Lately. Scratch that. For some time now, I’ve been at a loss for words. I started this blog as a way to connect with family and friends. That evolved into posting the occasional recipe and sharing thoughts and projects that interested me. I dove into photography somewhere in the process and my interest for writing about this and that dwindled. Not that our daily life isn’t exciting or worth writing about. A combination of not having the motivation to write and not having an artistic connection with it, means that this blog has progressively gotten silent.

Ask my husband or my children though, and they will tell you I’m always taking pictures. It gives me a voice without speaking, and that has become my niche. I can stay behind the scenes and tell you about our lives without ever really having to tell you. Staring at this computer screen and doing my best to come up with the right words I imagine will soon become a thing of the past and you can simply glance through these posts and come to your own understanding of what life for us entails.

I take pictures to please no one other than myself. My friends and my family benefit from my hobby which gives it meaning and purpose and brings me much satisfaction. I don’t expect likes or comments. I don’t do it for money. I don’t expect this to evolve into a career someday. I take pictures to tell a story. A story of my children. A story of our life being built in Alaska. A story of a beautiful love. A story that isn’t perfect, not always pretty, and is simply just real life. My life. A life where I’m constantly striving to learn from my mistakes. Which is what makes photography so desirable to me. I’m never going to be the best at it, but I can sure as hell try and be the very best that I’m capable of. Just like life.

I’ve yet to discover my “style”. I’m beginning to accept that I might never find it. But I’m told somewhere in this mess it exists, so I’m going to keep being messy and wait to see if it reveals itself someday.

A few months ago I picked up an old film camera while thrifting and have slowly been easing it into my shooting. I found that it’s something Hayden can participate in and she recently took it with us on a day trip, finishing up a roll of film I had just started. It was sent off for processing along with a roll of film that was started three years ago with a different camera from my very small collection. I’m sure you will be eagerly awaiting those shots just like me, so to pass the time, check out someone that actually knows what they are doing. If you aren’t already following machoturbo than you should be. He recently joined me in the scrapbook sunday series and this weeks edition of film is inspiring and humbling. He is surely one to watch.