After keeping focused and diligently working for two months, I’m on a brief vacation with my family. It took an adventurous full day of travel to arrive at a beautiful house in Costa Rica on the side of a mountain overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The view reminds me a bit of our former home in New Zealand overlooking the Hauraki Gulf.
A change of scenery is good for the soul. Having the opportunity to be together with my husband, sons, daughter-in-law and in-laws is a special treat. From our perch we are enjoying nature—howler monkeys, lizards, butterflies, moths, spiders and, of course, birds. It especially makes my soul sing to see my 27 year old boys so excited to spy a lizard on a rock. It reminds me of when they were 5 turning over rocks on the beach in New Zealand looking for little crabs. My dad told me I would miss those days. He was right.
My son Austin has been honing his photography skills for several years now. He has a naturally good eye. Must be all the museums I took him to during his childhood! While he began focused primarily on bird photography, he has expanded to anything in nature that interests him. His goal is a compelling composition. I think he achieved his goal in the photo below.
Photograph by Austin Loewen
I am also finding more inspiration for my own work. A great way to develop your eye as an artist is by taking photos. And of course cell phones make this so much easier and inexpensive. No more buying film or paying and waiting to get it processed. You see your results immediately and can take multiple pictures at no extra cost. You can also edit photos easily.
Taking photos also helps you discovery what interests you. Part of developing your voice as an artist is honing in on what is important to you. What do you notice? What peeks your interest? Why? How do these images feed your work? Exploring these questions will deepen your work. This is also one way to create your image bank.