A quest for uniqueness: Suburban adventures and the everyday unique

So recently I've been writing quite a bit about photography and what it means to me for school, and now I'd like to share some of that with all you fun people. Since I've gotten home from California with it's beautiful beaches and breathtaking mountains, it's been hard not to feel a bit underwhelmed with the things that are available for me to photograph. I honestly felt a bit scared that photography wouldn't be quite as fun in Cedar Park anymore because I had just photographed what seemed to be the "Holy Grail" of landscapes.

But then I was adventuring in the undeveloped area behind my friend Hannah's house with her and discovered all sorts of fun little things to discover. And that week fun little beautiful things kept falling across my path, as well as some important realizations.

Realization one: When holding a camera, I feel as if I am living entirely more in the moment. I am looking to freeze time, to show the world what I see. I declare visual war on my surroundings, trying to locate what to capture. Photography doesn't allow me to be passive and simply bounce around in time in space. When I'm holding my camera, it's a different sensation of being there, grounded in the moment. If I'm carrying my camera, my actions and movements are much more purposeful and pointed. I'm going places and doing things to capture the next image.

When we were wandering about behind Hannah's house we discovered some ducks eggs, and now we are on a mission to become friends and parents of the big ducks by feeding them nutritious snacks (in moderation, of course) I poked around the interwebz to discover that they enjoy whole wheat bread (just a little bit each time. Like 3 slices for a flock of 15 ducks), plain cheerios, oats, and frozen corn. They like the bread the best, and we use it to come to the shore where they'll find the cheerios floating on the surface, and the oats and the corn on the banks. When we went yesterday for the second time they were noticeably more comfortable around us.

Our ducks are just such little dorks. We're currently naming one or two of them each time we go. They just swim about on the surface and then stick their butts up in the air and get in little ducky fights and quack quite a bit. I love these little goobers.

Realization two: Opportunities are not going to come to you. Don't expect a random and wonderful photo opportunity while holed up watching Netflix. Go out and wander. Explore. Go for walks in your neighborhood. When you're out and about you have a much better chance of seeing a cozy cat out in the cold or a stunning sunset or a neighbor's well kept and beautiful rose bush. A camera is a tool to document exploration, among other things, and time must be carved out for adventures. Even if your adventures only take you to your local park or around your block new things can be seen. Different plants in bloom, different animals, different sunset/cloud situations. It's all about being prepared and having your camera with you. You never know when the moment will strike and you want to capture The Thing, or maybe All The Things, or The Happenings, but you are sad and unprepared and kicking yourself because you are without your camera. I mean, honestly, how hard is to pack your camera for adventures? I don't believe that people's "good" cameras (DSLRs) should be reserved for vacations exclusively. Break those things out, friends!
Take them places, capture the things.

This is also related to my bit of philosophy regarding taking my camera everywhere I go.

Well before I owned my favorite material possession which is my Canon, I read that the best camera you own is the one you have with you. For me, that meant that my best camera was my sub-par Galaxy S4 phone camera, and that just wasn't going to hack it. So I began to carry my little cross over point and shoot thing. To carry it, I integrated my adventure backpack into my life. My adventure backpack goes everywhere with me with the exception of school. When I purchased my Canon I had decided that it was FOR SURE going to continue to travel everywhere with me. I purposefully bought a camera pouch without any extra straps so I could continue carrying it in my backpack. And I do. My Canon is in my backpack with me everywhere I go, all the time. I've captured all kinds of sunsets and reflections and wild deer and fun things.

Realization three: This bit is just lots of little thoughts about beauty, comparisons, and opportunities that are all vaguely intertwined. So bear with me.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder- You decide what you find strange and beautiful and wonderful in the world. Decide and then capture it.

Don't compare the things you find beautiful with what others find beautiful. Everyone's eye is different. We need all kinds of styles and aesthetics to make the artsy world go round. Just add to the world of art.

Choose to dwell on making the most of the photo opportunity you do have, instead of the ones you don't have. Instead of sitting around wishing that you lived on the beach to photograph surfers and crashing waves, go out and monopolize on the things you can shoot.

Create opportunities for yourself. There's nothing wrong with staged photography. In my photo class we've been integrating toys in nature, and it's so much fun. Go buy pomegranates to take macro shot of them. Buy some popsicles just to melt them and photograph them as they drip. Mix paint just to take pictures of the swirly results. Grab photogenic friends and take pictures in aforementioned undeveloped area. Force friends to blow bubbles for you. It is okay do to things just for the sake of photography, because if you love photography, it'll be just for fun. And it is always a good idea to do things just for fun.