A Instant of Time

“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than those you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the wind in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain

Coming into the holiday season, it has me thinking of all that I have and all that I’m fortunate to have. My life, my family, my health…all those things that I love and hold dear to me; yet I wonder, what about the things, places, opportunities that I haven’t taken full advantage of?

I’m fortunate that I live in a place that has so much to offer and so much to see and explore; most of which is local or within short traveling distance to my home.

So why haven’t I taken the opportunity to get out and explore, dream and discover?

Good question, one I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. What I’ve concluded is regardless of the commitments that I have, there really isn’t any “great” reason why I can’t. So, I thought I’d give myself a little inspiration and a goal…to take the time, no…to make the time and most importantly to actually get out and explore what I have so close to me.

If you’re like me and haven’t made the time to explore what you have so close at hand, maybe you’ll join me and make the time to discover what’s in your backyard…here’s a glimpse of mine.

“The eye should learn to listen before it looks.”
― Robert Frank

There really is a quiet beauty to black and white photography that allows you to see the essence of each image. Your eye isn’t distracted by vibrant hues of color, the noise, the static, your eye is able to view the image as it appears, simplicity; the reality of it, the emotion of it, good or bad, it’s there.

There are amazing photographers through out history that have come to represent what it means to be an artist, documenting life through the lens of a camera. Dorothea Lang and Robert Frank are just two of a many that are synonymous with images that represent life in decades past. Hopefully their work will continue to inspire and awe as they have for me for generations to come.

Take a moment as you look, as you observe and just imagine what you’re hearing and then what you see. Imagine it in black and white. Imagine what that image would be in its simplest form, just take that brief moment before you click the button and close the shutter, to Robert Frank’s point, listen before you look.