In My Hands, You Are Stopped

I went out and took photos yesterday. I had not done so in a long time. Francis chewed cud for me. And now, you.

 There is a camera I want, but I am afraid I want it only because it is more expensive and better than my current ones. They are good cameras, but it's amazing how quickly the digital age puts a 2, 3, 4 year old camera to shame. And well, a good camera, a good lens, does not make you a great photographer. I could become a great photographer if I spent my life committed to this small, burning passion of mine. But I won't right now, so I'm a happily decent snapper of one-eyed cows chewing cud.

 When I was younger, I lugged around my dad's Minolta. In high school, I would stand transfixed in the film section of my local pharmacy store, trying to pick out the best film for the shots I wanted.

I could carefully remove a used reel from my dad's camera, beneath a black cloth, and transfer it to a canister tank for development. Those were precarious seconds, when cherished moments in time could be deleted from this earth forever.  They may not have been my best photos, but those black and white pictures I developed with my own hands are some of my most precious.

 I love the digital age, to be honest. I love snapping a bazillion photos and not worrying that I will become penniless from spent cash on wasted film. I love gazing instantly at these snapshots. LOVE, people. It's a childish wonderment - that what I see can (imperfectly) be transferred to something permanent and shared with everyone else. That sometimes I catch real, honest to goodness emotions in the faces of nonhumans....so powerful that others can see it too.

And that sometimes, in a rare brilliant light, my photo tells a story. Those are my favorite.

 My dad's Minolta is still alive. It works perfectly well and is probably older than I am. 

Did you know Dakota, the turkey, can alter his bloodflow to those bumpy caruncles on his neck and snood (long dangly thing)? That his coloration indicates his mood, his feelings? He is in a dapper, good mood in this photo.