These images bring good times to mind. That's the blessing about capturing moments, which later serve as reminders of where you've been, traveled, and ultimately wish to return to. There's one image that represents a time that I will never be able to return to. The image in which I'm standing on a fence on land which once upon a time belonged to my family. Sometimes I wish I still owned it and other times I realize that everything happens for a reason and; it happens when it's supposed to. That image represents the first time after my father passed away that I visited the farm and was met with the challenge of taking care of not only it but also my grandmother who was still alive then. I had a lot of help because my mom was also still alive. She kept me strong during what was a really tough time. One of those crossroads of life. I remember setting the timer on my little camera(pre-digital days) and running to jump on the fence to strike a pose. I stood tall and proud and I wondered, what was next in life...
The image of the colorful vehicle represents one of the first things I saw when love and I went to the Philippines. It was an exciting and curious moment. I was like "whoa, this is cool." In my mind, I felt like I was in photography heaven because in every direction I found the coolest things to capture with my camera. And as we drove further along I'd see the most interesting people along the way. It was the beginning of a journey and a moment in time that spoiled me beyond belief... I have no doubt the second time around will be even better. The challenge is making that happen and hopefully soon...
The image of the man represents when I went to Atlanta to visit a home that I owned there at the time. It was also one of those moments in my life that I wasn't most proud of because I was escaping a bad time in my life after allowing poor decision making to stir me in the wrong direction; pursuing unrealistic dreams with the worst kind of people pulling me down. Getting away to Atlanta by way of stopovers in Texas and Louisiana was a reminder of what I loved so much; photography. As I sat in a downtown park in Atlanta, I saw this man on the verge of walking right past me. I didn't have time to raise my camera all the way up, aim, focus and shoot so instead I lifted my camera slightly and snapped the shot really quickly. I prayed that I captured him in the shot and had no clue until I viewed the image later that evening. My discovery is what you see. I was excited. That excitement took me away from any and all problems or stress that I had in my life at the time. That was magic.
Finally, the image of the bed and the ocean outside the window was pure heaven. It was what my first morning in the Philippines looked like. And the feeling was pure magic, lots of love for SHE is the reason why heaven existed and still exists, and the best part that warms my heart was the sounds of roosters crowing in one direction mixed with the sights and sounds of the ocean outside. (a reminder of how I grew up during summer visits to Texas. No ocean but sounds of roosters) All I could think and feel was that I'd been blessed with the best of both worlds thanks to the love of my life. Her home in the Philippines is simply amazing and what could possibly be better than to have two people in love, surrounded by love, enjoying an incredible breakfast of longanisa, eggs, garlic rice, delicious pancakes, great coffee, and fresh mangos... It truly was heaven in more ways than I'd ever thought possible... the only thing missing was being able to call my mother and tell her what an incredible time I was having. Instead, I had to believe that somehow she was there in spirit with me or perhaps watching down on love and I from heaven above...
Most of this is written somewhere on this blog but tonight I had to revisit these moments in time. I happened to be browsing thru old images and these stood out... Life is truly an amazing journey, through all the good and bad... ups and down... crossroads and high times.... it is whatever it is....
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