Back to Photography

The foot injury has really disrupted my routine, and I've really had to struggle to maintain my daily practice that has proven so beneficial over the last fourteen months.  The good news for me is that even in the midst of disrupting my walking as well as my routine posting here, the disruption has not been so severe that I neglected every part of the practice on any given day.

I fighting back into the routine, and this morning I was blessed with some time combined with a clear mind and was reminded to capture some photos.  I think one of them is particularly fulfilling.

College Creek in the Morning

The weather was warmish, the wind was calm, and the blue sky  was shining through some high cirrus clouds. Although I wasn't out on the "trail," it was a glorious morning for some photography that captured the interface between the sky and the water, the tactile and the reflected, and I'm glad I remembered to break out the camera.

Columbarium reflected in College Creek

This is a photo taken in the same general location looking across College Creek to Hospital Point at the columbarium at the Naval Academy Cemetery. I think the reflection in the still water of the creek makes this a picture that captures the serenity and peach of the morning quite adequately.

It's good to get back in the swing of things with some reasonably good panoramic photos, and I'm looking forward to seeing how tomorrow unfolds.

Early Evening

I'm pretty tired this evening, so I'm just going to leave this right here and turn in for the night.

Focusing on My Priorities

Today was a bit of a disorganized mess at work. Monday's generally are, but for some reason today seemed like I spent far more energy and focus working on other people's priorities and letting some of the things that I know I need to do for myself slide in order to meet someone else's expectations.

One of the good things that happened today was that I was able to recognize when this was happening. That recognition is a sign of growth. I spent far too much of my life to date working very diligently to fulfill someone else's expectations for what I wanted to do. Following that path has led to a pretty stable existence, but if I'm not careful I'm going to end up regretting not putting enough time into my own agenda.

If I'm blessed with another opportunity tomorrow, I'm going to make some strides in the direction of putting time against my priorities. I have a job application to fill out, and it's not going to get done on its own.  I need to put the time against it because if I don't put my best effort forward toward this opportunity, I know I'm going to regret not taking the chance. It may be one of the handful of things I've ever really pursued for myself. There have been others, but the number is shockingly low for someone who has reached their early 40's.

I am grateful that I've found a way to start growing into my own over the last several years, and now it's time to put some of that hard won knowledge to use.

Extending the Return to the Newish Routine

I took a bit of my own advice from yesterday, and extended my return to the newish routine that had been established during my recently truncated walking streak. Not walking forced me to explore even more locally some viewpoints of the sunset that have been right in front of my house the whole time, but they were never explored because there never seemed any need to explore them.

It's a lesson for me because as much as I'd like to think of myself as becoming more observant with walking, there is always something new to explore in the one meter around me.

At any rate, I was able to capture the evolution of the sunset today from three different angles at three different and evolving times.

Sunset over Annapolis - Early in the Evolution - Standard Location

This photo was taken from the front porch of the house which has become something close to my default location for capturing pictures of the sunset.  It's nice, but as the sunset evolved, I began trying to think of ways to remove the fencing in the midground from the picture.

Sunset Over Annapolis - Mid-Evolution - Slightly Offset and New Location (for me)

In search of a cleaner midground, I made a very short jaunt down the road, and was able to capture this picture.  Of the three photos this evening, I prefer this one the best.  It's a much cleaner foreground and midground, and I'm able to see clear the view to the colors of the setting sun.

Sunset Over Annapolis - Final Shot - Elevated Position

I really thought that the second photo would be the final shot of the evening, but just a little bit later, I glanced out the third story window of the house and was met with the vista captured in the third and final installment for the evening.

The sun had long dipped below the horizon, but the colors of reflecting off the clouds grew deeper and more stunning as the twilight progressed. I still like the foreground and midground of the second photo, and I wish I had captured these colors from that same perspective, but this one is pretty enriching as well.

It was good to get back into the photography game, and I was blessed with a a richness of color that does not occur every night. It was also quite nice to be reminded that no matter how entrenched and positive my routine might become, there is always something to learn right in front of me.