I spent the afternoon yesterday on the road, shooting photos, then met up with my Flickr friend, Vicki, for a sunset shoot on the beach. It was wonderful! We hit Old Orchard, took many shots under and around the Pier, then went to Scarborough Beach in Pine Point and caught the sunset there. I got my feet soaked (my shoes are still drying!), and by the end of the shoot, my fingers were freezing, but the experience was worth it. Now that I've seen the beach at sunset, you can bet I'll go back again, although it might not be until we see warmer weather.
Sometimes in photography (as well as in life), it's the strange things that appeal to me. In this case, it was the trees and that utility tower set against a dramatic winter sky. This was shot near Mill Creek in South Portland, at the end of the Casco Bay Bridge. It's a neighborhood that appeals to me; it's near the water (always a plus), and it has a number of fascinating little side streets with lots of solid, working-class Maine houses. When the weather warms up, I'm going to park the car and walk those streets with my camera. I love the Portland area. It's so diverse and beautiful.
Here in Maine, as in much of the country, winter is upon us. Last winter was mild, with very little snow. This year, we're paying the piper. At least once a week, we're getting snowstorms that drop close to a foot of snow on top of us. Snowbanks are getting higher and higher and streets are getting narrower and narrower, as they run out of places to put the stuff. This morning, my car's thermometer registered -7. That's chilly.
But on Sunday, when I visited the beach in Scarborough, it was a balmy thirtyish, and people were taking advantage. Although for the most part, skies were cloudy and the sun was weak, everybody and his second cousin was at the beach. With their dogs. I never saw so many dogs in one place. Running, jumping, chasing, playing, or just calmly walking with their owners. There were even two people on horseback (with, of course, their faithful dog walking between them), riding down the sand toward Old Orchard. I took quite a few shots; of all those I took, this is one of my favorites. The tint of sky and water is real; the sun shining through the cloud cover bathed everything in a wonderful, golden glow. I was very glad I went; I almost didn't, because it was snowing like crazy when I left Augusta.
Winter is admittedly beautiful, and very photogenic, but I'm still longing for warmer days without three feet of snow.
The weather has been dismal these past few weeks, and between the gloomy days, the extra hours of darkness before and after work, and the hectic holiday preparations, I've had very little opportunity to shoot any photos. On Sunday afternoon, though, while I was in the Portland area doing some Christmas shopping, I managed to get in an hour of shooting. The day started out sunny, but gradually deteriorated to a dull gray. Late in the afternoon, though, as the lowering sun was making a valiant effort to break through the clouds, I was able to get some really nice shots, including this one, taken from the McDonald's parking lot on Route 1 in Falmouth. I love the sight of bare branches against the sky, especially when there's exquisite backlighting like this.
This second shot was taken from Portland's Eastern Promenade, looking west toward the Casco Bay Bridge and South Portland. I love the bands of color in the sky; you can see that the sun is really trying to make an appearance before it goes down. Another example of bare branches against the sky, a theme I keep returning to. But this one isn't complicated by power lines; it's just a simple tree against a cold winter sky.
I sent out my Canon PowerShot SX10 for repair a couple of weeks ago. Although I love my DSLR, the PowerShot is still my baby. It's a great walkaround camera; the photos are crisp, the zoom is awesome, and you don't have to change lenses. The poor thing has issues since I dropped it a while back. There's a hole in the body where a piece actually broke out of it, and when I push the shutter button to focus, the camera ticks like a time bomb. It's very disconcerting to hear that "tick...tick...tick" every time I try to take a shot. Even worse, the autofocus is malfunctioning. Sometimes it works, sometimes I get shots that are nothing but a watery blur, especially when using the zoom. Best Buy says it's covered for accidental damage, and they will either repair or replace it. Hope that happens soon. The DSLR is awesome, but sometimes I just want the convenience of the PowerShot. And there are some things it does better than the more expensive DSLR. If they can't repair it, I hope they'll offer me a replacement that does all the same things and gives the same quality shots. My fingers are crossed!
Anybody here remember Lenny, from the old TV series, Laverne and Shirley? Lenny wore a jacket that was supposed to say "lone wolf" on the back, but the first L was missing, so instead it said "one wolf." I've always identified with that. That's me, that One Wolf, walking through this world alone, feet happily in sync with the different drummer that nobody else seems capable of hearing. Like the lone pigeon sitting by himself on that bottom wire, separated from a crowd of his peers, I'm a solitary sort. As a teenager, it bothered me. No teenager wants to feel any more alienated than the rites of passage into adulthood render absolutely necessary. As a young adult, I reveled in it. The world was cracked wide open before me, and I wanted it all: so much I wanted to do, so many places I wanted to go, so many things I wanted to create, and I did it. I did it all by myself.
But now, as an adult in my fifties, I've come pretty much full circle. I no longer revel in constant solitude. Don't get me wrong; I'll never be a party animal. I'd rather have my fingertips gnawed off by rats than have to pretend to be sociable in a group of people I barely know when all I want to do is go home, slide into a tub full of hot water and bubbles, and spend the next two hours reading a good book. But there are times when I wouldn't mind a little more human companionship, a chance to explore shared interests, the opportunity to toss out ideas and opinions and then chew on them like dogs with a bone. That's one of the things I like about the Internet: the ability to connect with other people without having to undergo the social phobia brought about by face-to-face interaction.
I love photography, and I love sharing my photos and seeing those of other obsessed enthusiastic photographers. This is why I joined Flickr and quickly became addicted. This blog is my attempt reach out to my fellow humans and say, "Hey. Come on over. Sit a spell. Talk to me."
I set up this blog with no real idea of what I expected to accomplish with it. Over the years, I've worn many different hats: wife, mother, sister; daughter, grandmother, friend. Author, artist, jewelry maker. College student, office drone, lover of all things Boston (the city) and all things Bon Jovi (the music, the man). I've always been a firm believer that the road to true happiness can only be found by following one's bliss. But as the years have passed and I've flailed around, bouncing from one obsession to the next while I tried to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up, I've grown frustrated and discouraged because that bliss was so maddeningly elusive. Yet, in spite of the roller coaster of life, on one belief I've stood firm: whatever my bliss might turn out to be, it would involve some creative endeavor.
I'm still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. This troubles me a bit, to be still searching at an age when my friends are starting to retire. But it doesn't surprise me; I've always been the square peg that didn't fit into the round hole, and it doesn't look as though that's about to change. But I see an inkling of hope on the horizon: although my latest obsession is highly unlikely to turn into a career, it has become more and more evident to me that this bliss I've spent my entire adult life seeking might just have arrived in the form of photography.
Although I've been taking pictures since I got my first camera at the age of thirteen (a Polaroid Swinger...remember those things?), it wasn't until the last year that I began to actually study photography informally, and I recently bought my first DSLR. I'm still very much in student mode as I explore this new obsession. With this blog, I'm hoping to share my learning process with others who also suffer from the same obsession. Or maybe just with those people out there who simply like looking at photos. You know who you are. I hope some of you will find me and we can start a few discussions about photography, life, and anything else you want to talk about. This post is my maiden voyage. Don't know what the trip will bring, but I'm ready for the ride.
