I Believe

"I believe in the sun even if it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when He is silent."

This quote was in an email I received today and I thought it was worth sharing.   The picture that came with the quote was of a statue in Iraq showing one of our soldiers mourning the loss of his comrades.  Let's remember, and pray for, our brave soldiers today as they fight for freedom.  It doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat or whether or not you support the war, the soldiers still need your prayers & your support.

Courage

"Whatever you do, you need courage.
Whatever course you decide upon,
there is always someone to tell you
that you are wrong.
There are always difficulties arising
that tempt you to believe that your
critics are right.
To map out a course of action and follow
it to the end requires some of the same
courage that a soldier needs.
Peace has its victories, but it takes brave
men and women to win them."
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), USA

Emotions Out of Control

"Emotion turning back on itself,
and not leading on to thought or action,
is the element of madness." John Sterling (1806-1844), Scotland/England

Do these clouds remind you of a world gone mad?  Is this how you feel when you don't deal with your emotions?  Do you feel totally out of control & subject to whatever the world wants to dump on you?   When you have negative feelings, or positive ones for that matter, deal with them.  Don't hide them away or at some point, when you least expect it, they'll re-surface and bite you in the behind.  It's better to deal with emotions when we initially experience them and may be better prepared to deal with them.  Emotions seem to build if they're repressed, so deal with those feeling when they arise.  It may be difficult, but you'll be better off for it in the long run. 

The Art of Photography

"I want to expose people to nature and wilderness and wildlife, and make a difference, but also do it in a way that has all the elements of what we consider traditional art: the creativity, the composition, the light, design, texture, whatever it might be, and the moment."  Conor Risch
I found this quote in PDN Magazine yesterday and thought it was worth sharing.  All of the things Conor mentions are important to good photography.  You can take pictures of a scene, but without the proper lighting it's not going to be as dramatic as it would be otherwise.  The same thing applies to "capturing the moment" when you're photographing wildlife or people.  You can take wonderful pictures, but if your subject is not doing something interesting, it's just not going to have the impact that you want. So, be patient, wait for the right light, compose creatively and capture the moment.

Have a great day and Happy Shooting!

Happiness

"Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars . . . . and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful. Everything is simply happy. Trees are happy for no reason; they are not going to become prime ministers or presidents and they are not going to become rich and they will never have any bank balance. Look at the flowers - happy for no reason. It is simply unbelievable how happy flowers are." Osho (1931-1990) India,USA

It's too bad that we can't just be happy for no reason. Why can't we? Do we just make things more complicated than they need to be? Do we constantly strive to have more, to do more or to be more? Do we complicate our lives unnecessarily and, as a result, cause unhappiness and dissatisfaction? Perhaps we need to examine our lives and determine if we're causing ourselves unnecessary unhappiness and stress. If we are, maybe we need to work on being a little more like the flowers, the birds and the trees, and be satisfied with what we have. Does that mean we shouldn't strive to do better and shouldn't have goals? No, it just means that we need to determine what's important to us and do the things that will help us achieve those goals instead of stressing about those things that aren't important.