I dropped my lens into my dog's water bowl.

Well, actually, I didn’t see it happen.

Several nights ago, I ran upstairs to my room to get my camera out because the moon looked really cool and I wanted to capture it.

Fast forward to a couple nights ago. I went up to my room to tidy up a bit. I glanced at my dog’s water bowl and one of my lenses was just having a little swim.

So of course I was like, “What the heck??” I’m guessing that in my shuffle to grab my camera, the lens just fell out and I didn’t see it.

Naturally, I was pretty upset because camera gear isn’t cheap, but I did learn a valuable lesson not to store my camera gear near any kind of liquid.

In the end, I decided to laugh about it, because there’s nothing I can do to change the situation! Two good things did come of it, though. First, I ended up getting a different lens and I fell in love with it instantly! I should’ve dropped that other lens in the water sooner! Second, my brother is a mechanical nerd, so I figured he would have a good time disassembling it to see how it works!

The moral of the story: You can gain just as much from a bad situation as you can from a good one. Focus on positivity and you’ll see positivity.

∆ Abbi

The Journey Itself Is Home

There's a quote from the Japanese poet, Matsuo Basho, that goes, "Every day is a journey, and the journey itself is home." This quote resonates with me a lot because I think it's so important to enjoy your journey just as much as the destination.

If you read my first blog post, you will remember me talking about my kiddie-handled Fischer Price camera that I had when I was a little kid. I loved taking photos with it. I had all kinds of ideas about what I wanted to take pictures of. 

That being said, though, I didn't have experience, the proper equipment, or the education to understand how to achieve these ideas in real life. I was only seven years old after all.

It was disappointing. It seemed so easy in my imagination. 

If you look at these two images below, you will see one with terrible lighting and bad composition. The other image has more artistic lighting, a more interesting composition and no distractions. These pictures were taken about 16 years apart.

When I was at work last week, I was thinking about my photography journey and how far I've come. I was thinking about how much I can't wait to continue improving, and that's when it hit me: If you are pursuing your passion, even if you haven't reached all of your goals yet, you are already living the dream.

People, including myself, get caught up in all these things they want RIGHT NOW, yet they forget that getting to the destination is half (or more than half) of the experience. Love your journey, trust your journey and enjoy every minute of working toward your goals. Once you reach your goals, you will have wished that you had taken more time enjoying the process.

It's not too late to start living your dream.

∆ Abbi

A Different Perspective - Part 1

It's a photographer's job to capture moments in a way that captivates us and holds our attention. Achieving that goal isn't always easy. Actually, it's rarely easy. A lot of thought and inspiration goes into a great photograph (and sometimes a hint of luck), but many times you lose your inspiration.

This has happened to me countless times, both in photography and my personal life. Most recently, I got into such a funk when I was on vacation in San Diego. I didn't think I was taking very good photos because I felt uninspired. I didn't have any ideas about what I wanted to capture. My brother, Casey, told me to switch my lens. I was reluctant to do this because I was sure that I would capture better shots with my longer lens. Regardless, I did what he said and switched to a wider lens.

I looked through the viewfinder and almost immediately, I had a vision of the images I wanted to create, and all I did was change my lens.

We all will experience many ruts in our lives. They're unavoidable sometimes. If you find that you are in a rut, try changing your perspective. If the big picture is stressing you out, focus on the smaller, easier steps. If the many little steps are pressuring you, step back and look at the big picture.

You can always get out of a rut. Maybe all you need to do is change your lens.

∆ Abbi