no – this isn’t a post about composition techniques!

two weeks ago, i had my busiest week, professionally and personally combined, since i started running my company. on top of all the normal stuff, i had four shoots in a row: one each day from monday to thursday; i went out three nights and one morning to various social events & meetings; one of my kids went on a school camp and the other had a milestone birthday; and my car chose THAT WEEK to play up, requiring daily visits to the mechanic and last-minute scrambling to borrow a loaner.

as the week wore on (in other words, by monday afternoon LOL), i could feel my general sense of peace evaporating and even though outwardly i was still me, inside was Frank Costanza in the famous “SERENITY NOW!!!!” Seinfeld episode. moment by moment i was enjoying my clients, the photo shoots and the events; but overall i was “butter scraped over too much bread” (thank you Tolkien).

today, i was thinking. if it’s true that that day to day dramas won’t matter a year from now – or even a month from now – then why let it matter RIGHT NOW? life is much longer than this moment, therefore this moment is suddenly much less important.

“a small pebble, when held up to the eye, obscures all else and blurs the vision; whereas if it is cast to the ground it becomes an insignificant bump on the path.” perspective is one of the greatest wisdoms, i think. and the greatest challenge is to keep it in view continually.

at the beginning i said this wasn’t a post about composition… but really, it is. you need to be conscious of what your life is made up of. is it a collection of helpless responses to stress? or is it an overall positive calm, in spite of the squalls and storms?

here’s a photo from a walk in the rain with my camera last week:

(SERENITY NOW!!!!) 🙂

“Photography is savouring life at 1/100th of a second”
-Marc Riboud

i am surrounded by people who often say to me: “how can you enjoy yourself at |insert place/event here| when you’re lugging that giant camera around?” or: “you’re not even really here, you’re watching everything through that tiny window”

so, finding a quote like the one above resonates with me. there are others out there who feel most like themselves while recording their world through a viewfinder, & to deprive us of it assuming that you are somehow relieving a burden is at best a misguided kindness… at worst an arrogance (oh dear, that’s a harsh word isn’t it).

photographer Chris Orwig says, in a recent guest blog post for Photoshop Insider:

“Photographers are an interesting bunch. …we discover that life’s small mysteries and moments can be magnified. Somehow we get more out of life with a camera in hand. When we take pictures, we see more clearly, we remember more deeply, and we live more fully… We are driven to create something that is one of a kind. We want to expresses our unique voice and vision. It is something we have to do. Taking pictures satisfies an internal thirst. It is an essential part of who we are.”

some people scorn this worldview, and feel pity for those so dependant on a little clicking box for enjoyment. but you can no more turn off the art in an artist than you can prevent water from wetting things. without a camera to hand, we are often even more distracted; mentally frustrated by the lost opportunities to capture & create.

so be tolerant of your “mad” photographer friends, and consider that the behaviour which you find so vexing today may well delight you in years to come, when your own memories of the day have grown hazy & faint! 🙂

(ps: i highly recommend visiting the link above for Chris’s guest post: it’s a fantastic read!)

as a response to the urgent call for funds which has followed yesterday’s heartbreaking tragedy in the beautiful garden city of Christchurch with the horrific 6.3 earthquake, available light ltd will be shooting for free!

we are donating 100% of every session fee for family photo shoots booked during the rest of this month (feb), and all of march 2011. that’s $250 per session! donations will be made via the Red Cross – so please spread the word! just contact us at via e-mail or phone 027 2527 488 to make a booking and your session fee will go straight to the people who need it most.

OTHER FUNDRAISING & ASSISTANCE EFFORTS which you may also want to contribute to

Delish Cupcakes’ “Get Your Bake On” fundraiser sale (North Shore Auckland): March 5, 10am-3pm (Shop 4, 16 Raines Ave, Forrest Hill)
more details on their facebook event page

Campbells Bay School Family Fun Fair (North Shore Auckland): March 11, 4pm-8pm originally planned for internal fundraising, now ALL proceeds from this hugely popular event will be donated to the Christchurch Appeal! bring your families and enjoy a great evening of fun, entertainment and food at the school, Aberdeen Rd Castor Bay. facebook event page here

Handmade For Christchurch: visit this facebook page to donate handcrafted items and artwork which will be auctioned on TradeMe with all proceeds going to Christchurch. handmade4chch TradeMe auctions here if you want to bid on anything

Christchurch Charity Auctions: visit this facebook page to donate new products and services to be auctioned on TradeMe with all proceeds going via the Red Cross to Christchurch. chchcharityauc TradeMe auctions here if you want to bid on anything

Student Volunteer Army (Christchurch): join this facebook page if you want to help with physical cleanup operations once Civil Defense has given the all-clear