I haven’t been as focused on doing photography as I’d like, not since class ended last May. Taking photos became an afterthought because so much was going on around here. It’s hard to attend to what’s going on and then stop and record the moment. Like on the competitive trail ride. I would like to have taken more photos, but I was hanging on to my saddle for dear life. Too bad, because Raudi is very photogenic.

Yesterday I took my camera along on the road trip. It’s a good thing that I did because Patty also brought along her Canon point and shoot. We were also on the same wavelength as far as what we set out to accomplish, which was to have a good time and get a few good shots. We quickly discovered that we also like taking photos of the same thing –signage. It’s near impossible to get a memorable image because the words are often the image. Bullet holes in a sign, worn wood, missing letters, misspelled words – they all contribute to the message, whatever it might be.

I enjoyed taking the time to do nothing but chat, stare at the passing scenery, and take photos. The shot of the prison guard was tricky because he might have said that I had broken the law and had me locked up.

No court trial because the prison was right there. Slam, bam, thank you ma’am. Then I’d have had little or everything to take photos of. My resultant exhibit would be seen by just a handful of people – mainly disinterested prison guards and interested prison inmates. It would (of course) be entitled “The Goose Bay Prison Facility: A Retrospective look at Life on the Inside from an Outsider’s Perspective.” The Insider/Outsider wordage would have double meaning, meaning that I always appeared to be ill-suited to prison life.

I’d probably have a good number photos of prison fodder, including several of canned spaghetti. I’d have so much time on my hands that I’d finally figure out depth of field.

This is all speculation because the guard would have taken my flash drive away – a loss because it contains my out of focus photo of him. But it wasn’t a loss because it and the others weren’t all that great.

I’d really like to take another class with another instructor – perhaps at The University of Alaska, Anchorage. Dunno. It’s a long way to go to take a course.

I do feel energized, having spent a day working in a differing art form besides writing. Life was not meant to be a slog. Sometimes we must be able to walk on the water.

Next: 314. 10/20/12: Meeting New Friends