365 Project - Day 40

A bust! Some days you just have to call things what they are. Maybe it was just a bad idea to begin with. Maybe I simply didn't try hard enough. Whatever the cause, I failed to deliver a photograph that I'm proud of today. Nevertheless, this journey is about shooting every day, selecting the best. learning and getting better. I suspect I will be disappointed more often than not during this process. Robert T. Kiyosaki said, "Winners are not afraid of losing. But losers are. Failure is part of the process of success. People who avoid failure also avoid success." Here-here!

My family went Christmas tree shopping for the first time without me. We go to a Christmas Tree Farm not far from where we live, trek out to 'The North Pole or South Pole" and search for hours for the perfect Fraser Fir. Well, mostly, I search for the perfect tree, while my boys chase each other around the field and my husband looks "earnestly". We then chop down the tree, load it up, and enjoy hot cider and homemade cookies by the fire before returning home. This year, I wasn't into "crutching" up the hill in the cold and let them go it alone. When they came home, they said they went up to The North Pole, but could not find a suitable tree and bought a pre-cut one. I know they were worried about my reaction, but frankly, I was just so happy that I did not have to go!

The tree looks great and before we decorated, I wanted to capture the essence of the tree by photographing a portion. Fraser Firs are my favorite Christmas trees. A photograph of a small sample, I thought, would be enough (and artistic?). I'm not sure what was going on in my head, but it didn't work. What else can I say? Well, this - what did I learn?
1) I did not try my flash unit. Why does using the flash cause me so much angst?
2) Using either flash or a tripod, would have allowed for reduced ISO (aka I was lazy).
3) Many photos were shot with the shutter speed under focal length. (I wasn't careful.)
4) I should have backed up to improve context and content (simply too narrow).
5) To strengthen perspective, I need to ask, "what do I see and want others to feel?"

I don't mind this failure, though. Advent is about a journey and Christmas is about a savior. Without the journey and failures along the way, Christmas would be unnecessary.
Peace, my friends.

Today's Photo: "The Christmas Journey"

"The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing."




EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 800
50mm
f1.8
1/45