how I express myself

The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense of wonder and mystery.
There is always more mystery.
Anaïs Nin

san fran lines collage
Looking for Lines in San Francisco

I express myself through my photography. My lens is my eye on the world around me. It makes me more aware. Of light, of colour, of shapes, of textures, of landscapes and details. Urban fragments, peeling paint. A rusty lock. Light through leaves. A blackbird. The perfect flower. The purest colour. It makes me look. And take the time to stand and stare. To wonder. I hold my breath and press the shutter. And hope that I have captured the perfect moment.

How do you express yourself?

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Heyjude

I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.

43 thoughts on “how I express myself”

  2. Loved those woolen masks. Each has a different expression and mood! 🙂

  3. I actually have a hat not unlike the ones in your photo! It is the face of Yoda, and the ears stick out. As I am too embarrassed to wear it, that doesn’t count as expressing myself.
    So, it has to be the writing I suppose; all that personal stuff on the blog, that you told me you would be uncomfortable about putting out there. Thinking deeper, I am not so sure that I still do ‘express myself’ in any form, like I once did. I was doing it for so long, I’m having a rest now.
    Regards as always, Pete. x

    1. Aw Pete, I’m sure you look amazing in your Yoda hat! Yes, you do express yourself through your writing, but I am intrigued by your last paragraph.

      1. It’s not a secret to anyone who knows me well. I was once very political Jude. Trade Union activist, marches, rallies etc. From anti-Vietnam war, to the Ambulance Strike, and lots in between. I expressed myself through politics, protest, and industrial strife. I was one of those ‘Bolshies’ that people like to moan about.
        That’s why I am ‘resting’ now…x
        (Actually, the Yoda hat isn’t as crazy as it sounds, but maybe on someone 40 years younger)

        1. Ah, that makes sense now. I’ve been called ‘bolshie’ myself, but probably for different reasons 😕

  6. I love the faces on the hats too – and such great photo – and indicative of the variety u capture… 🙂

    1. Haha, yes they are very expressive aren’t they? I actually picked out that photo because it is another lines image from SF – only after I posted it did the expression connection click!

      1. I love when the connections jet unfold like that – and Jude, oh my goodness, I keep seeing benches now – not just in the challenge posts – but everywhere we go. lol

        1. I know – it becomes obsessive! I notice them in everyone else’s pictures too, even when the bench isn’t the subject!

  7. You’re a wonderful apologist for photography as art. Thank you. It’s easy to denigrate it in the light of ‘real art’, and yet your every photo is a creative act of seeing.

    I need one of those hats for Warsaw chill: bare-headed isn’t warm enough and my berets don’t brighten up the world. Also great pleasure in your lines, your words and the Anais Nin quote. (She’s always quotable. May just go and download her onto my Kindle for a slow morning read, as I wait for the city to wake up.)

    1. I think of my photos as snapshots of the world around me, but not specifically as art. I’m not a good enough photographer for that nor do I have a specific genre. But since taking up digital photography I know it has opened my eyes. Things I would have walked past now make me stop and study. I see things I never did. And I want to capture it all.

  10. Love your description…I DO THINK IT’s true that we notice much more as a result of photography, always striving for the best shot….

    1. I know I see things that I wouldn’t have a few years ago. My camera is like an extension of my hand these days!

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