Day 06: My Hobbies

I love to take pictures. Everywhere I go, I have a camera on me. My passion for photography was born the year my uncle-to-be took my sister and I to the Rose Festival parade. I think I was about 10 years old. I thought he was sooooo cool! He had a camera and he let me use it to take pictures of all the princesses and horses and floats......I was in heaven. Well, that is until a week later when I excitedly asked to see the pictures I had taken and was told that I had taken the entire lot of them with the lens cap on. Years later, after owning cameras of my own, I can't help but wonder if there just wasn't any film in the camera and he didn't have the heart to tell me. All I know, is that from that day on I had the photography bug.

I'm still really quite a novice when it comes to taking pictures.
I've never taken a class.
I don't really know how to use Photoshop.
I'm still trying to figure out shutter speeds and aperture settings.

Still.

There's nothing like being the only one looking through a lens and seeing
what only I can see
in that particular space.......at that particular moment.

It's magic.


I also fence.

And......
I sport bruises because of this.
And......
I get funny looks because of them.
This can be awkward at times.
But darn it, I earn those bruises.
I'm proud of them in a sick sort of way.
They're my battle scars
Fortunately, I have a talented friend
who can turn them into pretty arm decorations.
See the pretty bird?

It's a sport that is not for the faint of heart.
It's not instant gratification.
You have to work for it.
Hard.

I've met some of the most amazing people through fencing.
Some of the most intelligent people through fencing.
Some of my favorite people through fencing.

So......
Before you call me crazy.....
You have to try it.

If only our outfits looked more like this......

Just sayin'.