Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Mastering New Skills

Those who read my blog know that I have saved and researched until I could afford and finally made a decision regarding my new camera. It is one of the many passions I am following in my new journey to find my bliss. 

Today I went outside and started doing some serious shots.  I wanted to try and capture some of the beautiful world around me, in its uncut unedited form.  I spent the morning sitting and watching nature in all its beauty as it surrounded me.  Watching as our chickens pecked at the bugs and the wild birds as they fed from our bird feeder.

I just took a moment to actually enjoy our overcast cold day with a hot cup of coffee and my camera.  I got some amazing shots that I am really proud of and wanted to share with those who read my blog or who are following it. Showing you how far I have come in a very short period of time. 

I am still learning what all the different adjustments do on the camera and what it is capable of. It took me almost 12 hours just to figure out the video portion of it but now am experimenting with homemade filters and film speed, which on my new camera is adjustable.

When you find something that makes you happy whether you are good at it or not you should do it. Now I have shot probably around 400 pictures with my new camera since Friday.  And not all of them have been incredible shots, many were blurry and some were just badly composed. Some showed far more of my real life than I care to show the world at large, but I am still enjoying the process.  When I get a good shot with it I feel like I am on cloud nine and often tag family and friends in them on facebook and proudly show them publicly to the world.

I know a lot of people would tell me not to do that, that I am encouraging others to steal my work by not protecting it with some kind of trademark stamp or at least my name. But in this era of digital photography there are so many different programs readily available online to remove such things, that to me it would be a waste of my time to actually put them on my pictures.

I myself have taken pictures from a friends wedding and removed things in the pictures that distracted from the happy couple so I know if I can do it others can do it as well.  But I am finding such joy reconnecting with my creative side I really do not care. If someone wants to borrow, share, or even steal my pictures go right ahead. I have the originals with the time stamp to prove they are mine. As well as really not caring about such trivial bs. 

When you find something that makes you happy do it, share it with the world.  Encourage others to do the same because no matter how miserable I may feel or how dreary my day. I can pick up my camera and suddenly the day is a just a little bit brighter.  Will I ever do anything more than just take pictures for myself, doubtful.  I am enjoying the journey.  Where it leads me is a whole different subject.  I just know that had I not followed my bliss I would be missing out on so many beautiful things the world has to show me.

I wouldn't be able to look back on my pictures and say I took that, or I remember that moment.  Or that was the day this happened.  Life is funny in it throws us all some curve balls, but I believe people who actually take the time to enjoy it live longer, are healthier and find far less faults in others because they are so busy living their own lives they don't have time to stress over the fact their neighbor didn't take out their garbage before the service ran and now it is sitting on the curb for a week.  Or that their beloved husband forgot an anniversary, or that their kids said they prefer someone else's mom because she makes homemade cookies instead of store bought.

Life is what you make of it. It can be a beautiful journey or it can be a miserable existence.  Only you can decide what paths in life you take and how you respond to something that has happened. At least by following my bliss I have been able to find things that bring me joy and when I am feeling down I find solace in those things to help bring me back to center and ground me in the here and now.

Every moment of my life isn't roses and sunshine, bad things happen.  I have days when I drag myself out of bed and say do I really have to do this again today.  I have moments when I feel like I am beating my head against a brick wall and all I am getting for my troubles is a headache and some chips missing from the brick wall. (I am very hard headed you know). 

But by following my bliss where ever it may take me I feel like I will find a part of myself that I didn't know existed, or perhaps I did know but it was so buried under the bs of my day to day life I just didn't pay any attention to it.  All I know if I am happy.  I am happy because I choose to be happy, I am happy because I want to be happy, and I am happy because I am allowing myself the freedom to be happy.

Now I know this didn't happen overnight and that it won't stay around if I don't continue to pursue it.  I know that it like anything else must be fed and given attention or it will wander away never to heard or seen again.  But I am willing to make that commitment to myself.  To take just a little bit of every day and do something I don't care if it is tending to my plants or playing with my dogs, or taking shots with my camera to do something for me. 

I give so much of myself to those I love and care for, I feel I deserve something that is mine.  I plaster on that smile and pretend to be happy with people that some days I just really wish would take a rolling leap under an oncoming bus because I take that time for myself.  I am able to drag my sorry butt out of bed every morning because I know that no matter what at least a few moments of my day will be spent doing something I enjoy doing or working towards a goal that will make me happy.  I do it for my own sanity and mental well being.

I hope my words today have given you some food for thought. I hope that you are already planning out your bliss and what it would take to make you feel complete and whole.  I hope that you are taking active steps to follow your own bliss and enjoying tagging along on my journey to find mine. 

Until my next post stay safe, stay sane, and be happy.

Now for some of the incredible shots I have gotten while following my bliss with my new camera.
One of my beautiful well mannered pit bulls with our mustang horse Lucky
One of our vicious farm kitties letting me know he is not happy about all the picture taking
A beautiful nature shot taken right outside my window
A shot of one of roosters, this is Spock, he isn't very pretty in the face but he is a very friendly and loving rooster.
New growth on my Don Juan rose bush it is going to be truly magnificent this year.
One of my vicious pit bulls posing for an Easter photograph with one of our bunnies

Just a handful of the photographs I have taken with my new camera and the many happy memories that come with them.








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