Remembering

I paused twice on today's run. Both times I'd seen a stunning view, one that had stirred my memory, reminded me of the days when I was a landscape photographer.

Dark, turbulent, stormy skies acting as a backdrop, sunlight blazing across the curve of the fields, a solitary skeletal tree... all the elements I used to search for in order to make an image, to capture it in my camera, to develop it further in Photoshop, to put it online, to print it, to sell it.

I remember doing all those things, remember how I would choose the right graduated filter to strengthen the sky further, balancing the light levels against the land. I remember then trying to make the image perfect while I was there, so I could proudly say that I'd spent the time and effort on site, not fixed it later at my desk. Moving the tripod around, ensuring the angle was the best, that there were no stray items to ruin the image on closer inspection. Finally, pressing the shutter release, and capturing that moment.

I also remember the hours of waiting, getting cold, getting wet, heading home without a single image as the weather wasn't right, the light wasn't how I wanted it... I remember spending hours looking at maps, looking online for inspiration, for areas to visit...

I remember the good moments, and the bad, the positive and the disheartening.

I start running again, glad that now I capture images in my memory, instead of the memory card.