“You don’t take a photograph, you make it.” — Ansel Adams. Since writing my cardinal story, my love for cardinals has grown. My eyes became keen on noticing cardinal objects or artwork wherever I go. The picture of a cardinal at the beginning of this blog was one such item. I bought this cardinal artwork at a craft fair in Texas. The image on it is a photograph of a cardinal taken by photographer Edward Charles. He worked hard at creating such a beautiful image of a cardinal to share with others. I especially like how he framed it using a special photography technique of blurring the original photo. The blurred frame makes a nice contrast to the original photo. I appreciate the work he put into making it. Creative photographs just don’t happen by accident. (The same thing applies to stories in a book.) The photographer behind the camera sees/feels something special when taking a photograph (writing a book). Part of you enters into the picture. Knowing how to work the camera (learning writing techniques) helps, of course. It takes practice. I’ve heard it said, “You can tell the greatness of a photographer by the size of his wastebasket.” We can work on being more creative by being in tune with the creative side of ourselves. It helps to carve out blocks of quiet time and to take trips on vacations. Appreciating others creativeness can be learned and give us joy (and new ideas.) There is a lot of beauty in this world. I hope you can develop your creative mind to capture more and more of it. Then share it with others.
