First Forays into Photography

I've always been a creative type. I love to write, play piano, and draw in various mediums (though not very well) but my latest foray into creative expression has been photography. I think the 2013 film "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" planted the seed in my head when I watched it many, many years ago. There's a moment at the climax where Walter finds the person he has been searching for. He starts to speak, but the photographer shushes him as his subject comes into view after hours of waiting. When the opportunity to take the picture presents itself, he refuses to and says to Walter:

"If I like a moment, for me, personally, I don't like to have the distraction of the camera. I just want to stay in it."

That prompted me to use it as a meditative practice of being present and looking to find scenes worth capturing, and boy has it helped with that. I find myself just stopping occasionally to look at things - Leaves in color, a ladybug on a flower, or a person on the street - and taking those things in. I don't always have a camera, or desire to take pictures in that moment, but it always reminds me to just be present.

To slow down, and to just exist.

There's no need to take up the hobby to practice this, but I think it serves as a constant reminder to exist. To take a break from the fast paced society and digital lives we lead, and to remember about the wonders of everything that exists outside of it.