Sharing

I have lived alone, except for my cats, for the last four years. Prior to that I was in an interactive family as a daughter and, later, as a mother and wife. I had always regularly had other people with whom to easily relate, to share my dreams, triumphs, and daily thoughts in general. Four years ago that shifted, and one year ago it shifted even more radically. Previously I had been able to easily reach out to friends and family during real times together to talk and share. Then last year we were told that we should shelter in place and have as little physical interaction with others as possible. What does a single person living alone do? Thankfully, creating my website allowed me easily to have a daily blog, which has been a salvation for me. Every day considering what thoughts, memories, and visions I will write about has given me a way to find an outlet to communicate with others that used to be so easy to do with my husband and children. I seldom have writer's block because somehow every day something happens to give me the necessary impetus of new thoughts that I used to be able to exchange one on one. Yesterday I was excited as I looked at some of my most recent attempts at ICM photography. I couldn't wait to show them to others and hoped that they, too, would be interested, and perhaps also inspired to view the world in a different way. My wonderful photography mentor, Trace Aiken, shared a quote he had recently discovered that encapsulates I think what it means for people to be able to share their creative side with others. It says, "What I'm doing is responding to things the way composers respond to sound, and hoping there are people out there who will be affected by it in some way that affects them personally and has nothing to do with me, but has something to do with what they get out of the picture." This is a quote by photographer Carl Chiarenza (American, b. 1935), who prefers to create provocative images that he hopes the viewer will feel invited to explore. I am not sure how provocative either my musings or images have really been for those with of you, my readers. I just know they are important to me, and as my family of friends, I look forward daily to sharing them with you in the hopes that they will have some meaning for you. This image is from my Monday ICM photo shoot. I have named it "Lines and Edges." If you are interested, I will let you know what was the basis of this composition before using the ICM photography technique.