Monday's Moment

Moments.

It's one of the things I love most about what I do. I capture a moment in time. I can never go back & recapture that same moment because it'll never look exactly as it did when I clicked the shutter. It may sound cliche or silly but it's true. Obviously there are some types of photography(product/studio) where it's possible, but that's not my cup of tea. I love photographing landscapes & people. There's something amazing about capturing the beauty of God's creation & knowing it is changing every day. 

I probably can't say this about every photo I've ever taken(that'd be an insane number to try & calculate) but I have images that when I look at them I remember the exact moment. I can vividly remember where I was standing, how everything looked around me, & most importantly how I felt. The picture above is the Grand Tetons. I chose to share this picture with you today because it was a defining moment for me. This is the first panoramic image I created. I was on a field trip in school. We spent an entire week in Yellowstone national park in the dead of winter. It was cold. So bitter cold. I took this image from a bridge. I remember setting up my tripod & trying to make it quick because I was freezing. After taking the pictures I remember thinking "I think that's going to be good," & then jumping in to my classmates car to get warmed up. It was a moment in time I can never go back to. Little did I know after returning from that trip this would become one of my most favorite images I've ever taken. Why? Because after seeing it on my computer screen I felt pure joy. I fell in love with landscapes. I fell in love with trying to capture this creation around me. 

Here's another one:

This was the very first newborn shoot I ever did. My sweet friends had just welcomed their precious little boy in to this world & I was excited to take pictures. Looking at it now I think I've come a long way (it's hard not to critique yourself as a photographer) but this was another moment for me. After processing photos from this shoot & feeling such joy for my friends & the journey they were on, I knew I wanted to do this. I knew I wanted to focus on capturing these wonderful moments in life that would take people back. Take people back to a time in their life where they felt pure joy. Now don't get me wrong, every new mom is really feeling tired, exhausted, overwhelmed, hormonal, tired...oh did I already say that? But when she holds her baby for the very first time, or even sees her newborn's photos it's nothing but pure joy. 

And as far as I'm concerned, people need more moments like this.

Moments of pure joy.

Happy Monday friends. Try and find a moment today.