Growing up on a farm near Davidsonville, Maryland, I observed my father taking his camera everywhere, whether it was out in the field while driving the tractor or into the woods for a Sunday afternoon walk. Fondly, I recall the exciting anticipation as we gathered in the evening to watch his slides flash up on the living room wall. And so began my love of the beauty of nature. Although he is gone, his legacy continues as I now view the world through the lens of a camera.
I do not own a fancy camera, nor do I have professional training other than an intro to art class and an art history class in college. My photographs, however, I feel reflect my love of nature and the natural talent God has given me to let others experience that beauty which, indeed, is in the eye of the beholder. The ancient Greeks believed it. Shakespeare expressed this sentiment in Love's Labours Lost, and Ben Franklin asserted this belief in Poor Richard's Almanack.
For 36 years I used my creativity in the classroom to teach English, but now that I am retired, I have found a new creative outlet in my photos almost to the point of obsession. At some point I hope to take some classes in photography, but in the meantime, I experiment on my own and share pictures with friends on facebook. It is because of encouragement from my friends that I am here sharing my photo collection that I have unofficially named “Eye of the Beholder” with a larger audience.
In 1742 in his Essays Moral and Political, David Hume wrote, 'Beauty in things exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.' I wish you happy contemplation of those things I find beautiful.
Jean Wright joined Pixels.com Licensing on July 13th, 2014.
