Today, I am celebrating the individual. Those of us who stand out as our own. Often called quirky, often pressured to conform. Some of us find beauty in our imperfection. The daisies surrounding the one in focus are all standard daisies. The one I selected to be in focus is a non-conformist. It stands out by turning slightly to left (its left) rather than facing forward as the others. The petals are here and there, long and short while the others are completely mundane. The floral disc (center) is also a bit frowsy. This flower stands out in the crowd. It says, I am unique. I have followed my own path--I have story that is not like the others. Each of us has this flower inside, some more than others, some try to tamp down the stray petals, hide the bits that are not exactly like everyone else's idea of perfection. But it is the stray petals, the frowsy floral disc are those parts of us that make us individuals, they are the things that each of us beautiful in our very own ways. Sometimes, we are encouraged not to stand out, or if we do, we should stand out as the most perfect example. Trying to maintain perfection is stressful because it is unattainable. What we should be focusing on instead is trying to be the most perfect individual each of us can be.
The last two days caught up with me last night. On Wednesday night, I slept fitfully, followed by my long day on Thursday, so last night after failing to motivate myself off the sofa, I turned in early before I could post yesterday's photo. Another Descanso day. Today, I selected the A--Aperture Priority mode this morning from the M A S P dial on my camera. Part of the learning to be more technical with both taking and processing photos is learning how to use the camera beyond the auto settings--otherwise I just have a fancy point and shoot camera.
To date, I have used a good eye to take my best photos. Over the past year, I have been feeling more and more frustrated that the photo I see in my head is not the photo that I am able to capture with the lens. So now it is time to move from my natural instinct to learning the technical side. The scary side is that as I mount the learning curve, I will feel more frustration as push out the edges to see what the settings can do. Lots of unfocused photos in my future. I just have to remember that with training and practice what is unfocused today will become sharper and more precise than I ever imagined in the future.