I am in an interesting predicament here. No… not the fact that I am doing a new post even though I was holding this blog hostage until you all read my post called ‘What a way to go’… which you have to go down a few posts and click on the ‘read more’ thing at the bottom of because I reblogged it… No, not because of that.
It is because my wife has no interest in being included in my blog. No, that is understating the case. She has asked me specifically not to include her… or the kids… in the blog. In the interest of privacy, and national security. So it is sort of hard to do these romantic Monday posts for Ed Hotspur’s series. http://edwardhotspur.wordpress.com/2013/01/28/next-a-romantic-monday-post/ which you should all go and see because a lot of good bloggers do some really sweet stuff. If you look back on my contributions, they are mostly silly ways of getting around the fact that I am not supposed to stick my wife in them anywhere, although some of them are really sweet if I do say so myself.
This week, while many of you are suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous winter, we went for a walk on the beach. Hey, don’t blame me… blame San Diego and global warming. And then move somewhere where you don’t have to dig your car out of a snow bank to go to work.
Instead of showing pictures of the two of us… no, not me and you, my wife and I… strolling down a romantic beach as the sun sets and the palm trees sway, I am going to focus… (that’s a camera joke, sort of)… on how you can change the whole feel of a picture with just the simplest little change of perspective. And you can do the same thing with life and love as well.
Take the picture above… too late, I already took that picture!… (sorry, that was another camera joke)… You have birds and water and trees in the distance and a sunset. It is a lovely picture…
This picture is taken at the same time in the same spot, but I just zoomed in a little. Now it has a different feel than the other picture even though it is just a small part of that other picture. But this is what cameras… and people… do. Two people can be together looking at the same sunset and birds and water and trees, and yet they are not seeing the same thing. I am an artist. I see the colors, the interplay between light and shadow, shape and form. Someone else would see all these things but be more interested in the water, or the birds. Maybe you like clouds like Ed Hotspur does…
A sunset on a beach is always romantic. But what is the person you are with seeing? A camera takes a picture and stores it in its memory. A person does the same thing with their eyes. And how they perceive the same view that you are seeing is colored by their wants and desires and feelings and the history of their lives. There is something magical about these pictures, not just because they show a beautiful scene that I can share with all of you, but because this night was a moment of intimacy shared with someone who I love…
You are in a partnership with your camera when you take photos. You are paying attention to what the camera sees so that it captures something special about the place where you are. But if you are in that place with someone special, it is a simple yet wonderous thing to try to make sure that they are seeing it and experiencing it in a way that is magical to them. Just as you try to visualize what the camera will see you can take the time to make sure that the person you are with is capturing memories that mean something to them…
Maybe they like birds, or trees. Or perhaps it is something they want to talk about. You might walk a little farther to see something that they find appealing. Or stop walking when they grow weary. It might be as simple as letting them lead the way, seeing what it is that they wish to see. Or you might find a hidden little spot that you can share together, a perfect place to steal a kiss…
Okay, that is enough preaching. It isn’t like you need romantic… or photographic… advice from me. I am being presumptuous.
But my point that there is a fine line between a good moment and a great moment can be summed up by the following pictures. We brought our dog Shiloh with us on that walk. These pictures were taken by my wife, in the space of just a second or two…
That is me and my dog. The dog is a little bored and yawning after her long walk. She is having a good moment. Then she noticed the birds…
Now she is having a great moment. Look at her body language. She is now excited and ready for some fun. And all because I took her somewhere and showed her something that she really wanted to see. I think she has helped me make my point. Thank you, Shiloh.
I leave you with one gratuitous picture of our dog pretending she is the queen of Egypt…
Oh, and also the official seal of the Ed Hotspur Romantic Monday post…
Sorry I was late again, Ed.
Pouring My Art Out 
Sigh. I sure miss the beaches of San Diego! I need to visit my family out there, sooner than later, too!
You better let me know if you are heading this way…
OF COURSE I WILL! DUUUUUH!
Stop sarcastic yelling at me!
Love the pics!! And I’ll have to read more of you.. Now I’m interested!! ~ Jen
I know this will sound concieted, but I guarentee that if you just scroll through the swamp that is my brain… and this blog… you will find something that makes you go ‘what’???
Possibly.. but would that be so bad? I don’t think so! I love outseide the box!! Good stuff my friend!! ~ Jen
Thank you. And I bet I spell concieted wrong anyway.
Nope! That’s right!! ….I think (haha) I’m a writer that can’t spell.. Who’d a thunk?
I am a writer who can’t spell, a blogger who can’t use the computer, a joker without a sense of humor, a man who relates better to women, a musician who can’t read music… I am just that deep.
Cool.. I think all that is great!! Who wants to be ordinary like everyone else? Who is perfect at everything.. nada! You seem unique & you know who you are.. right on! My dad has some sick guitars that I’d love to learn how to play.. I too love music! ~ Jen…
There is a thing at the top of the page that says ‘my songs’… if you click it, you can hear some guitar songs I wrote, sung and played. And they have funny little movies that go with them… just sayin’…
Sweet! Thank you for sharing that!! I wil def. check it out!! I love me some music!! ~J
I am just here to keep people happy.
I read your Sea Scouts post, I just didn’t realize you were taking attendance there.
Only on the posts that I had to almost die to make it interesting. Thank you. I put the grapefruit spoon away.
hostage taking is a lot more energy intensive than some people think; especially when you don’t have the proper tools, or haven’t taken the time to prepare for all eventualities, or when no-one’s listening to you……
I’m sorry… did you say something?
yes, i said, hostage taking is a lot more energy intensive than some people think; especially when you don’t have the proper tools, or haven’t taken the time to prepare for all eventualities, or when no-one’s listening to you……
sigh…
Pingback: Next – A Romantic Monday Post | Edward Hotspur
I’m glad you put the grapefruit spoon down! This was beautiful and reminded me of a few things I have been forgetting (avoiding) lately. Thanks.
Thank you. It might just be easier to write about some things than to live up to it in real life.
Isn’t that just the way. Write we will however, and perhaps a little rubs off? I hope!
We can learn from ourselves???
Who would have thunk it!!!
Not me… oh man, I just did it again…