Every Picture Tells A Story
It’s no secret that I am a lover of photography. I always have my iPhone with me, and I have been known to purchase the latest release just for the camera upgrade. But I am one of those rare souls who still totes around my faithful companion, my DSLRCanon camera with its assorted lenses. I truly am in my “happy zone” when I am capturing moments, whether it’s people, animals and birds or stunning nature scenes.
2020 has been hard on my emotional well-being. As an empath, I feel the emotions of everyone and so I have been dealing with the extreme heartache and sadness about the toll of the Covid virus and also the worry of what the forced shutdowns have done to small businesses and the economy. This year, more than ever, I have turned to photography to relieve my stress.
It’s true, every picture tells a story. I have taken thousands and thousands of photos in the past year. I have also had family photo sessions with professional photographers. The family above tells the story that my family is indeed my heart and soul. I know it sounds cliched, but it is the truth. They are what keep me going.
The photo of my Mom and Dad inspire me to keep going, no matter how rough the journey may be. They have been married for over 65 years and have weathered many storms and hardships along the way.
The photo of the sky is from Christmas Day 2019. My Mom was very ill all last fall and winter and was admitted to the hospital on December 23rd and spent Christmas in the hospital. I was so fearful that she was going to die, she was that sick. On Christmas morning, I got up and went to our office to retrieve some hidden gifts. As I pulled back into our driveway, I spied this plane’s trail heading towards heaven. I immediately felt a sense of peace and when we got to the hospital later on, we discovered that a Dr. finally found out that meds that my Mom had been on for over 22 years was the cause of her being so sick.
This past Thanksgiving, I felt so beat down and overwhelmed. I went to the local state park in search of solace and comfort. I spied this beautiful Eagle perched in a tree. I spent over an hour in its company. I talked to it, snapped over a hundred photos and sometimes just stood there in silence, gazing into its eyes. (I had a telephoto lens and was not as close to it as it appears in the photo.). I returned home with my hope and faith restored.
The final photo is from Christmas Eve 2019. My oldest granddaughter is gazing at her Christmas tree and although I can’t see her eyes, I am confident that they are gleaming with the radiance of the season, reflecting with hope, anticipation, joy and awe. As we head into the unknown in 2021, I am going to try my best to embrace the new year with the same emotions.