(no subject)
I'm still in Bastrop, Louisiana. Today I took pictures of the Bastrop town square parade. At first there wasn't much to photograph and I felt as if I was going out of my mind! You see, I've been having this problem quite a bit lately. I feel rushed to get a perfect picture and I feel like there's so many opportunities but I just can't get to them in time. There's so much I don't know where to start. And I'm so concerned with this, I can't even look around to find something to photograph. I feel so much pressure when I have my camera on my neck. Like it ways me down. And I know that's so silly. And as soon as my camera is not with me, I see all the perfect shots in the world. Everywhere. All around me.
But today, at the parade, one family changed all that. They were what I've been looking for. They made me calm down. They were perfect. A young mother, maybe a little older than me, holding a newborn baby squatting beside her young husband in a baseball cap and a tank top. Their young son beside them squinting in the sun. And the grandmother, missing several teeth and wearing way too much make-up for the day time. The young boy looked directly into the camera while the rest pretended I wasn't even there. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And in front of them, a pile of spilled sunflower seeds. It was all too good to be true. I wanted to take a whole roll. I wanted to take them home and take pictures of only them for the rest of my life. Of course I only took 5 because I didn't want to bother them too much.
But today, at the parade, one family changed all that. They were what I've been looking for. They made me calm down. They were perfect. A young mother, maybe a little older than me, holding a newborn baby squatting beside her young husband in a baseball cap and a tank top. Their young son beside them squinting in the sun. And the grandmother, missing several teeth and wearing way too much make-up for the day time. The young boy looked directly into the camera while the rest pretended I wasn't even there. It was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. And in front of them, a pile of spilled sunflower seeds. It was all too good to be true. I wanted to take a whole roll. I wanted to take them home and take pictures of only them for the rest of my life. Of course I only took 5 because I didn't want to bother them too much.