Why the pictures?

The city is asleep, if it ever really sleeps. Looking out the window, across Lake Michigan, towards the east. Lakeshore Drive is there. There are a few cars running north and others running south, heading into town. The sky is just starting to lighten in the east. Soon the sun will be coming up. It is that magical moment between nighttime and sunrise. Waiting, waiting for the moment when the sun will come over the horizon.

Waiting. Early one morning. Walking the path. Sky slowing brightening. What will it be like? Why are they moving that way? The sun will soon be on the horizon. A sad day. Tears, slow steps, tough pathway.

Watching out the window, camera in hand. Waiting. The moon a crescent in the sky. Looking towards the east. Waiting. Watching. Soon. I love to wait for that special moment when you take that picture. Taking pictures is something I enjoy. Why? It is something that I have enjoyed for years. I remember my first camera, a Vivitar 220SL, a single lens reflex camera with a built in light meter. It was special. It was a kit, a camera, 50mm lens, a 150 mm lens, a flash and a camera bag. I used that camera often. Soon I bought a zoom lens. That was when there was no such thing as one touch zooms. It would take a lot to learn how to zoom and focus at the same time. I had come a long way from that first camera as I held my Canon EOS Rebel T3, auto focus. From film to digital. Time has changed, camera have changed and yet, I still love taking pictures.

My heart races as I wait for that moment, that picture. And then, click, and the shot is taken. How did it turn out? That is the reason to take pictures. Perhaps this one will be the shot I have been looking for. Is it good? Is it what I envisioned? Sometimes it happens. Most shots are just pictures. But there comes that one special shot that is much more than a picture. It makes it worthwhile. So I keep trying for that special shot.

Waiting for the sun to rise. Watching, waiting. The moment that it peeks over the horizon. Just a sliver of a light on the horizon. Orange. Slight, soon rising, more than before. Click. The special shot. Showing it to Penny. Seeing how she responds. That is how I will know that it is special, when she is able to see things through my eyes for that brief moment.

Taking pictures. Seeing through my eyes, seeing what I see. Always trying. Always shooting. More pictures than you can imagine. Part of my life. That is what I enjoy doing.