...and sometimes you catch lightning.....

I was originally going to title this "Why you don't want to ride in a car, go for a hike/walk, or basically go anywhere with me" but that was a little long...

Many years ago I survived high school photography with James Haddy at Robert A. Millikan High School. (Not going to say exactly how many years, use your imagination...) Anyone who survived Mr. Haddy's class knew the difference between a "snapshot" and a "photograph." Turning in your weekly assignment was always a terrifying experience. After he hung over your shoulder in the darkroom while you were developing your film and creating your prints, as you handed in your assignment, he looked at your work, looked at you, looked at your work, and then put it in the pile with a sigh saying "that's the one you want to turn in??" (And to think I took photography because it counted as a science for graduation and would be easier than biology....yeah, right....)

I see pictures everywhere I go. The only difference is that now I am compelled to take the time to stop and actually take the pictures.

OK, so back to the part about why you probably don't want to go anywhere with me....

This is me the other morning:

Open the blinds, just about sunrise. AHHH!!! Look at the light on the clouds! This is going to be a great sunrise! (Grab my camera and step out on my patio.) Crap! Wrong angle - gonna miss it! Wait - over there would probably be a good angle!  (Throw something on so the mosquitoes don't eat me alive) Hurry up - the light is already changing!!!

Here's what my neighbors see if they look out the window:

A crazy woman in pajama pants, a hoodie up over her head like the unibomber, with white crew socks and flip flops, running around between the bushes and trees, and then climbing/hanging over the fence behind the apartment complex with a camera.


Me driving home from work the other day:

AHHHH! Look at the clouds and the angle of the sun! Gonna be a great sunset! Storm coming in fast. Can I get a shot from the car? Crap. (Me then holding my phone with one hand shooting random shots out the driver side window while looking ahead so I don't crash my car.) Shit! This is a GREAT sunset! Look at that storm!  AHHH!!! Traffic!! No exit for another mile - you're killin' me Smalls!!!  Finally an exit! YAY! Crap - nowhere to pull over. Wait - over there! Vacant lot! Take about a hundred pictures from as many angles as I can while the storm blows in. (The photo with the lightning and colorful rain above is from one of those shots)

What other people see as they drive by:

A crazy woman wearing nice work clothes in a dirt lot next to a construction truck and a port-a-potty, running around in the wind and being pelted by rain while taking pictures with her phone as traffic speeds by.


Me on a hike or a walk:

What a beautiful day! Look at that! and look at that! Lynette, don't you already have pictures of that? Yes, but the light is different this time! And look at the shadow! (Walk about 10 feet.) Ohhh look at that! That would make a nice picture!  (Walk about 20 feet.) Oh, there's a bird! Can I get a shot? Yay! Coming back - Oh! look at that! Wait, didn't you take a picture of that on the way out? Yes, but it looks different on the way back in! OK - just put the camera away and enjoy the walk/hike. About about 10 minutes later....Ohh look at that! Camera comes back out....


Basically me anywhere:

Oh, look at that! Pulls out phone....


It is such a beautiful world around us - we need to stop and experience it. We are all so focused on what's in front of us, the challenges we are facing, and what's coming up next, that we rarely take the time to actually see what's around us right now AND enjoy it. I happen to enjoy photographing it as well. I'm also happy to see that some of my friends are posting photos of the things around them as well.

Please don't speed by the sunsets without seeing them. Please don't race home to beat the storm without seeing the beauty of the storm. Look at the clouds - I can't tell you how many cloud shots I have. Be in awe of what's around you. 


Fast forward those many years - I can still hear Mr. Haddy as I take my shots. What's in the foreground? What's in the background? Are you sure that's the best angle? Where is the light source? Where are the shadows? Can you frame it better? 

Thank you, Mr. Haddy, for teaching me how to capture what I see.

From my sunrise excursion when dressed so delightfully...

The full lightning shot from my vacant lot vantage point

Various other shots from the road....

Before I could get off the freeway to find my vacant lot

Waiting at a signal on the way to work

AHHHH!! Pull over!! Pull over!! On the way home from work

From various hiking delays....

From hanging over the fence, standing in the weeds,

 at the dog park at my apartment complex

What ya looking at???

Yup - gonna be a good sunset!

And for every good photographer looking 

for the perfect shot.....sign? what sign?

"Things are only as important as I want them to be....."

"Things are only as important as I want them to be....."

Thank you Jon Secada

"I'm Free" (YouTube link)

In my previous blog I borrowed from David Bowie, and today I'm passing along a song I rediscovered a few weeks ago by Jon Secada. When you have a couple minutes take a listen - the lyrics are really good.

