A different way of seeing

If I had my druthers, I would spend my days driving around the state, exploring cool historic places and taking pictures for great blog posts. But I haven't figured out a way to make a living at that, and honestly I like the taking pictures part a whole lot more than the writing part. Closer to home, I have always been equally fulfilled mentoring kids; I have no children of my own and I like the feeling that I may be having a positive impact in a young person's life. So this past weekend when I chaperoned a dozen teenagers at a regional church camp in Fruitland Park, Florida I decided I would try to find interesting things to photograph from what was available at the camp.

Much of my time was spent in an old gym, and the light coming in through the dirty windows was very inspiring. I don't normally photograph people, preferring architecture and just about anything vintage, but there wasn't much else to shoot.

I also took pictures during meal times, and the kids contributed to the creative energy.

This was actually the concept of one of the talented teens

My brother the photographer has been encouraging me to take my camera off the automatic settings and I have been giving it a try, even though I really don't know what I'm doing. In some cases I get lucky and am really happy for the results. My brother specializes in shooting people, and I have a great deal of appreciation for how good he is at it. So it was interesting for me to approach subject matter he excels at to see if I could do anything with it. I am fortunate to have my own patient photography mentor. I think much of photography (or any art) is having the courage to take creative risks, and I am slowly becoming more comfortable trying new things.

The positive energy of these kids is contagious and I think today's youth get a bad rap. While being a teenager is never easy, these kids have a whole lot more information than I did at their age. It's fun to live in their world for a brief bit of time and see the world through their eyes.

Next weekend I hope to get out and shoot some of the subject matter I am more familiar with. Perhaps I can take a little bit of last weekend with me.

I also found some appealing subject matter in the gym that wasn't people