Challenge #2, and some Rambling Thoughts

So...how did it go??

How did Challenge #1 go for you? Did you find beauty in the mundane? I hope you enjoyed looking for beauty around you! To be honest, some of the topics I have picked out for us to work on intimidate even me, and I wonder, how would I photograph that?? But I am always amazed that once I get out my camera, and start thinking, and wandering around, the ideas start flowing. Or I see something, and I grab my camera, and start shooting, and then the ideas start to flow...what if I move over here, what if I shoot from this angle, what if I lower my exposure, oh, and look at THAT!...one thing into another! And I come away energized and excited at what I have found and captured! Things I didn't necessarily set out to capture! So enjoy the process, even if it feels overwhelming and you have no idea what to photograph at first. Just start, and see what happens!

I love light and shadows

As you can probably see from most of my photos here! I love watching for dramatic light and then photographing it! A book sitting in a pool of light, glasses on the kitchen table, looking like crystals in the light, my cat standing in a shaft of light (only for a minute! I had to move fast to catch that moment!), and interesting geometry being formed by light that I noticed while in the middle of making supper. (Thankfully I didn't burn anything while I ran for my camera!)

I hope this helps you see that beauty can be found anywhere and everywhere, in the mundane, everyday moments and objects of life. We just have to be actively watching for them! I would encourage you to continue on with this challenge. It is so good for helping us see the beauty of our lives, which we all need right now!

I know our lives have changed dramatically, even since Tuesday when I last posted. We are now under strict lockdown, not able to leave our apartment except to go to the store, pharmacy or hospital, or work if you have special permission. When we do go out, we have to have our passports, and a special paper, stating our intended route and timeline from the time we leave home til the time we plan to return home. We have a curfew of 8pm to 7am. It's enough to make even an introvert like me feel a little bit claustrophobic!

My son, who is in Canada, waiting for his visa to enter the United States to marry his American fiancé, found out yesterday that they are no longer processing visas. His wedding was to be May 16. Now, there will likely not be a wedding until...who knows when...So much sadness and loss and grief. For us, and for so many people right now. Whether your loss is "big" or "small" (how do you even quantify such things?? Answer: you don't. They are all big when they are your losses!), your loss is valid. Your grief is valid.

How has your life changed this week? What losses have you experienced? Maybe your losses aren't even coronavirus related. Life goes on and other hard things still happen.

For this challenge, I want you to try and photograph your loss(es). What have you lost as a result of this virus? What are you grieving? Let's explore this through photography. Think creatively. I know I'm kind of throwing you in to the deep end here, and you may be thinking, I have no idea how to photograph that!, but I think we need to do this.

My hope is that this photo challenge (the whole thing, not just this particular exercise) helps us dig in to our emotions, helps us explore our questions, our grief, our joys, the beauty of our lives in the midst of hardship, and helps us support each other as well. (Don't worry...it's not all going to be big and heavy! We will do some "just for fun" challenges too, cause we need to look for joy in our lives too!) As we tell our stories, let's encourage one another! Let's use this space to support one another. I hope this will be a safe place for you to share your losses, your grief, your joys, your struggles, as we go through this challenge together.

You can photograph this topic however you want. You can photograph something literally, or be creative, and think outside of the box. I realize your loss may be something abstract...not an object that you can photograph. So how can you represent that thing? What could you photograph that represents that loss? Or maybe you could shoot something abstractly....maybe it's a colour that represents how you feel. You have FREEDOM here! There are no rules, no do's and don't's. This is for you to express yourself, and however you choose to do that is the "right" way!

As usual, I look forward to seeing what you photograph!

And for this challenge especially, I encourage you to tell us the story that goes along with your photo(s) when you post.

Post your photos on Instagram #deepsoulphotochallenge, or on Facebook, using the same hashtag, or you can post directly on my Facebook page. I'll post the next challenge next Tuesday.

I'm so glad you're here doing this with me!!

Cheri