life lessons, one lens at a time

I have a confession.  

 

 

I was in a rush.

 

 

And there was this accident. 

 

 

I didn’t mean for it to happen. I feel terrible!! 

 

 

I broke Sam’s camera and lens. There.  I said it.

I got something out of his camera bag and was in such a rush, I didn’t zip it shut. When Sam went to pick up his camera bag, the contents crashed to floor.  It defies explanation, but I was in another room, heard the sound of the camera and lens hit the floor and immediately knew, oh, no. That was my fault!

Sam has been without his camera for several months now and he admitted yesterday how much he hates it!  So today, he dolled up his kids in the best way he knew how, grabbed my camera and my favorite lens and went for a photo shoot.  

I must interject here why Sam grabbing my lens is so significant.  Sam and I are husband and wife photography team and our shooting style is…well, symbiotic. We just work so well together and the images reflect that.  I like to be up close, in your face, in your space, making you laugh and smile and Lord knows whatever else I can do to get the shot with my 50 mm prime lens.  My lens doesn’t zoom, so I have to move around.  On the other hand,  Sam, is…where is he? What do you mean you don’t see him?  That’s because he’s hiding in the trees, behind the trash cans, quiet as a mouse, armed with his beautiful 70-300 mm telephoto lens capturing all the goodies, but at a safe, comfortable distance.  We’re are capturing the same moment but from very different perspectives. Sam has only tried my lens one other time, and it was so foreign to him, not just the operation of it, but the way in which you have to move with it.  Today, his longing for shooting got the best of him and he was determined to rock my lens.

And did he ever.  These pictures rock my world, baby!

 

This one is one of my favorites!

Son, this better be the only time I see you behind bars.  Seriously. 

I love how he moved around the kids, tried new angles and pushed the boundaries with his imagery.  Without trying to sound like his mama, I am so proud of how much he’s grown as photographer.  And while I’m desperate to get his camera and lens fixed, I must say that breaking his lens might have been just what we needed to break out of our own comfort zones and rediscover our creativity. 

 

Each difficult moment has the potential to open my eyes and open my heart.