Step I: Turn on the Camera

Before my brother passed, I wrote a couple of posts trying to define the purpose of this blog. At first, I wanted to just talk about Isaiah and my life as a new mom, then I wanted to document my journey to becoming a professional writer. What I am realizing is - this blog is just as unpredictable and fickle as my actual life because... well, it is my actual life. I am still writing - but I have gone back to writing for the enjoyment of my husband and interested family in what I affectionately call - my email series lol. It has recently taken on an Edgar Allen Poe vibe and I am actually pretty comfortable in that lane.

So, new adventures. As I mentioned, I bought a fancy new camera earlier this week. Aside from staring at it alot, making sure my two year old stays AWAY from it, and taking a couple of strange pictures of my feet - a view that will change a great deal in the next five and half months - I haven't really done much with it. I have been sort of nervous about getting started. Yesterday, like any good lawyer, I decided to read about the camera. Before I left for work, I grabbed the camera manual and committed myself to reading it and googling information about my camera over lunch. The goal: to make the most of my first pictures. Much to my disappointment, google results consisted of reviews and sample pictures AND even more disappointing, the manual was nothing more than an operation guide. For instance, Step One: Turn on the Camera...

WTF?!? I thought it would tell me about angling the camera and taking amazing pictures - where to shoot, when to shoot, how to shoot, who to shoot...

No such luck.

It told me what each little icon on the dial did and that's about it. The manual was less than 30 pages and when it ended it didn't offer me a good luck, or anything. I realized, that the camera, like my trusty pens and pencils, wasn't going to make me a photographer. I didn't stare at my pen and wait for it to tell me what to write. I didn't google how to work a BIC in hopes that I would find inspiration. So - what was I doing? I could pick up Gordon Parks camera and I am still going to be me taking amateur pictures with Gordon Parks camera. Anyway, on my way to pick up Isaiah from daycare, I decided to get brave, stop being a punk, find the beauty in my commute and snap some pictures at stop lights. Luckily, a very full and vivid moon decided to follow me home as the sun was setting. The moon is a big player in my house. My son loves to scream "Da moon, da moon!" every time we see it and if he doesn't see it he says, "Mommy, I don't see da moon. Mooonnn, Moooonnn, where are you moon?" Anyway, I thought what a perfect subject for my "first" pictures. If they came out bad, Isaiah would still be excited that I took pictures of his precious moon. So, aside from the odd stares I received from neighboring vehicle occupants, this is what I got:

jj