Discovering My Passion
Nature is my inspiration.
With the onset of the pandemic more people than ever have been given the opportunity to discover their passions and put their dreams into action. This couldn’t have been be more true for myself when my consulting business in the textiles industry suddenly went sideways and I was confronted with the question as to what am I passionate about? My Dad always used to tell me to follow my passion…but what was it? So I made some new friends that shared my passion for nature and expanded my network of photographers. These thoughts are a culmination of what I learned during the pandemic that helped me to answer these questions - and during which I launched a line of paper goods. Here’s some highlights of what I discovered during the pandemic.
Nature is an endless source of inspiration which catapulted my quest for exciting new textures and colors. This couldn’t have become more obvious as I focused my interest on flowers and the wide array of combinations that I discovered as the seasons change. From the lush Willamette Valley to the beauty in Oregon’s high desert, I was suddenly looking at things from a new perspective.
Don’t worry about not being good at something, instead focus on your passion. Photography can be an intimidating topic because there is an endless amount of technical and artistic information to learn. My preference is a hands-on approach to learning where I am faced to make choices about which equipment and settings to use that directly impacts the finished outcome. Believe me, I messed up many times but somehow this approach helped me to cement my knowledge even deeper. My vision came closer into focus as I wondered how I could share my discoveries with others.
Finding my voice. Working in the corporate world for so many years I found it was often easier to express the ideas or opinions of what I needed to say versus something I wanted to say. The riots, political tensions, forest fires and social movements during the pandemic gave me the opportunity to think and express my own views. The one place that I kept coming back to was about how much joy I gained from being in nature. I discovered that my photography was an opportunity where I could share this with others while expressing my own ideas.
Exploring my own neighborhood is how I met local farmers, photographers, neighbors and buyers. And of course flowers to photograph! One morning my cousin and I were walking in her neighborhood and we saw a ‘Call for Artists’ poster for an upcoming Arts Fair. I signed up and it turned out to be a record rainy day! But I was a lot of fun asking people what their favorite flower is because we all have a favorite flower.
Drop me a line if you’d like. I’m interested to hear what you discovered during the pandemic and what now brings you joy more than ever.
~ Linda
