Lenten Challenge: Week Three

Well, I wish I could tell you I had lots of cool jpegs from the new camera to show you. I don't!

I do have lots of thoughts, though.

For one thing, there's still not much going on at the field. Big A. mutters "Permitting" whenever I say that. And this is where I see progress in my challenge--without much prodding for me, my brain has been scanning the area for alternatives. I look at places where humankind has intruded on nature; I look for ways to see patterns, meaning, and beauty in it. I'm developing some ideas--maybe I'll get to developing some pictures when this enormous book edit is past!

They did mow the field yesterday, so I'm thinking it would be fun to take the camera out and see if that changes anything. There's an abandoned railroad adjacent to the cow field. In the near future, it will become a walking path through the Rails to Trails project. That's something to look forward to--and the abandoned track is ripe for the photographing!

An empty lot on one of my regular drives has become a dirt depot for the county. The mountains of dirt, oaks loaded with Spanish moss, and earth-moving equipment look awesome--prehistoric. We have another construction site just a bit further from the house; the colors of the machines have caught my eye from a distance. I'd like to try to photograph them from nearby.

That's great--the creative juices flow on. The deeper growth I'm hoping for does as well.

I am coming to embrace two huge concepts through this challenge. One is that the most beautiful things I see become even more beautiful in relation to our home. Sunrise is gorgeous, but sunrise over our home makes miracles. Everything looks better on my way home.

The other thing I'm learning is that the human eye and brain see things no camera ever can. Yes, I know my photography isn't up to par. Still, our brains can see layers simultaneously and in various relationships. We can see directly and peripherally. The light behind us affects the vision in front of us. And the input of our other senses informs and enriches what we see. Some things simply need to be experienced live. To share them, we need to experience them together.

Some things cannot be captured for later. Some things are simply now.

Dog, hydrant, and moon at dawn.