Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working...Pablo Picasso

Pelicans take a break from fishing on Jodie Reservoir along the Poudre
River Trail near Windsor, CO.

I've been taking a LOT of photographs lately and it got me to wondering why I never listed "Photography" as one of my art forms on my website.

I think I got my first little point-and-shoot camera when I was about 11 years old.  That, unbelievably, means I've been taking photographs for 50 years.  GASP!!

Yup, I started in the dark ages of FILM.  The stuff that came all rolled up in little plastic canisters I stored in the refrigerator to keep the film fresh.

It was expensive to buy, develop and especially to waste on blurry images.  I think that's why I became so frugal in my compositions--filling each and every frame to the max to reduce waste and save time cropping.

My results took a dramatic improvement when I was finally able to afford my first REAL camera--the kind that required knowledge of f-stops and light meters and change of lenses. But, that didn't happen until I was taking my first photography class as a sophomore in college.  

Quiet water reflects twisted sticks in the banks of Jodie Reservoir.

That photography class and all the ones that followed for many years required dark room work, which I really enjoyed--except for one small but major problem.

I never could really see very clearly.

I wore glasses and my eyes were worsening every year so my glasses never gave me the precise focus that would enable me to precisely focus both my camera and enlargement lenses.

I had a wonderful camera, a wildly creative imagination--yet my photos more often than not were just this side out of focus!!  It used to drive my photography instructors crazy, frustrate me to tears, but I stumbled on, often using intuition over actual capability for what I could see and photograph.

As the years proceeded the camera gear became more sophisticated and I began to wear contacts--both which improved the sharp focus that had eluded me for so long!! My writing and photography became intertwined, especially during my years in public relations and as a photo journalist.  

Spring's dandelion readies to fly!

I did not go gently into that good world of digital photography.  I was just getting the hang of film!  I am still learning possibilities of digital images and I have also learned the benefits of a small point-and-shoot camera with so many options I choose to ignore most of them.

I learned that this size camera slips into my pocket so easily, weighs almost nothing and produces some pretty amazing images. And with an 8 gb card I can take THOUSANDS of images!!!

I have a passion for macro photography especially with flowers.  Perhaps it is the Georgia O'Keeffe in me but I'm often reminded of this quote of hers:

"When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment."

Tulips open in early morning sun.

She also said:

"Nobody sees a flower--really--it is so small it takes time--we haven't got time--and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time."

I believe that's one of the reasons macro photography is so appealing to me.  For that one moment the flower and I share something very special--that is, if there isn't a gust of wind or Molly decides to pull on her leash at that moment.  Both of us quite still and in an instant I have been privileged to connect with something so private and beautiful that I cannot think of words to express it.  

If you are curious as to why someone who is always connected to her camera is suddenly inspired to take even more images, please check out my other blog:
http://whimsycalls.blogspot.com
"The Art of Seeing, Words and Images," Parts 1, 2 and 3--the Final Exhibit.

It has prompted me to appreciate that this lifelong love of taking images is overdue in my acceptance and acknowledgment of it as my first art form--and one that sustains me daily.  

It is now featured along with other aspects of my art on my website:  www.tobybakerart.com.