PHOTOCASTROPHE

I feel like this weekend was a photography failure on my part. I entered the weekend already a little down and tired of my 365 day project. Lately I've been too busy and worn out to really plan and set up anything decent for the project and usually it's a last minute hold-the-camera-in-front-of-face picture. That was not the intention of the project. The project was supposed to get me to be a bit more creative every day and learn to use my camera. I've let life get in the way of that (hey, I'm no supergirl). All weekend I carted the camera around taking mediocre pictures of the Greek Festival and the Ghoul's Gone Wild Parade. I even did a little online reading on ways to set up the camera for night parades and flash settings. It just wasn't clicking for me. I was torn between just putting the camera down and enjoying the show and taking an amazing really cool totally awesome picture. Which brings me to something I read on Maggie Mason's site once, something about being a participator instead of a spectator. Basically? Putting the camera down. I love that parade, but I really put it all in jeopardy by focusing too hard on getting good pictures and I know I didn't enjoy it as much as I could have. Instead I let myself get annoyed with the street sign that ended up being in my way, the auto focus or my measly little flash. I lost site of the real reason for having that camera for me. It's not because I fancy myself to be some great photographer or even want to be. That camera is for capturing those moments that matter in my life. It's about the story behind each one. When I got home and started editing my photos, I know I trashed more then half of them. The ones I did keep are not even that great.

What I learned is that experiencing the event trumps taking photos any day and that's why I am not a photographer. I learned that the best pictures I take are the ones where I don't have to try so hard. I learned the photos of things and people that you truly love are the photos that turn out the best.