"CY365 Trio"
There are things that I do every day because I have to - get up, make the bed, feed the dogs and cat, etc. Then there are the things that I do every day because I want to. I had no idea 578 days ago when I joined the Capture Your 365 community and committed to taking and sharing a photograph ever day how big a part of my life this would become. On days when other potentially more important things get passed over on my to-do list, I still manage to take my picture of the day. They are not always great and I am not always happy with them, but I take at least one EVERY DAY.
Though the actual taking of the photo has become an important discipline for me, sharing it with the community has become equally important. I enjoy perusing the gallery in the evenings and seeing the photos posted by the other members of the community. How did each of them interpret the daily prompt? From sharing our daily photos with one another every day, I feel like I really know these people. I know their favorite colors; I recognize their family members; I know their hobbies, favorite foods, and where they have been on vacation. I worry about people when they are missing from the gallery for a few days. Through this virtual community we have shared joys and sorrow, love and loss, prayers and celebrations with one another. I had no idea that genuine friendships could exist this way.
The natural next step for these virtual relationships is to meet in person. I was so fortunate to be able to spend today with two members of the CY365 community on a photo walk at Fort Delaware. We walked and talked and took photos. And, we got wet, very wet! And that was okay. You know you are with good friends when one of them gives you a rain sleeve for your camera because you decided, for the first time ever, not to carry your big camera bag on this type of excursion.
Fort Delaware is on an island, one that requires a ferry ride to visit. The ride over was lovely. Most of time spent on the island was lovely. About the time we were ready to catch the ferry back and go have lunch, the storms came. Thunder and lightening and wind. One of the ferry runs was cancelled due to lightening. After waiting forty five minutes, we finally made our way to the ferry. Though the lightening had subsided, the rain had not. We were totally soaked by the time we got to the restaurant for lunch. Our meal was warm, but I was freezing. By the time we left two hours later, I was still wet. Even being wet and cold, I had an awesome time.
After we got home, everyone started uploading their photos to Facebook. I realized that one of the coolest parts of the day was to see what images caught the eyes of those that I was with. We did not split up at all during our photo walk, yet we all had different images, different perspectives, different focus on the day. I have loved seeing the images posted by the others. It has been so helpful to have dialogue back and forth about our photos because we know the exact conditions in which each shot was taken. I have so much to learn about photography. Opportunities and conversations like I have had today are like discovering a goldmine.
Most of my shots from today tended to focus on the structure of the fort.
I was also taken by the furnishings and the appointments of the various rooms in the officer's quarters.
I only took a few "people" photos and they were not my favorites of the day, but I do like this one.
I am grateful for a day filled with photography, fun and friends!
