“When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.”
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Since my physical travel has been limited since March, I have spent more and more time traveling through books. While listening to one of my favorite podcasts, The Candid Frame, I discovered the work of Keith Carter.
“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. ”
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2020 has certainly brought about its challenges. When I compare my life in 2020 to what my life was like in recent years, it is almost
“My soul is full of longing
for the secret of the sea,
and the heart of the great ocean
sends a thrilling pulse through me.”
―
For the past decade, summer has been a time for me to travel and explore the world around me. Many past summers I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to travel for weeks.
While the summer of 2020 was very different,
“Look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory.”
― A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
For the past ten years, I have spent a great deal of each summer traveling and photographing. This summer has been quite different.
Although I have not been able to spend weeks away from home exploring, I have managed to make short day trips to
“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”
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Each summer, I look forward to spending time in the sunflower fields. The fields bring me such peace and joy.
This year, I was afraid that
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”
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Participating in scavenger hunts and in the 52 Frames project have been terrific ways to keep me practicing my photography. I find that each image I make, the good and the bad, help me create better pictures the next time. Both the scavenger hunts and the 52 Frames project also
“I believe that each person has a favorite place, a tree, a mountain, or a beach which they want to come back to, even if the return can only take place in the boundaries of their imagination.”
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I have several places that I return to again and again to photograph. Roan Mountain is one of those very special places. One of my favorite times to visit Roan Mountain is
“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.”
―
When my world became smaller, due to circumstances beyond my control, I began walking. I have always enjoyed walking for exercise, so this choice was not unusual. I simply started walking more.
In addition to walking, I
