Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” Confucius
Establishing rituals can contribute to happiness in our sunset years, and pursuing beauty embodies a simple one to implement. Resolve to find beauty every day. If you cannot find it, create it.
JOINING INSTAGRAM (IG)
This ritual led me to IG, a free, online photo- and video-sharing service for users to share images and videos, publicly or privately, on the app. Both professional and amateur photographers post to IG, gaining followers based on the content of their galleries. As a user, I choose who to follow and then begin every day admiring their feeds. Photos of stunning sunrises and sunsets. Awesome natural vistas and cityscapes. Arresting public art and architecture. Lovely flowers and cacti. Tantalizing food and beverages. Even mundane objects make worthy subjects for photos.
GETTING STARTED
New to photography, I invested in a decent camera, the Sony Alpha a6000, a mirrorless digital camera. It functions much as a DSLR yet is less expensive (about $600), easy to use, lightweight and compact. Additionally, I bought a 50 mm f1.8 prime lens (about $200) to have some fun shooting bokeh (the aesthetic quality of the blur in the out of focus areas in an image). And I watched many hours of instructional videos. Thank you, youtube, a source of information on countless topics. Shooting and posting my images on IG sends me in search of beauty, adding a purpose to my outings. In fact seeking photo opportunities often shapes my day.
The images on this page will change periodically, but please visit my Instagram.
ABOUT BEAUTY
We don’t need to take up photography to get stirrings of happiness from beauty. Developing an appreciative eye for our environment and the people in it will help to fulfill the beauty imperative. •
Marie McLean says
Lovely photo, Pam.
Ken McLean says
Being fairly inept with a camera, I’m glad cell phones came along. Often a cell phone camera will take a very good photo, and it has the advantage of always being with you. Recently we took some shots of the beautiful effects of snow frozen on the trees on the slopes of Mont Bromont. We would not have been able to do so if we had needed a camera.
Pam McPhail says
Some cell phones take excellent quality photos, so you can have a lot of fun taking shots with your ever handy phone.