...there was a kangaroo giving me side-eye. Okay, maybe that was a bit after the beginning, but I thought I’d share this picture for the first post in the Find Your Light blog. My goal is to use this blog to share cool photos, pass on some random thoughts about photography, and give you glimpses into my quirky life.
I named the blog Find Your Light because it’s a triple entendre for me. Sidenote: I occasionally create words and phrases. Because sometimes you just can’t find the right word because it doesn’t exist. Moving back to reasons for the blog title…
…I remember hearing Tyra Banks tell contestants on America’s Next Top Model to “find your light.” You can’t show off the pretty (or the handsome) if you’re hiding your face and other visual assets in the shadows.
…As a professional photographer, light is everything. There is no picture without light. We manipulate light in every way imaginable – move the subject, move ourselves, add on-camera flash, add lights on stands around the subject, adjust the shutter speed, and adjust our camera’s sensitivity to the amount and spectrum of light hitting the subject. And once the photo is taken, there’s still more opportunity to manipulate the image in Lightroom or another processing software.
…A big part of my journey as an adult has been to find a career that feeds me on multiple levels. Feeds my bank account, my intellect, my creative spirit and my happy. And I am very, very protective of my happy. If you’ve ever had a job you hated - you know the heavy cloud of darkness and dread that tried to suffocate you when you went to (or even thought about) work. And if you’ve ever had a job you loved – you’ve woken up excited about your work, eager to start another day and let your light shine. I’ve been on both sides of the job spectrum – and finding my way to the light saved me. I hope you find yours too.
So that’s it for today’s post. Forgive the overuse of ellipsis. I promise to mix things up in the future. And if you’re wondering about the kangaroo – it was one of the lantern displays at the 2018 Dragon Lights Chicago Festival. Check out tinayuculture.us for more info about the traveling exhibition.