I wrote this in another blog yesterday:

I’m in serious trouble here, folks.

Serious.

I caught a bug, or I should say it caught me, and there’s no getting rid of it.

It hit me early this morning (for some reason I awoke at 3:45 am and couldn’t get back to sleep) when I started perusing the 17 volume Time Life photography collection my father-in-law sent me. Even though they were written in the 70s there’s a goldmine of information such as how to take pictures of children and the inner workings of cameras and lenses.

I realized then how long it will take me to read all those books and apply what I’ve learned.

When will I have time to write — short of getting up at 4am every day?

I fear I’m not a writer anymore. I’m a shutter bug instead. Winning the photography contest and losing a writing contest hasn’t helped any. The worst part is I’m not certain it’s a bad thing.

At the same time I don’t want to allow my new love of photography take the place of my love of writing. I doubt I will, the more I think about it, but I can’t help but wonder.

What I need is discipline (Ha!) and set aside time each day for both.

Since then I decided to create yet another blog on what I’m learning about photography, both when it comes to the equipment and technique. Little did I realize when I first bought my prosumer (a point-and-shoot camera with manual capabilities) that it would suck me in to the point I ache to learn more. Expecting the camera to do all the work isn’t enough for me. I want to be able to control the lighting, coloring, depth-of-field, etc, and use them in creative ways.

So I will be doing a lot of reading and practicing, and to keep up with my writing, I will share what I’ve learned. I will also share my successful photos, perhaps even my failures.

Mostly, I want to share the infinite creativity in God’s creation, large and small.

The new blog is called “To Be or Not to Be — A Photographer“.

I hope to see you there, both to share in my journey and provide any insights you may have.