A day at the bay
Though I don’t think about it actively, sometimes ideas pop in my head about why I photograph. I’ve thought about it before, but sometimes those little reaffirmations just pop up.
Yesterday, my wife and I went to Monterey to hang out. We had no agenda in mind; we just wanted to go and a walk around and let whatever happens, happen. We ended up going to a small area near Fisherman’s Wharf that had a small pond, benches, lots of seagulls and geese just waiting to be fed, and a lot of people going to and fro. We took a stroll toward the beach, ended up on the path, and just began to walk. For the first time since I’ve been here, I broke a sweat. We were in full sun and it was in the mid 70′s. This is in sharp contrast to Carmel-By-The-Sea, which is but about 8 minutes away, if that far, and is constantly socked in by dense layers of fog for most of the day. Mind you, fog makes for a great diffuser and you could take stunning portrait and macro photos all day long!
Wife + Beach = Big Smile!
It was a great day in Monterey, even though we only spent about 3 hours there. So, after our good friends, Richard and Tamami arrived, we hung out with them from the balance of the day, laughed, had a bit of wine, and in general had a lot of fun. We took them to the beach and to some cliffs. I found out that no one except me seems to care for heights. They don’t bother me, it’s just the widths that bother me! 
So, after the day was finished and we had returned to our room, I grabbed my book that I had just bought: The Tao of Pooh. It’s a fantastic little book and is a description of Taoist philosophy based on the character, Winne The Pooh. Pooh is the perfect Tao character. He’s very simple, goes along through life kind of willy-nilly, and in the end, things just always seem to work out for him. He’s not intelligent, nor cleaver, he just is. Other characters are represented in the book as well: Owl as intelligence, Rabbit as Cleverness, Piglet as hesitation, etc.
Pooh’s meanderings remind me so much of my photography of late. I have thousands upon thousands of photographs that will probably never see the light of day, most of which have only been seen by me, but that’s OK. I’ve read lots of blog posts, etc. where people are taking photos to sell, compete, display, etc. All of that is cool. I’m not sure what my ‘goal’ is, but I am sure about the journey. The journey is to have fun and to explore.
No worries! No hurries!
It is said that when you have a goal and you reach it, it’s not so sweet as was the chase, which is why people continue to make more and more goals; they seem to relish the chase. Take, for example, people like Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates. These people have more money than they could possibly spend in perhaps 10 life times. If money is the ultimate measure of success then they have reached the pinnacle, yet, they continue to produce and to conquer. It’s about the chase/journey, not the goal. For what have you after you reach the goal, it’s over.
Each click of the shutter is another step in a never ending adventure of exploration. It’s about seeing. It’s about distraction. 
Surely, when I am walking along, with our without camera, unless I’m in a conversation, I am distracted somewhat by everything that is around me. I love to ‘frame’. Writing this blog is similar. I have no idea when it will end and I write it because I feel the need to write. Why do I feel the need? Need everything be answered? I write because, well, as Pooh would say:
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie,
Why does a chicken? I don’t know why.
Ask me a riddle and I reply
Cottleston Cottleston Cottleston Pie.
Which means, I have no idea, but it’s not important, I do and that’s good enough for me. Herein, there are thousands of words that will never be read, except perhaps by me and a few others who honor me by stopping by, but the goal is not to increase my numbers. There is no goal, only a very fun, stimulating, and exciting journey.
As always, thanks for reading!
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