Wednesday, July 13, 2011

“When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.” - Alfred Eisenstaedt

Also visit my Beyond the Photography by DonnaKay blogspot @ http://beyondthephotographybydonnakay.blogspot.com ... a little better way to get to know more about me personally...


“When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.” - Alfred Eisenstaedt

Is there something in your life that is sort of a security blanket for you?  Some people want to stay in their homes, or at least be nearby.  And of course there are many people who are just fine out in groups and never have a moment of feeling anxious.  I'm certainly not one of those!  I have always been a bit shy, but as I have gotten older I would say in some ways it started turning into a social anxiety more than anything else.  There definitely have been times that it's to the point of some kind of medical condition, I'm sure!  But there are things in life that I find supernaturally take that anxiety away.  The first being my children.  I think most Moms probably find that there's a new, stronger woman who comes out when it comes to their children.  You are willing to look and act a little sillier, you become bolder and find yourself saying things you might have never had the nerve to say before.  Definitely you would pounce on someone who might harm your child, where before you might would just slink into the background and disappear rather than to face conflict.  Well, my kids helped me a lot with my shyness... but then they grew up and I didn't have them to hold my hand (see - they thought I was there for them, and it was really the other way around!) so in some ways I might have even become more of a loner, a little more secluded and a bit socially uncomfortable.  That is -- until I have my camera in my hand.  It is amazing the difference in my personality when that camera is in my hand, or around my neck.  It gives me a focus, a sense of purpose in the moment, and I know what I'm doing with it - so it also gives me a boost of confidence.  When I first started doing photo shoots with people I'd never met, I was terrified at the thought of how I was going to start talking (I can be a clam around strangers!) -- but miraculously, when that camera is with me, I'm a whole other woman.  I initiate conversations, I try to get someone talking with me, I share my own life with them... I interact!  I love to get into a conversation and see their personality come out in laughter, to see such a realness - and to have the opportunity to capture that in a picture.  Maybe there's a sense that I'm not a boisterous person, because people tend to sense that I'm extending something extra of myself to them... and they in turn open up to me.  


“When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear.” - Alfred Eisenstaedt.... Wow - I love that quote.  What could you put in the blank instead of "camera"?  I do believe we should all have at least one thing that puts us in a place of "no fear."  I hope that you do... and I am so thankful for how God has guided my life and put that "something" in place for me.  




This photo was from this morning... it is grooming day for my dog (Miles -- he's a labradoodle) and he LOVES spa-day (what I call it!)... I love it, because the area is gorgeous -- farms and streams everywhere.  So the normal 20 minute drive usually keeps me out for a couple of hours!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!

No comments: