I don’t know about you, but sometimes this time of year I feel heavy, slow… and sad as I think too much of those who have gone on. This story explains a wee bit of how I came into Photography in a more serious way as a healing therapy.
My husband and father both passed away in 1996. Some months after Mom’s passing in November 2003, I fell into depression and anxiety attacks. I was on my way to work one early morning in Spring, barely aware of my surroundings. When suddenly I heard her voice clear as day from the seat next to me in the truck where she used to ride on our singing drives through the mountains. “Oh LOOK at the pretty sunrise” she said clearly… my head jerked up, and the sky was full of color and one of the prettiest sunrises I had ever seen! I burst into tears, said thank you… and after that found myself really noticing the beauty in everything around me. It was a couple more years before I got a little camera, while I was working at Cherry Street Manor as a caregiver in the adult foster care home. I found my way out to Bird Creek Meadows on Mount Adams, for the first time since i was in my early 20’s, and took many photos that i brought back to share with the elders I was taking care of. Many of them had memories of places like that and I found it brightened their day also. That led into taking more and more photos, and discovering Flickr in 2007 where I could post photos and learn from others around the world.
This remembering is a good reminder now for me, as it explains and reminds me where my gift of Photography came from, and how it is my heartfelt wish to share the photos with others to help them see the beauty in the world around them. And here I come back to the early thought that when you focus on the positive in this world, it will surround you. I have been blessed to be surrounded by people in life who were indeed positive, creative, and loving!
The above image is a sampler image showing all the months of my 2013 calendar and you can find out more about how to order it over here nearly half of them are spoken for already and they are not even here yet! I will get more ordered.
Starlisa Black Photography 