Weekend Getaway

We spent a few days exploring Matthews County and the small towns along the North River and the Chesapeake Bay in Eastern Virginia. We visited the natural areas of Haven Beach and Bethel Beach where I had some challenges trying to see the potential for pictures. I know beach and water pictures come easily to many photographers, but I am often overwhelmed by big, beautiful places. It takes me a good long while to settle in and begin to feel the rhythm of a place before I can begin to lift the camera to my eye. When we returned home, I had a package waiting for me. The absolutely stunning book, Big Waters by David Rathbone (printed by Saw & Mitre Press). I spent the next few days poring over the book’s pages, studying each photograph carefully. I am grateful to David for introducing me to new ways to see and photograph the shores of Virginia’s waters.

Things I Love about Film

Working with film requires me to be kinder to myself, to detach myself from the end result.
It requires more experimentation, more looseness, more lightness.

 
 

When I ask myself what I want to do, the answer is always the same. Take pictures. It just feels so right.

And when I wonder how to make pictures that connect with others, I remind myself that my human frailty needs to be visible in order for things to feel real.

 

Garden Works

 
 

New favorite quote: In a society that profits from your self doubt, liking yourself is a rebellious act. —Caroline Caldwell

Thing I did that I’ve been putting off for a very long time:
Mailed 90 rolls of film negatives, the childhood years of my boys from before I started taking digital images in 2005, to Photo60 in Woodbridge, Virginia to be scanned and returned on one tiny little USB stick.

Considering: Submitting six images to Slow Exposures. The deadline is June 18th.

Not for me: I tried listening to music while writing or processing photos. Used playlists from really good friends and photographers and really famous writers. No luck. I cannot concentrate without complete silence, which probably explains why I do my best work in the middle of the night.

Tired of: being good, trying hard, aspirational articles, self-help books

Excited about: poetry, body liberation, curse words, forest bathing

Embracing: I get homesick. And by homesick, I mean that I hate to be away from home for more than a day or two. I really love home. I don’t feel the need to take a break from my regular life, to get away, or to escape. I know that I am privileged in many ways. I love my life and my home and my people. And this is worth noticing and appreciating.