragraph.

I drive by this scene often. It’s on my way to and from the grocery store, the library, the gas station, the bank. My eyes stop here every single time. I’ve given thought to why that might be. At first, I thought I was drawn by a sense of sadness to this Christmas tree lot, now abandoned in the new year. I didn’t buy a tree, and I worried they would be left standing this year, when Christmas didn’t feel like Christmas at all. Every time I passed by, I almost stopped. I kept hearing the voice of photography mentors about the pictures they never made and regretted. In my head, the picture wasn’t worth braving the cold frosty morning. But what if I was wrong? What if my judgment was too harsh? I jumped out of the car and took a few frames from a few different angles, happy for the new fingerless gloves I got for Christmas. Studying the picture on the large monitor of my computer back at home, I realized that it wasn’t sadness that drew me to the scene at all. It was gratitude and joy. The scene isn’t slick and beautiful; it’s all about feelings. For being with the people I love.

 

I’ve made it my intention to continue to seek and offer friendship as I grow older. This is how I came to meet Kate. I saw her photographs exhibited in a local art gallery and something in her work resonated deeply with me. One day, I ran into her at the gallery and took the time to tell her how much I admired her work. I felt an instant connection and followed up with an invitation for coffee and photo-talk. Fast forward a year and here we are, friends collaborating on a photography project. This is a sample of our ongoing project.

I take a photo and send it to Kate. She takes one in response. Back and forth we go, a conversation that grows a friendship. We began this correspondence in July 2020 and we’re 25 photos in, planning to make it to a full year.

The project has a working title, From Here to There, or maybe it should be From There to Here, depending on how you look at it. The project explores how change transpires through a sequence of ordinary moments. Appreciating the feeling of impermanence. And the beautiful possibility that there is a path from a bad place to a good place. Just because we cannot see the path doesn't mean it isn't there. Here is a fine starting place. I can’t wait to see where we end up.

To read the full story about how the project got started and where we’re headed, I’d love it if you would visit my post on ViewFinders today, A Year Between Friends.

 

I am taking an easeful approach to photography right now. Just photographing the plants in my home. This one is called Pilea Peperomioides. I am happy to make pictures that are simply of something. No more and no less.

Filling my mind with deep reading, where a photographer and an inmate exchange thoughtful ways of seeing. (Thanks to my friend, Kate, for recommending this book from her digital bookshelf.)

Enjoying the views from last year as evidence that even in the worst of years there was still beauty everyday.

 
 

No joking. Today is National Houseplant Appreciation Day. I’m kind of a minimalist when it comes to decorating, and I don’t like visual clutter. Mostly, I decorate with pictures and plants with a few homey touches like candles and cozy pillows and throws. I’ve been entertaining the idea of creating a houseplant journal, really just a photo essay of the plants that we love in our home. Starting here with a forced paperwhite bulb and a coffee plant.