My Morning "Mommy Moment"

The weather this morning was tolerable. Living in the Sunshine State we have had a funny case of awkward weather this year. For this winter season it surely feels wintery to me. :) Although, it is just a cold front that will surely pass by the time Christmas day actually arrives. I'm just assuming that Christmas day will be approximately 84 Degrees? Anyways, the weather has been beautiful. This morning I took a walk with my daughter, Elaina. And on our walk I had a mommy moment. Elaina waved to every passerby smiling and saying "hi." Every person that was walking their dog, she would point and say, "Dutchess." Which is actually her puppy's name at home. Strangers were just walking by, complimenting on how beautiful she is. It was fascinating to me watching her point up at the trees and cars. She actually saw and heard for the first time an airplane in the sky. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree. The park was coming up around the corner. Not knowing the age limitations on a baby swing, I said why not give it a try. We walked into the empty park and as I unbuckled her stroller harness I realized that this is my first time at the park with my daughter. I placed Elaina in the swing and with a single push, that's all it took for her to laugh and smile. The look on her face was new and exciting. She was learning the miraculous feeling of fun. While I was learning the feeling of a different kind of love. The wind was blowing perfectly. It almost felt like I had an out of body experience, watching me swing her into tears of joy. I can play with her for hours just to see her smile the way she did. That was my mommy moment. Just a normal stroll into the park has shown me what I am here for. These are the moments that I"ll treasure for a lifetime. My reasons for posting this blog is because, I am reminiscing the very first time I took my daughter out for a stroller walk. She was 2 weeks old. The time has flew right before my eyes. I used to laugh at my parents when they would say all the time to me, "Where is the time going? You are growing up so fast." And here I am. A mother saying the same exact words that my mother has told me numberous of times, "Where is the time going?" My daughter took her very first steps all on her own two days ago, which reminds me of the very first time I held her in my arms. "Where is the time going?" :)               

Telling A Story Through A Photograph

I wanted to try something new. It wasn't anything spontaneous like sky diving, but it was something to get me out of the house for one day out of the week. I signed up for Photography courses at the nearest community college. Uncredited courses that is. I bought myself a fancy camera and all. A Nikon D3000. Which might I add is an amazing camera. The day I walked into class, the instructor was helping us on  "getting to know our instrument." Which I did. But prior to "getting to know my camera," little did I know that a camera even had a manual function. As the class laughed at me, I thought to myself, "this is what I am here for right?"
A few months of taking the uncredited courses, I have learned that it is not just the art of capturing amazing photographs. It is also about learning to be technical as well. Which, I have accomplished both. Surprisingly, I have learned in just a few months on how to take magnificent photographs in the manual mode. I have learned that I am more detailed than what I thought to be and that anyone can capture better quality photos using the manual mode vs. the automatic mode. Since I have mastered the art of using my camera in the manual mode, I haven't bothered using my Nikon in automatic mode. I was very pleased with going to that course for photography. I even sold my first photo to a student in class! The picture added to my post was from a field trip to Vizcaya. A very popular and historic house and garden in Coral Gables Miami, Fl. This is where many photographers go for Quince photo shoots, Weddings, Sweet Sixteens, Modeling photo shoots and more. One request that my instructor gave us on this field trip was to take a picture of Vizcaya, but to show Vizcaya in a way that he has never seen before. With the fact that he has been to Vizcaya many many times, I tried to imagine something other than just the ordinary post card view of our trip. One thing that I will remember from taking the courses is, taking a picture is not to just point and shoot. A photograph is meant to tell a story. And with that little advice, before I click the snap button, I really think of what my picture is going to tell me. Does your photographs tell a story? Comment to this post if you'd like to share your story through your photograph.