Do What You Love

Sometimes.....rather, often, I forget to do the things that I really love to do. The things that bring me personal joy and satisfaction. Some of the things I love to do fall into the category of annual tradition. This is good, because I get that gentle reminder, at least once a year, to participate in a hobby I enjoy.

Spring is in full bloom here in balmy-too-early Birmingham. With the blooms comes my annual tradition of taking portraits of my children. I love this for many reasons. My Dad was a photographer and introduced me to the beauty of photography as familial journalism. I LOVE to look through old black and white pictures of myself and my family when I was a child, sniffing a flower, holding up a kitten, or traipsing off to school. By photographing my children every year at the same time, in the same yard, I am providing a record for them and for myself of their inevitable march toward adulthood. I love making beautiful pictures. I'm not saying I'm a great artist or magnificent photographer. What I'm saying is that I love making photographs that seem lovely to me. Golden, shining moments I want to embellish a bit. Sometimes it's a bit of fiction to make things seem better than they are. Sometimes they are very honest shots of dirty kids, messy situations, but art to me all the same.

Whatever it is that you love to do, make time this week to do it. Or a plan to do it. It's never the perfect time. The kids' hair wasn't washed. Jacques' suspenders didn't match his pants. I couldn't find his dress shirt. His bangs needed trimming. But a storm was coming. The blooms were on their way out. I had to seize the moment and do it anyway. I think I like them better this year because they aren't perfect.