Just showing up makes the diffference

Go! Go! Go!

There have been many times when I’ve gone out to shoot, done the shooting half-heartedly, and come back home with nothing. There have been other times when I’ve gone out, tried to be clever and think my way into good shots and, once again, arrived home to some very disappointing shots. The question then is: “Why were you thinking?!”. It never works.

Let us say that I’ve become very spoiled working so close to the beach. I never thought that I’d visit it so much, but I find my self there about 4 times/week. There is a practical reason for it. When I leave work, traffic is horrendous! If I leave at my usual 4:45 PM, I will get back to the apartment at somewhere between 5:30, if I’m lucky, and about 6:15, if all is ‘normal’. Without traffic, it’s a 30 minute drive. Should I decide to head the other way, towards the beach, I can be there in about 20 minutes … no traffic going that way for the most part. So, I like to go there, do my walk, catch the sunrise, then head back to the apartment for some food, reading, and sleeping!

Today, I didn’t feel like sitting in traffic, so away I went, off to the beach. When I arrived, I wasn’t so much in the mood for taking pictures, so I walked. After a short walk, camera in hand, I just stopped, sat on some steps leading down to the beach, and enjoyed the breeze and the sound of the water. I had taken few pictures.

Soon, the evening turned orange as the sun began to set. A young man and his dog had come out for an evening of playing. The dog was straining at the harness, ready to get into the water. It was time to play. I sat and watch the retriever run lustily after the orange ‘stick’ that the boy was throwing. Then I became a bit more animated and decided to let the D40 be a sports camera and it did really well. The top picture is my favorite shot of the group, but I got lots of good ones.

After hanging with boy and dog for a while, the evening was becoming a darker orange. Mind you, not a cloud in the sky, but interesting nonetheless. I headed on down the beach and suddenly saw a guy doing Tai Chi! Fantastic. I watched him practice for a bit, shooting all the while and really enjoying myself. We were both communing with Nature in our own way. It was getting pretty chilly and the wind was picking up a bit, but it just made it seem all the more real. I was enjoying every sensation that I could.

There was no thinking involved, just feeling. Even when you don’t feel like it. Show up. One thing is for sure, if you don’t go, you won’t get the picture!

I’m glad that I showed up for these shows!

Wait ’till you hear the whistle …