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.
Andra's Blog 
Hope that bug is gone by now! And yes, Andra, send your first chapter my way 🙂 bjbstories@yahoo.com
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Nope, the bug is still there. In fact, I gave it a permanent home.
I figured that by writing about what I learn about photography accomplishes three things: I learn more about taking good pictures, I continue to hone my writing craft, and it gives me a much needed break on fiction-writing.
I’ve concentrated so long on writing novels, I’m a bit burned out. I think this bug is God’s way of telling me to focus on something else for a while. As long as what I do glorifies him in the end (which I hope to do with photography), the medium hardly matters.
But I’ll still send that chapter your way! Thank you!
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Could be just what you need! A different focus (pun intended) can be very helpful. Have fun with it!
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Hey, I didn’t get the “focus” reference until you pointed it out. Must be gettin’ stupid in my old age.
Thank you, Miss Loraine!
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Hey stranger! Glad I came looking for you when I realized that it has been forever since I got a blog update from you. My Google reader stopped updating back in November! Nice to see it was a problem with my technology, and you’re still here. 🙂
As far as your ‘new’ love of photography goes, I’d like to recommend the book, “Refuse to Choose” by Barbra Sher. She says that all that we’ve been told about how you have to totally focus on one thing to be happy or successful is a bunch of poo, and there are ways to do all the things you love.
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Hi Kara!
It’s good to hear from you!
Thank you for the book recommendation. I heartily agree that a person can accomplish many things, and as I can attest, to concentrate on one thing only leads to frustration and stagnation.
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