It seems I spend a large part of my life unlearning things these days. Things I thought I knew. Things I was nearly certain of.

I was pretty sure there was nothing new worth photographing on the Canal Path. After all, I’ve walked that path hundreds of times, in all seasons, taking pictures all along the way. I’ve looked down at the murky water of the canal and deemed it unworthy of picture-taking. But a new book gave me reason to reconsider.

I recently bought the beautiful photo book, Just When I Thought I Had You by Sal Taylor Kydd. The book is exquisite in its insight into the world of motherhood and the sojourn we have with our children. I was drawn to Sal’s photo, Ferns Under Water. In the picture, the ferns float gently below the water surface, contrasting with the shadow of trees on the surface of the water. She managed to capture this simple interplay of light and texture along the surface of the water, above and below, with elegance and reverence. Sal’s photo got me thinking. Perhaps the rules I’ve learned are holding me back.

I walked the path today with new insight. It didn’t matter at all if the pictures were “good.” It only mattered that I was rooted in this place and willing to see all of the beauty.

 

the road from here to there

“A creative life is not linear—it’s full of swoops, curves and long stretches of confusion. For each step that moves us toward our chosen destination, there are many steps backwards, providing the perfect circumstances for frustration and discouragement to breed. In these times of disappointment, I find it helpful to remember that a good life doesn’t move stoically forward in a single direction—rather, it’s full of slow progress and tiny breakthroughs. A good life is full of unexpected change and destinations that continue to change, creating a map of crisscrossing paths and places we would never have imagined.” —Meera Lee Patel, The Path is Made by Walking, Uppercase Magazine, Issue 48

A little side note: I took a few of these photos at Lake Orange and I was fascinated by the water fowl. At first I thought that bird, standing so still and not at all phased by me, was some kind of buzzard. And when I zoomed in to take the photo with my long lens, I was really perplexed. What was that bird? A goose? A swan of some sort? A duck? When I got home, my husband had great fun doing the research. Turns out it’s a domestic muscovy duck. There’s something new to learn every day. I’m always a beginner.