"These days run away like horses over the hill..."
That's the line of a song* I tuned right into this morning, singing it to myself without even realizing I was singing, in the middle of racing thoughts and making plans. It's from those modern-day poets, Bono and The Edge.
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I'd spent the morning flittering about, checking in on students, planning new courses, and spilling tea (thankfully cold) on the poor dog, who had been peacefully sleeping next to me as I worked. (She forgave me, as dogs always do, and curled up for further napping.)
It was the song accompanied by the morning light that made me pause. Not bright sunlight, but soft light, which I prefer. I don't mind overcast days; they're a photographer's friend, giving everything "the old Dutch look" of Vermeer and Rembrandt. The Dutch Golden Age painters were among my favorites to study in Art History 101. They really knew how to capture the quiet moment.
This is happening a lot lately: I'll look up from a racing mind to see something so peaceful and utterly gorgeous, it almost startles me. Perhaps it's the "occasional gorgeous shock" (as Anne Lamott called it first). Whatever it is, I'm thankful that it makes me simply stop and take note of the fleeting moment.
I think that's why I've been arranging so many still lifes lately. There's an inherent mindfulness, a soothing peacefulness, in arranging things for pictures. It's just me, my camera, and ordinary objects, working together to create a visual song.
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VERY GOOD NEWS for those of you trying to capture the precious and fleeting moments with your children or grandchildren: Enrollment is now OPEN for my next online photography course, "The Charm of Children: How to Take Better Photos of Babies and Kids." Click here for all the details and registration. (Spaces are limited.)
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* Lyrics from the song "Dirty Day" by U2 from the album "Zooropa", Island Records, 1993.
