Very seldom is the picture I saw the picture I took. And it doesn’t matter how well the picture, the photo turned out. For example, I came across this canoe “hidden” behind a park bench. I was blown away by the quirkiness of what I saw, but the photo is just of a canoe behind a park bench. So I had to give it a little extra zest.

For me the original is just a thing to look at. The altered version draws me in.

Another situation that saddens me is the state of old photos. There are a number of factors that contribute to my disappointment recently as I look through old photos. The two major issues are: the sad quality of camera I could afford back then, and the deterioration over time of color photos from the last century. I could cry that digital was not available until so recently.

Looking at it now, I wonder whether a better camera would have captured what I saw with my little eye any better. This was overlooking Tucson.

Luckily, every now and then, a photo doesn’t need help to express what I saw. Here’s one! On the way to Blue Mounds, Minnesota.

I’ve been giving myself permission to make the changes that make me happy. That’s what all of February was about.