365 Project - Day 208

“Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

This has long been one of my favorite quotes. Every sentence resonates. We must allow each sunset to be its own; settle the day. Feel good about what we have accomplished, though the day may not have been perfect. I am amused by Emerson's cold choice of "blunders and absurdities". We tend to focus on our mistakes as though monumental. Yet, we undoubtably all commit "blunders", and most of the time they creep up on us as neither intentional nor permanent. The good news is we can own our mistakes without making them who we are. The sun sets on both the good and the bad. Therefore, we start a new day fresh and free of that "nonsense" of yesterday!

Here's one of my perfect examples. Calla Lilies are my favorite flowers. They are beautiful, soft and strong. I was anxious to photograph single stems with a reflector since the afternoon sunlight is strong through our dining room window, casting harsh shadows. I was too lazy, however, to walk into another room to grab the remote trigger. So, I held the reflector in my left hand, awkwardly leaning into the frame while clicking the shutter button with my right. I checked the LCD screen, made adjustments and assumed everything was perfect.

I learned a lot. I am not as keen a multi-tasker as I might believe. Haste and lack of attention to details (like getting the remote), creates waste. And out of messes, rare beauty may still arise. When I processed the photos, nearly all showed camera shake. It took awhile for me to realize that I was the problem. I'm not sure why I thought I could hold a reflector and press the shutter without shaking the camera.

Roughly 5 photos do not show the camera shake as visibly as the full lot. That's disappointing, but I certainly learned my lesson. I managed to hold myself together to produce the first photo below. I needed to recover. So, I reshot the calla lilies the next day and added my redux below. I proved I was indeed the problem but I am also the solution. Failure is never final if you learn, grow and move on!

Best wishes!

Today's Photos: Calla Beauty and Calla Redux

"Whatever your circumstances are - whether good or bad - you need to know that God already knows about them, and He is working behind the scenes to arrange future events in your favor. Learn to trust Him." Joel Osteen







EXIF: Nikon D7100
ISO 100
50mm
f11
7/10s

ISO 160
50mm
f8
1/8s