Be Excellent

In our last post, I mentioned how we had to get rid of furniture and household items when we moved and how cleansing that was. I have found, while not exactly a packrat, I do hold onto some things far beyond their shelf life (future pun intended).  This became painfully obvious this week, when one side of the shelving in our master bedroom closet came crashing to the floor.  My winter clothes were hanging from the bar and I had summer clothing stored in containers on the shelf.  I decided to buck up and purge half of my wardrobe.  Going through this ridiculous mess, and deciding what was important to keep, took a bit of thinking, not to mention time.  Thankfully, Steven was able to fix the shelf, and all is well.

What does this have to do with photography, you might ask?  Well, nothing really. However, I experienced some of the same feelings I had when choosing what was most important when Steven and I recently submitted our “10 Best of 2023” to a local photography club.  Out of thousands of photos, I selected my ten favorite images.  Steven did the same.  So many images are meaningful to me, but I realize that some do not represent photographic excellence.  It is hard to separate my emotions sometimes and I really appreciate that Steven can step back and look at these with a positive critical eye.

Moving forward. Things to think about….

Regarding holding onto clothing - reduce, reuse, recycle.

Regarding photography - be objective, be contemplative, and to paraphrase Bill and Ted, “Be Excellent”.

Top picture by Steven taken at Audubon Swamp, Charleston, South Carolina

Bottom picture by Jennifer taken at Magnolia Gardens, Charleston, South Carolina