“Live in each season as it passes. Breathe the air, drink the drink and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
-Henry David, Thoreau
This post is a bit of a ramble and may not have much to do with the technicalities of photography. . . but it has everything to do with the transition from corporate work life to the independent journey of freelancing. It may seem like there is a little corporate "PTSD" throughout this post, but I promise it wasn't that bad. My wounds from the corporate world are just a little fresh because I left as a result of company wide lay-offs, not because I was ready to leave. But in a way, these past few months have reminded me that we are not always in control, and the importance of being adaptable. I loved my corporate girlie days and look forward to when I am ready to go back.

Many of us spend most of our day, living in concrete jungles powered by machines. When is the last time you got to really feel nature? (this thought is another reason why I felt I couldn’t stay in the city). Just today, I watched an armadillo, scurry through the yard into his borough. Although that armadillo is a major pain in the ass for rooting up my grass, I recognize he is part of a system. But after this little experience, I looked at my phone, drove my car to the store, and sat in front of my laptop for several hours. Because I am still a slave to the machine.

Have you ever noticed how we are so immersed in technology, that we even use it’s a language to describe ourselves? How often do you say words, like “productive, efficient, upgrade” when talking about yourself? When did we start comparing yourself to robots? We act like there’s a linear set of instructions to improve ourselves. We call ourselves “broken” and say our “battery is drained.” If only there was a local mechanic who had the manual to fix us up every time we were operating at 100% (whatever that means.)
Let’s stop looking at ourselves like computers. I don’t know about you, but my dyslexia would make me a pretty sorry computer 😂. We should think of ourselves more like nature. Constantly evolving (not upgrading) and living in bursts of energy that are impossible to predict. If only we could wake up with a brand new operating system like our iPhones do. Trees don’t resist when they shed leaves in autumn. Some of us even consider this the most beautiful time of the year. But when WE shed our leaves and transition, we freak out. Because we forget change isn’t always linear. This is my interpretation of Henry David Thoreau‘s quote to “resign ourselves to the influences of the Earth.”


Also… did Blade Runner teach us nothing?! You should watch it if you havn’t yet.
Fujifilm X-T4
XF16-80mm f4 R OIS WR
ISO 160 26mm f/5.6 1/200 sec
Downtown Tampa, FL
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