Camera settings: shutter speed 1/40, aperture f/14, ISO 400
I know it's April, but we're still technically in the first week, so it's still acceptable to share March's photo challenge, yes? Truth be told, I haven't really used my camera since last month's challenge, mostly because I had misplaced my charger and extra battery, and the juice was running low until I found it finally.
I'm also just finding myself in a frustrated place with photography. I'm still not capturing what I want to capture, and when I am, I don't know how I did it or why it worked. I know if I keep doing it, it will get better, and I'll get better at it, but I don't want to. I don't want to lug my big camera around and take crappy pictures because I'm forcing myself to learn it, when I could be taking pretty decent pictures with my iPhone 5S camera. I also struggle between being in the moment with guests or special events and capturing that moment, so I end up only taking pictures of things that have nothing to do with a moment, and are just scenery or still life.
Maybe that's ok. Maybe as I get better at taking photos, I can simultaneously capture and be in the moment, because I won't be busy cursing while figuring out the settings on my camera. When things become more automatic, I won't have to think so hard about it, and can just enjoy the experience and the memory making.
In the meantime, this picture captures how I feel about two hobbies I am trying desperately to improve in; photography and gardening. I am finally starting to figure out gardening in the desert, but it is very different than the fertile soil and plant variety of the Midwest. It looks a lot more like containers and irrigation and heat tolerance. I'm learning, slowly but surely, and it parallels my photography skills at the moment.
I realized looking at this picture though, that sometimes things are no less beautiful because of their imperfection, and in fact they hold a special charm of their own sometimes as a result. I was about to pluck this tattered petunia bloom off of the plant, when I noticed the perfect little bead of water poised on its delicate petal and decided to not only leave it, but to embrace it in a photo.
You can view all my challenge photos here, and be sure to head over to check out Kelsey's progress next door at Rising*Shining.
