Journey

by Carol H.

Many thanks to the Life Sisters for including me in this wonderful group as a regular contributor to this awesome blog! So excited to be here. As a first post, to get acquainted, I thought I’d share the story of my journey that has brought me here.  My first encounter with hands-on photography was back in 1977 when I was given a camera as a birthday gift. A couple of years later I decided to take a photography course at the local college, which is where I met my husband. He was there studying photography to become a "serious professional". I was there to learn to take good pictures on purpose. We were married a year later. As the years passed, with work and raising a son, I found less and less time available to develop film and make prints so I put photography away and took up quilting and gardening.

The desire to take photographs again was always in the back of my mind and then a significant event in 2011 would bring that desire to the forefront. In March of 2011 I was laid off. I was a risk manager for a construction company, whose revenues had been declining for some time. I was given a nice severance package, and I thought, great…the gift of time to get back into photography! Right after being laid off I decided to get all my medical exams out of the way before jumping behind the camera. That was my plan. I always make plans.

One of those exams was a mammogram. They found something. They did a biopsy. The cancer was very, very small so only a lumpectomy was required (thank God). However, the cancer tested HER2 positive….very rapid growing. I would need 3 months of radiation and 1 full year of chemo. "Life is what happens while you are busy making plans". John Lennon's quote rolled over and over in my mind during all of this. I quit making plans. I kept telling myself "you can't commit to this or that because you don't know how the chemo will affect you through the year." Kind of a sad time really until one day, while in the chemo treatment room surfing the web on my iPad, I ran across a website…Kim Klassen Cafe. Her writing was so uplifting and she announced a new yearlong course she was offering called Beyond Layers. At first my usual "not now because of chemo" voice spoke when I thought of signing up. But then another voice from deep down spoke to me saying "if not now, when?" I signed up right then and there. Through Beyond Layers I learned about Shutter Sisters and eventually attended Shutter Sisters Oasis in October of 2012 where I met some of the lovely Life Sisters.

Today I am still trying to take good pictures on purpose. I take pictures every day. Some with my big girl camera (a Nikon D600…my new love!) and some with my iPhone (totally love the iPhone and am rather addicted to the many processing apps available.) I still quilt and garden and I also have a blog… and now I am also here, Focusing on Life, Focusing on Gratitude… with you. Such a rich, beautiful life we have, don’t you think?

What does your journey look like so far? What brought you to photography, to this blog? We would love to hear your story. Perhaps you have a picture that speaks louder than words. We invite you to share your story here in the comments section and/or share travel images of your journey on our Flickr group HERE or on Instagram…please hashtag #focusingonlife. Until next time…