As I write this, summer has begun to fade into autumn. The sun is rising later each day and setting earlier. School will begin tomorrow for most, and if we are fortunate, Covid-19 will not prevent our children from returning to a normal school year. The past year and a half has been taxing on everyone, but I feel, mostly on children and the elderly.

If you are like me, you look for ways to make life feel normal again. Through my photography I try to remain optimistic and hopeful. After the initial feeling of loss and depression I tried to change my mindset. Each day I try to focus on something positive and happy. Finding happiness in my surroundings, home, food and my family all bring me immense comfort. For those who have followed me for any length of time, I am sure you have noticed the abundant photos of my porch, kitchen window and of course Lily. These are all reasons why I feel my photography took on a happy message instead of one reflecting loss and devastation.

I began to change my views literally, my vantage point, how I look at objects and where I look at those objects from. Mainly, we stay home, a few outings to a restaurant, but no place where there are large groups of people. Summertime provides an escape to the beach, and this year we went just about every weekend. The beach allows me to feel normal, fresh air, sand and watching my grandson play like a little boy should. As summer progressed, I am in awe of how much he has grown, not only in size, but how he has become a little boy, not a toddler anymore. He always has some funny comment or a silly face to show us, he has become quite the little human.

During July and August I took an online course meant to help me elevate my own photography. As an artist, I think it’s important to see things in a new light, otherwise your work may become stagnant. As I change as a person, my photography changes. I seem to look for the peacefulness in still life scenes and outdoor scenes instead of clutter and busyness. I have been leaning toward more neutral colors, with a pop of color as an accent, instead of color being the main element in my photographs. I know this style isn’t for everyone, but what is important to me, is that my photographs reflect how I feel, how I see life in this moment. How are you seeing the world and your corner of it after this very exhausting year and a half? Probably more cautious, maybe you have also become more of a homebody, or maybe you don’t feel completely comfortable in a room filled with large amounts of people. All totally understandable! Social media is one outlet for connecting with people from the safety of your home. There are so many amazing individuals on Instagram, so many friendships I have made, with people in areas of the world I will most likely never be able to visit. People who are amazing artists and share their work and views with all of us.

The shot above was taken this past week, you can see how the light has changed so much in a few short weeks.

As you can see above, this photo is severely overexposed, but the wind was so strong yesterday at the beach, I had reservations about taking my camera out one more time. When these three banner planes flew by, I knew I had to try and get a shot. I fumbled with the bag and finally got the camera out, as you can see, there is so much wrong with this photo but there is so much right too! The banner planes are a huge part of the Jersey shore summer experience, so I had to get a shot. This is the second time this summer I saw this formation, I had never seen it before so I felt as though it deserved to be in my Summer Days 2021 blog.

As I end this blog, Labor Day Weekend is upon us, summer really is over (sigh) . . . Autumn is a beautiful season, crisp mornings, beautiful colors and cool nights on the porch with a warm beverage. As we head into Autumn, I hope you all had a fabulous summer with many memories to cherish.

Until next time, thank you for following along . . .

with gratitude –