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I caught the end of a program on NPR last week about Monet, how his failing health and eyesight affected his work as his world closed down in later life. I felt the need to express my own thoughts on how photography has affected my life.

To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, I am an old woman, yet a young photographer. The days of my youth were spent pursuing more important things, like a career and a young but growing family. Today I search for more elusive goals, a radiant sunset or one perfect bud barely visible in the morning light. The spirit rejoices in capturing those magic, fleeting moments. The spirit may be young and eager while the body is growing weary and having second thoughts about any extra or unnecessary physical activity. Discovering my passion late in life does not make that search any less important or any less sweet.

Long hours wandering wood and wetland are now fewer and farther apart. More physical effort is needed to plan and execute each trip but the fun, as always, remains in the chase. New ideas such as grunge & whimsy plus constantly changing lifestyles and fashion demand growth and constant change in my own focus. Photography and Photoshop evolve, requiring even more time and thought invested to work out the fine details of each finished image.  By then, more hours have passed and while I may have forgotten my original inspiration, happily and hopefully I have learned a little more and a new work is born.  

The possibilities offered by the changing landscape with the unfolding of the months ahead offer the best reasons to keep eyes and options open and ready for that perfect shot. The best reward is finding one among many memories of sunlit summer days caught in all its glory on my computer screen, as January’s icy winds howl outside the door. And remembering how my plans changed that day when I heard the call of a blue heron around the last bend in the trail. And remembering, once again, why we who live in Michigan wait for spring to come.