Finding the Joy – 1

I literally cringed when I just typed those words.

I am Scandinavian-American.  Scandinavians are known for being reserved and generally not showing their emotions in public.  In that respect, no matter how much I dislike cultural generalizations, I am stereotypically Scandinavian.  I mean, it’s not that I don’t feel emotions, it’s just that I don’t share them widely very often.   And, if I do express emotion publicly, it’s more likely to be a negative one, like frustration, than a happy one, like (dare I say) joy.

So, why did I type that somewhat uncomfortable word?  Remember how I said I was going to work on being a better photographer?  Well, step one on that quest was signing up for an online mini-class called The Joy of Love (cringing again) given by this awesome photographer named Kelly Willette.  Actually, step one was finding my camera manual and figuring out what those letters and pictures on that dial on my camera meant.  Step two was signing up for this class.  It’s running throughout the month of February; there’s still plenty of time for those of you who aren’t emotionally stunted to get in.  Just click here.  Don’t worry, it’s free.

Our first project was to document one our loved ones in “what they do”.  So, I give you Oscar doing what he loves . . . watching a cartoon on my phone’s Netflix app, just as he does every night, with one of his prized possessions within reach.  No pressure to make words come out of his mouth, no pesky sister running around him, no dog trying to steal his food and Wallace & Gromit before him to entertain.  His version of heaven.

I’m not sure that I’ll be posting photos here every single day (it’s best that I don’t make promises I likely would not keep), but I will be participating in the program each day throughout the month.  Who knows, maybe my hope to be a better photographer will help me break through my frozen Nordic shell.

January 31, 2011 - Posted by Oscar and Etta's mom | Oscar, photography