Selfies

Posted on September 5, 2014 Updated on September 6, 2014

I love taking photos, but rarely do you find me in a photo.  I have friends who obsessively document their journeys through life by taking selfies.  I prefer to look down the lens.  For me it is more than the tourist shot.  I see beauty where others don’t.  A gnarly tree with interesting skeletal branches, you see a dead tree.  Intricate carvings on a pot, beautifully framed, you see a pot sitting alone.  Light and shadow on moving water, you see a pond.  I share a few here and there and have documented some via social media. But mostly the photos are for me.  A way to look back on the beautiful things I have seen through my eyes.  The beautiful people, the ordinary man on the street.  These images will always bring a smile or sigh on a quiet or reflective day.  I see how taking photos can be a distraction, taking from actual experiencing the subject matter.  But for me to sit and capture the beauty of a sunset or sunrise of a place I may not visit again is satisfying, I know I can look back and be reminded of how I felt, what I saw, through my eyes.  This is my travel souvenir, much more apposite.