Third Time's The Charm?

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Well, well, well, that didn't go as planned, did it?  I started this particular blog in June 2022, delayed getting started on the project, then abandoned it completely with very few thoughts about it since then.  During the past month or so however, I have been making a concerted effort to bring it back to life.  I truly want to enjoy photography again.  It was such a big part of my life for many years and I have no idea why I dropped it like a hot potato.  The only photography I have enjoyed over the past four-ish years has been during two fantastic vacations; the first with Levi to Europe in 2019 to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Belgium and the second on my pandemic-delayed post-retirement road trip to the Southwestern States.  Apart from that, I might have looked at my gear a half dozen times max.  

I want to make it a habit to have my cameras with me more frequently and use them instead of the phone.  I believe that creativity is an important component of a happy life, regardless of how it is expressed and apart from the problem-solving skills and outside-the-box thinking that I needed to be effective at my career, photography was my creative outlet.  As of yesterday, I am no longer an Occupational Therapist (again) so it's time to flex my creativity muscles with my photography (again). 

I just re-read my first blog post and was rather impressed with how I described the goals of this blog so instead of trying to explain again, here is a slightly edited copy-and-pasted explanation:

Anyway, I believe I'm ready to go so I should explain what I hope to achieve with this version of my blog.  If you read the title description above, you'll see four main goals: 

1.  To succeed at retirement.

2.  To resume my photography hobby.

3.  To ensure a happy and healthy future.

4.  To practice gratitude.

For the most part, I have no regrets about the decision I made to retire at a (relatively) young age and with a slightly reduced pension.  I did, however, have some unexpected challenges and some unwelcome insights during the year I was fully retired.  Those prompted self-reflection and obliged further investigation (via books, in case you don't know me and didn't automatically assume this as a given 😄).  

I have every intention of this upcoming year (and the many to follow) being an improvement over year one in one way or another.  Starting this blog is step one.  Who knows how many steps will be required and what form those steps will take but I'm putting it out there into the universe that I am planning on doing the work.  Maybe it's a process that never ends.  Or ends then begins again.  And again.  And again...

If you're still reading this, I invite you to hold me accountable.  Maybe you can benefit from my missteps or my successes.  Maybe I'll benefit from your input (should you be kind enough to engage).  You're also welcome to just scroll through for the photos.  I'm happy to share beauty and that's what I hope to be making with my photography again.

In the style of my previous blogs, I thought of this one in the form of a weekly post and as such, I created a list of 52 topics to span the upcoming year.  Each topic is something for which I am grateful and I will photograph each theme (at least I hope to do that - it might take some practice to get back into that groove) and write something (hopefully) relevant.  My only stipulation is that the photos have to come from my cameras, not my phone.

I am planning the first post the first weekend of December and my topic is a tricky one to photograph - maybe not the best way to get back into the swing of things but I like a challenge. Also, you should note how flexible I am being - starting neither right after re-retirement nor the beginning of the year or any other normal kind of start time.  I'm proud of me 😄!

In the meantime, here are a few photos from my road trip last fall.

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park

 Sunset Crater Volcano National Park, Arizona

Sedona, Arizona

Grand Canyon, South Rim

Antelope Canyon, Arizona

Vermillion Cliffs, Arizona

Red Cliffs Campground, Utah

Zion National Park, Utah

Bryce Canyon, Utah

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Garden of the Gods, Colorado

Cheyenne State Park, Colorado

P.S. I am definitely going to repeat a large part of this trip in the future.  I saw only the smallest fraction of the stunning beauty of the area.

Talk with you all in a couple of weeks.















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