Finding One's North Star

is a process, it takes time, it takes purpose, it takes making choices, it perhaps means giving something up in order to gain something new.

 

(   Kat Sloma's Class Finding Your Eye  )

Kat has suggested for us is to try and understand what inspires us; what makes us click our camera; what catches our eye; what holds our attention; which photos do we return to. 

 It sounds easy, but it is not. For it requires quiet introspection, analysis, pondering and choosing.

For one reason or another I shoot thousands of images. The question posed: is there a running THEME of what I choose to photograph. What captures my full attention, whether I have the mechanical/camera abilities or not?

I have slowly whittled away at the proverbial "Elephant in the  Room." And although my thoughts may change like the shifting of the sands, for today this is my North Star.

My North Star consists of CONNECTION to all living things...people, animals, the fruits of the earth. Somewhere there must be a spark of LIFE...LIVING.

Another aspect of what I want to express is the element of STORYTELLING.

From the seeds of a sunflower, to a ripening berry, a bird's nest,  a meal beautifully served, 

boxes of discarded clothing, faces-faces-faces

from all over the earth;

each must hold a story, something I can record in prose or photo, a permanent memory.

Culling through my photographs, it has cemented

the profound desire to

CELEBRATE LIFE !!

The messy, the sad, the gleeful, the colorful, the new and the old, the unexpected.

It is a VISUAL JOURNAL

of those things, places and life I do not want to forget.

I am grateful for this opportunity to really think through what I take for granted, not just hauling my Big Mama  around. 

Now I can focus on my real intent. 

Thank you for sharing this journey with me.