Behind the Digital LensMusings of an Amateur Photographer

8th Feb, 2010 Winter

When I was a kid I loved winter, and I grew up in a “snow” state. Because of family circumstance, I did have to help with the shoveling, but for most of those winters we had a snow blower, so it was more snow blowing than shoveling, although I did have to shovel to break up ice. But, even still, I loved winter. The snow, the cold, the icicles hanging from the eves and trees – all held a beauty of their own.

Sadly, though, I had not yet discovered the joys of photography; from those years of living in Iowa I have no “record” of the beautiful winters that I experienced.

And now, I live in Texas and our winters are of rain and mud and cold winds that penetrate to the core. The trees are bare of their foliage leaving them looking like forlorn skeletons begging to be embraced by Spring and Summer. Only the evergreens seem to welcome the cold and rain.

This year we are experiencing an El Nino winter, which means we’re having a lot of much needed rain, along with a lot of cold. In recent years we’ve seen a few rainy days and cold snaps, but this year our temps have barely made it in to the 60’s and we’ve seen rain nearly every week, sometimes for days on end; our lakes and water reserves have been refilled.

It’s hard, though, with all of the rain and cold, to grab up a camera and head out and shoot photos, not that there are a lot of “subjects” around this area to photograph. This year in particular I just don’t have the desire to venture out in the cold, maybe because it is so wet and penetrating unlike years’ past and my arthritis is finally reacting to all of the cold. That leaves me with few things to photography, and those few things are my dogs and the birds at the feeders, and most of the bird photos are taken from the warmth and dryness of the kitchen.

I am so looking forward to our trip to Florida next week so that I can find some warmth and “new” things to photograph. I left Florida in 1996, well before the age of affordable digital cameras and when I moved to Texas I couldn’t really afford film and processing. The age of digital photography opened up a new world for me and my brief return to Florida for vacation will give me the opportunity to explore places I enjoy there in a new way – from behind the digital lens.