So it was a long, somewhat challenging week, and last night I was tired, hungry, and frustrated. After eating some dinner I felt somewhat better, but by bedtime I was starting back down the thought trail of "I'm frustrated with this" and "that should have changed by now" - you know, basically, "why aren't things the way I want them??" Old habits die hard.....

Finally kicked myself in the ass - "just knock if off and go to bed."  Had a restless night, and when I woke up I was still fighting it off. OK. Time to get serious. "You are NOT getting out of this bed missy until you get your head on straight." (good thing it's Saturday - it took a while, and I would have been very late for work on a weekday....) 

"You are going to appreciate everything today."  Everything?? "Yes, EVERYTHING."  "Do you have arms and legs that work?" Yes. "Then get them moving and appreciate that they work." Oooohhhh. OK. I see your point. "And be thankful that you are moving that lazy body out of a very comfortable bed."

Rain is in the forecast this weekend, so wanted to hit the trail this morning. Went to fix a quick breakfast so I could get out the door, and when I opened my pretty empty fridge, I regretted not stopping by the store on my way home last night. Kinda grumbled as I pulled together what I could that would feed my body for the hike. "Did you just open a refrigerator with food in it?" Um, yes. "Think about that. Do you appreciate your beautiful working refrigerator in your beautiful kitchen??" Um, no, I hadn't thought of that. "Well, that's something to appreciate too."

So you get the idea...

I stopped fighting with myself and started to open up and settle in to this appreciation game for the day. (The whole day??? "Yes, the WHOLE day.")

Threw on my trusty old tennis shoes I use for hiking, my trusty old hat - and glory be! It's only 65 degrees as I leave the house. YES!!! I'm actually wearing jeans!! (of course, half way through the hike I'm thinking shorts would have been a better choice....)

Jump in my trusty old car, roll down the windows, turn up the music, and head to my trail. Get to the park - nuts! Everyone else thinks it's a great day to hit the trails too. There will be several people on MY trail. Pick the route I want to take and head out. Yup, people, and many mountain bikes. Hmmmm.... OK, turn this around Lynette - you are appreciating everything. So, I smiled and wished a good morning to everyone I crossed paths with. And you know what? They all smiled and wished me a good morning too. I gave encouraging words to one bike rider who was really struggling to get up one of the steeper parts of the trail. She laughed, said thank you, and seemed to brighten up. 

When I stopped at one of my favorite spots to sit and meditate, I was annoyed when I heard voices coming up the trail. Nuts, I wanted the quiet, and noisy hikers are coming by. Can't they hear how loud they are being? Sheesh. As I'm sitting there thinking that with all the people and activity, I'm not seeing the wildlife I normally see, I turn around to the voices...and I get the best surprise! The "hikers" were on horseback, and I got to meet some absolutely beautiful creatures! They paused so I could take photos and meet each horse, give them treats and get nuzzled. How awesome was that??!! OK, so maybe it's not a bad thing to have people on my trail...

I spent the rest of my time on the trail truly in appreciation for everyone and everything. 

When I got home, I got a glass of ice water. Wait - did I appreciate what I just did? There is clean water for me to drink whenever I want it, and there is a freezer where I can have ice whenever I want it. How often do I appreciate that?

I go to take a shower to change from a hot sweaty mess into a presentable human. Again - I can have a hot shower whenever I want AND change into clean clothes.

Then I start making my list of other things I need to get done, like laundry and grocery shopping (to replenish the earlier mentioned empty fridge). Kinda start to grumble about that - wait...

I have a grocery store walking distance from my front door that is full of thousands of choices of food and household items I use. Do I really appreciate what that means?

I have a washer and dryer in my apartment. I can do laundry whenever I want. Do I really appreciate what that means?

Hmmmmm.....this appreciation thing is starting to get out of hand.....

People who know me know that I really have very little in the way of possessions. Had a hard lesson early last year where I learned that stuff really is just stuff. But apparently I'm still learning the lesson of how to truly appreciate my life, the people in it, and my experiences. The value of the God given talents that I either downplay or don't recognize. Isn't that part of appreciation too??

Let the ass-kicking begin. None of the conditions of my life have changed, but the way I think about them is changing. There is so much to appreciate, I don't know how I have the time to find the things that I waste so much energy being unhappy about. Sheesh. 

"Things are only as important as I want them to be....."  

Choose what's important....

Choose what to focus on....

Choose to appreciate...

Have a great day....and here are some photos from my appreciation hike: