Creative Thursday - And Sometimes, We Fall.

The kids and I went on two photo safaris this past weekend. The weather was warm and the leaves finally changed to their autumn coat. There is something about walking in nature that sets the mind at ease and the imagination soaring. Lately I've been trying so hard to get my perspective on photography back, that I haven't been spending enough time helping the kids with their equipment. Next trip, I'll have to start getting back into teaching mode with the girls.

Saturday we went to Wampum Brook. The brooks location makes for difficult shooting with trees and colors cut short by houses and fences. This time of the year, the woods trail is all but obscured by the full summer growth, waiting for winter to be carved out again. We walked around the park setting of the outer brook instead. We were wrapped in color and light. Fighting the afternoon sun to steal a few shots while it poked at the front of our camera lenses.

I had promised to show a fellow photographer the Chromatic Aberrations that my long zoom produced, in extreme conditions. With no hood, a 2x converter and the sun head on, I succeeded. Unfortunately, I also didn't get many usable pictures from that trip. I assume the girls got plenty but now they download their own shots, so I don't know.

Sunday was a much different shoot. We went to the south side of the preserve. The kids really like it there. It is a neat environment. There are lots of strange plants and settings. The leaves and needles on the ground seem to be older than the season. Lizzy likes that low growing plants and mushrooms covering the landscape, that give her easy access to fun subjects. As harsh as the afternoon light was at the brook the evening before, it was soft and gently peeking over our shoulders at the preserve.

Walking ahead of the girls and trying to get a position on a steep decline, I quickly warned them away. It was a good thing I did because the ancient pine needles laughed to each other as they began pulling traction from my hikers. I slid for an additional five feet before silencing the laughter and regaining my footing. I struggled back up to the trail. The fall would have been severe, the steep hill had about 60 more feet before it met with the water.

The girls barely noticed and were already farther up the trail, setting up for their next shots. The sun grew lower against the hill so we headed back to the loaner car, taking our last few shots along the way. We reached the overlook to the lowlands that we had been shooting at earlier, when once again I decided to take a few steps down the hill. It was not as steep, but as Lizzy followed behind me, she slid and fell. Instinctively she protected her photography gear. She quickly brought herself back to the top of the hill and continued on the trail as if nothing happened.

I missed my golden opportunity for a life lesson and didn't realize it until we were already on our way home. I'm sure Lizzy will fall again on the trails and this time I'll be ready.

We take on hills; challenges and sometimes, we fall.  We work harder at it; want it more and sometimes, we fall.  We get back on the trail; continue on and sometimes, we fall.  Looking back on the journey though, those falls are small parts of bigger lessons that prepare us for the times that we don't.