Written by Photography was never really my “thing”. Don’t get me wrong, I love photography. I love capturing a story in an image. I love sharing my unique vision of the world in pictures. I love catching moments and preserving them forever on film. And I will even go so far as to say that I’m pretty decent at it. I have an artist’s eye. I tend to see things others don’t. I read light and angles the way most people read street signs–I follow them and they direct me where to go.
But something happened when I decided to pursue my photography full-time…it stopped being fun and started to feel a bit more like an unwanted chore. I really wasn’t quite sure what to do with that feeling. I’d never felt that way about my writing. In fact, writing was the one thing that NEVER felt like a chore. It didn’t matter what I was writing–a letter, an essay, a chapter, hell even a grocery list–it was always a sweet release, a sort of natural therapy.
Writing is what has always made me feel connected.
Writing is what has always made me whole.
It was that feeling of frustration and dread that made me decide to walk away from professional photography. Writing was always my thing. It was always effortless. With photography it was just stress, stress, stress, stress, momentary satisfaction when a client loved something, stress, stress, stress. I’m at the point now where I can actually enjoy picking up my camera to document my own family’s life, or to shoot the occasional project for work. I’m at the point now where I’m falling in love with photography all over again, only this time with a much deeper understanding of just how our relationship works.
So, it was fun this morning to follow Cadence into the den and see Woody and Leo and Cosette in the middle of their own little photo shoot. They had borrowed the little Nikon Coolpix we bought for Cadence two Christmases ago, and Cadence giggled when she scrolled back through the photos of the elves posing in their formal attire. Electra even wanted to get in on the action.
Too bad Woody can’t help us with our Christmas card photo. At this rate, we’ll be lucky if we get it taken and get our cards mailed out before Valentine’s Day.
Oh well, better late than never, right?
Lori Romano 