Putting it all together

I'm sad that the Journey of Recognition course is over!  I've enjoyed every moment of the assignments and I will miss the regular connection with Kat and with others who are taking these steps to self discovery with a camera.  I've discovered some personal signposts on the road to finding my unique photographic eye.  For the final review I've just re-read my photo-journal entries and I see that I have taken some steps along this road.

A big step for me was recognizing that the subject mater of my photographs is irrelevant.  I can point my camera at just about anything and find something that I like to look at. I recognize now that anything I have an emotional or visual connection with is worthwhile.  For me the connection with my subject is the touchstone for all my journeys with the camera.  Once I see something that I connect with I can either absorb it into my visual memory bank or capture it with my camera.  If I have my camera with me I now know how important it is to take the time to get deep into the subject, to take the 150 images to find two or three that really resonate for me.

I've loved reading the words of other photographers.  Some of them have helped me clarify my own process.  Kathy Lieb said that taking photos helps us connect with our world.  This is so true.  23 June quoted an artist I'd never heard of before, Alvaro Castanet, who does incredible abstracted water colours.  He says that you start a painting at the moment you look at the subject.  I totally get it and it applies to photography too.  Beverly at Lavender Blue talks about the relaxed calm feeling or the surge of excitement when you click the shutter.  I feel this sometimes too and it tells me that I am being true to my own vision, being in the flow.

This is what I love; this is why I take photographs.  I've also been re-inspired to translate some of the images into water colours to get even deeper into them.

So, what next?  Well, I have begun the process of learning about my camera, how to vary exposure and use different apertures and shutter speeds to get the image to show what I see.  I have a long way to go with this as there is so much to learn.  But I am glad that I have started first on the road to finding my own eye, with feeling confident about capturing the image that speaks to me.  Perhaps it will speak to others, perhaps not.  In the end it doesn't really matter.  It's the connection with the subject that is the key for me.

Thank you Kat and all my classmates for making this a true journey of inspiration.