Spirit.

I recently entered a photo contest here in town and am I ever glad I did. Even if I don't win it, the experience has been absolutely amazing.

I already had a stock pile of photographs that I could use for this contest, but it was a matter of getting photos of people. There were 3 subjects I could enter into and I was in need of capturing people if I wanted to participate in the entire thing.

I was telling people during my time out there that generally I take photos of nature and not people. Everyone was so willing to help me out by me taking their photo! That thrilled me to no end. The first day I went out to achieve this, we had an event happening here in town and the entire main street was blocked off and full of things happening. And because of this, I just went ahead and approached people, told them who I was, and what I was doing. They were glad to help and glad to be a part of it. It's funny actually because the contest was to capture the spirit of the town. I found the spirit amazing!

I had wanted to capture some people golfing because that is what many people do here. So, I picked a golf course and I went in to the club house with my camera and spoke to the Manager. What a great guy he was! He not only thought it would be great, but he notified all his staff that I would be out there and to let me do my thing and help me in any way. Isn't that amazing? An amazing woman who's job was making sure everyone started properly out there and everything ran smoothly took me in her golf cart and gave me a tour. She introduced me to many people out there and the experience was perfect. It was seniors day and the people I met were welcoming me and what I was doing with open arms. So, I left there with a great spirit of my own and with some really great shots.

I found I was welcome wherever I went and that opened a new door for me. It's all about how you approach the situation. I'm not a professional photographer but some day I will be. And the people out there treated me as if I already am which was really nice. I think from this experience, going forward it will be easier for me to get the shots I need and to have people include themselves.

Really? It was a fantastic day all around.....