Snail in the Smokies. © Diane Hughes, 2012 My love of photography goes back to childhood. I remember creating a poster for 4-H detailing the parts of a camera. In my 20s, I bought my first SLR camera and took a few photography classes. Last year, I purchased my first digital SLR and rediscovered my love of photography, a passion I had allowed to atrophy with the death of film and the rise of digital.
Since investing in the new camera, I've begun again to explore the world through a camera lens, rediscovering the thrill of choosing f-stops and shutter speeds while plotting composition and depth of field. Much of my recent work has focused (no pun intended) on getting up close and personal with everything from snails and snakes to flowers and frogs. With macro work, it's all about the details.
In thinking about the joy I find in viewing Mother Nature up close, I was reminded that we humans can learn a lesson from macro photography: that occasionally we need to get small (apologies to Steve Martin) and forget the big picture. To put a new twist on an old adage: Sometimes we fail to see the trees for the forest. We become so overwhelmed by problems in the world at large that we may fail to recognize the small problems right in front of us.
Take the sad-looking person in the checkout line. Perhaps a smile is all they need to lift them up. What about holding the door for the person just behind you? Or complimenting your co-worker on her fabulous fashion sense? Every day, around every corner, there are opportunities for SMALL random acts that can make a BIG difference to someone. It's all in the details.
Remember the analogy of the stone thrown into a body of water and how the ripple grows larger as it goes outward? Let's go create some ripples today. They may seem small in the moment, but who knows what ripple effect they might have. And some day, when you most need it, that ripple might reach out and touch you.
Have you made ripples recently? Did someone perform a small act that made a big difference to you? Please share your thoughts in the Comments.
Since investing in the new camera, I've begun again to explore the world through a camera lens, rediscovering the thrill of choosing f-stops and shutter speeds while plotting composition and depth of field. Much of my recent work has focused (no pun intended) on getting up close and personal with everything from snails and snakes to flowers and frogs. With macro work, it's all about the details.
In thinking about the joy I find in viewing Mother Nature up close, I was reminded that we humans can learn a lesson from macro photography: that occasionally we need to get small (apologies to Steve Martin) and forget the big picture. To put a new twist on an old adage: Sometimes we fail to see the trees for the forest. We become so overwhelmed by problems in the world at large that we may fail to recognize the small problems right in front of us.
Take the sad-looking person in the checkout line. Perhaps a smile is all they need to lift them up. What about holding the door for the person just behind you? Or complimenting your co-worker on her fabulous fashion sense? Every day, around every corner, there are opportunities for SMALL random acts that can make a BIG difference to someone. It's all in the details.
Remember the analogy of the stone thrown into a body of water and how the ripple grows larger as it goes outward? Let's go create some ripples today. They may seem small in the moment, but who knows what ripple effect they might have. And some day, when you most need it, that ripple might reach out and touch you.
Have you made ripples recently? Did someone perform a small act that made a big difference to you? Please share your thoughts in the Comments.
