Through the Lens of a Camera

I am taking photography this year and it has proven itself to be quite wonderful. Although it can be quite stressful at times to get this roll done and find enough hours of daylight to shoot more that roll, it is such a wonderful art. You see, I am not an artist. Yes, I most definitely wish I could sketch and paint, but it's simply not in the cards for me. But photography does not require me to use certain brush strokes or perfect shading. Photography allows me to use my eyes and create a picture that is completely beautiful.

It is an art that I own entirely. I put the film in the camera and I fire away. I look through all the trees and find the lone leaf that made it through autumn and is now covered in snow. I can change the speed of the shutter so that I can capture the flowing movements of a fountain and it looks as though you can see every drop of water. Then, I take those photos and spend a monotonous 30 minutes developing the film. Developing, although it is a royal pain, serves a greater purpose to me. I cannot be distracted by the things around me when I develop because I must keep an eye on the clock, so that concentration forces me to be alone with my thoughts. In my chaotic life, it is hard to find a time like that, so the 30 painful developing minutes are actually a blessing in an irritating disguise. But my favorite thing, above all, is that moment when I create the actual print and see all the hard work pay off.

When I make prints, I don't throw the paper in the developer and walk away. I drop the paper in and stand there intently watching and waiting for the picture to appear. And that right there is what makes all the work worth it. I have taken a blank negative and turned it into a picture. It is a perfect art and never again will I be able to look at the earth without wishing I could capture it on film.