While I knew we had to head back to the Twin Cities eventually, our last evening in New Hampshire came sooner than expected. Victoria and I headed out for our last lobster roll, then made our way back to the house as the sun set over the mountains. We passed the town beach on Squam Lake just as the sky turned pink, and decided to pull over to enjoy our last sunset over Squam.
photo by Victoria Malawey
The sky was a beautiful mix of pink and blue as the sun made it’s way through the haze and below the mountains. It didn’t last long, but we made the most of it, pausing between pictures to take it all in.
As the pink faded away to blue, we made our way back to the car and eventually back to the house to finish packing. Like our trip, the sunset ended sooner than we would have liked, but it was wonderful while it lasted.
Okay, I have to ask. How do you balancve photo shooting and enjoying the moment. I know when I go some places, I have to leave the camera home otherwise I will be shooting pictures until I run out of film (in the old days) or my memory card is full; missing the entire experience I should be enjoying.
I would be curious to know how you handle this.
Wow, this is probably the best question I’ve gotten on the blog so far.
Finding a balance is tough. I can definitely get caught up in trying to capture the moment, but I don’t necessarily think that is to the detriment of being present and appreciating it. Sure, there are times when I take it to an extreme and just snap, snap away futzing with my exposure settings or other technical minutiae, trying to get things just right. But there are other times where I find having my camera helps me to appreciate what I see before me. I’ll notice the beauty in certain details in the scene that I might miss otherwise. And with a camera in hand, I’m consciously trying to hone in on what it is that I find moving/exciting/dramatic about the scene, and how best to convey that to my viewers. In those situations I truly believe having my camera with me helps me to appreciate and further enjoy the moment.
There are also times when NOT having my camera prevents me from enjoying an experience as much as I should, because the entire time I’m thinking, “Oh, I wish I had my camera right now! I could get some great shots using X lens, and including Y and Z in the frame….” In those situations I need to tell myself to forget about it and just enjoy myself or I might get out my iPhone and make the most of it.
So…I suppose for me it’s mostly about consciously choosing to enjoy and make the most of the moment whether I have my camera in hand or not. I hope that answers your question!
Beautiful Photos:)
My word, those colors are spectacular. Nice.