BEETS in BLUE

I'm currently exploring my newfound passion for photography. In the age of the digital camera, it seems like everyone is a photographer. It was a childhood fantasy of mine - to be able to capture monkeys high in the mountains, to stop time at the perfect brilliance of a sunset the way you see it in a magazine.

Ten years ago, my friends gifted me with a 35mm, and I eagerly rushed out, excited to finally realize my childhood dream. But after going through 8 rolls of film, $80 to develop them, and seeing my efforts resulted in photo after photo of half out-of-focus, half in frame pictures of nothing, I let go of the dream. I was never going to be good enough or rich enough to produce those images I'd seen in National Geographic or even Bon Appetit.

Fast forward nearly 10 years - you'd never have guessed that taking pictures could be so easy! My delving into photography started with a need for visuals on my personal chef website. But it wasn't long before I found myself shooting kids, sunflowers, the dog, a moss-covered tree trunk in my backyard. Life through a lens seems so much more amazing... It really makes you stop and examine a moment - something we rarely do in our fast paced day to day living.

So I don't know if I can call myself a photographer yet. But I think I have the "eye" for it. And what the heck - its therapeutic, virtually free, and makes me feel connected to something greater than myself. So if you haven't picked up a camera lately - try it! You might be surprised at what you can do! :)