In my younger years I took photographs for granted. I used to hate it when my grandmother’s and aunt’s got the photo albums out. I wasn’t interested in them at all, but I had to pretend to be. Not because I had to pretend but I did it because I loved them all dearly and I wanted to please them.
I pretty much took my surroundings for granted too. I hardly noticed the beauty around me until I reached my late forties and almost lost my eyesight. I was lucky some of my eyesight was saved. It was after the operation I began to notice the beauty of my surroundings and everything I looked at mattered to me. It wasn’t a conscious thought, it just happened that way.
It was at this time that I decided to see as much of Scotland as I possibly could. I went to some wonderful places and saw some stunning sights. However, I never thought to take a camera with me. With my partial vision I felt that taking photographs were for people with proper vision.
A couple of years ago and much to my surprise my husband bought me a Fuji-film camera. The photos that are on this post are the first photos I took with it. They are far from perfect but they gave me some confidence to take some photos.
This photograph was taken in the Dalavich Village green, I tried to pick up the autumn colours. I couldn’t make out the hedge growth properly but I new it was colourful because I had been over there to see it.
Most of the photos I took are in and around the village. Some photos were just aim and shoot then hope for the best. They turned out fine, well fine for me anyway.
I haven’t used my camera since I moved to Kilmarnock, but hopefully I will start using it soon. There are plenty of beautiful spots around to photograph.
I have learned to appreciate all the beauty this world has to offer. I hope to start capturing all the lovely things I see. All I need is a bit more confidence with the camera and I am sure I could produce some good photographs. It’s going to be a journey of learning but seeing all the beautiful photographs that others have share on social networks has made me determined to gain more confidence in using my camera.
I have often dragged my husband outside to look at the evening sky filled with the glorious colours of sunset or the moon surrounded by clouds. If I am out anywhere I will stop and take in a view that catches my eye I don’t want to miss a thing. So it makes sense for me to start using my camera more often. Confidence is the key and I often get frustrated if I can make things our properly. But it is really something I would like to get comfortable with.
I am familiar with the camera so I suppose that is quite helpful and it has a 3″ screen which also helps. Some photographs may still end up hit and miss but that situation cannot be helped. All I have to do now is to start getting out and about in my neighbourhood and take some pictures.
In the meantime I will carry on enjoying the beautiful photographs that some of my followers post on Twitter and Facebook. It’s a delight to see them.
You can click on all my photographs to see them larger.
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