One Spot Wonder

"Do not be afraid to walk the path that you must go just because you cannot see the end. The path becomes clearer as you continue to go on."   ~ Tracy Allen

This past week I started a new photography class with a group of friends. The core group of us have been friends since the Summer of 2012. Seven years already. How did that happen? Through those seven years, we have enfolded a few other kindred souls. You may be wondering where we meet. Good question. We meet online, in a Facebook group that was born out another class we all took together from the delightful online instructor Kim Klassen. The class was on blogging. That was how we began our lives together.

Our new photography class is once again taught by the talented Kim Klassen. It has been a while since she has taught a photography class, and it has been a while since I have taken one focused on adventures with my camera. I was excited, and I was excited to share the adventure with my friends.

I went out shooting Monday and Tuesday mornings. First to a sunflower field recommended by a friend, and then to the lake near my house for sunrise and boat photos. Our first lessons were on framing and focus. Good refresher lessons.

I was eager to share my photos with my friends in the group. But, I didn't want to be the only one sharing photos, so Monday night I gave them a pep talk. I love to be one who inspires, but I also need others to inspire me. This is a group of highly talented women - photography, art, writing - they are amazing. I encouraged them to go out, do the lessons, and post their photos. None of us signed up and paid the money for the course to have it just sit in our inboxes.

My encouragement must have worked because on Tuesday photos started to flood the group.  Not everybody in the group is in the class, but I pleaded for everyone in the group to please share photos, I know they have them.

I hope we can keep this momentum going.

Friday morning, I had to heed my own advice. I had planned to go out shooting. I had gathered my gear Thursday night. I had my location picked out. But when I woke up Friday morning, the last thing I wanted to do was get moving right away so I could be at my location and ready to shoot for the sunrise at 6:59 a.m. I thought, maybe I will just take the dog for a walk and then work on my art class, that is something I can do in any light. But then I heard my own voice in my head saying the same words to myself that I had written to them. So I quickly showered, skipped breakfast, left my husband in charge of the dog, grabbed my camera bag and left the house.

I did change my mind from my original location idea, and it bought me an extra half hour before the sun licked the features of my main subject. For class, one of our assignments was to stay and photograph in one spot - ideally a four to five foot radius. When the dog and I had been hiking at this park the day before I thought the bridge would be perfect place for the one spot challenge. 

I did wander more than five feet, but I did stay on the bridge the whole time, so that counts as one spot. Once out there, and as the sun began to come up, I forgot about my lack luster attitude for going out to photograph, and was really glad I listened to the voice in my head.

I spent an hour on the bridge. I never saw another person. I hear a lot of nature noises: ducks quacking, acorns sounding like rain as they slipped free of the tree branch and pelleted the leaves on their way to the ground. Lovely bird songs, and something larger and louder crashing around at the edge of the river upstream.

Every time I turned around, looked up or looked down, I saw something else that I wanted to photograph. Eventually though, the sun was getting too high and too bright. It was time to go home, make a cup of tea, eat breakfast and take the dog for a walk in the woods.

As much as I hate to admit it, it was that low sunrise light that made these photographs magical. The light inspired me to keep looking, to keep shooting.