• clouds,  landscape,  sunrises

    We’re Too Impatient

    Monday morning. Martin Luther King Day. So some will sleep in late. Not me. Have this habit of rising early and watching the sun crest the eastern horizon, even on a cold January morning. I don’t seem to tire of that. Predawn offered red and pink in a small area along the horizon. The wind was blowing as I watched the clouds being continually reshaped by that wind.

    I read yesterday where Henry David Thoreau was known to stand for long periods of time while observing a female mallard as she prepared her newly hatched ducklings for their first adventure on the water. At other times he would stand all afternoon watching a frog along the banks of a pond. He spent time in the field studying nature rather than reading or hearing about it. Not something our culture does much anymore. We’re too impatient. Because I stayed this morning I was able to witness the sun rising above the clouds sitting along the eastern horizon. I’m learning patience.

  • Candid Portraits,  People/Portraits

    Waiting

    Smiling and Waiting

    “Photography, if it is anything, is about experiences…You cannot photograph what you have not experienced.”

    David duChemin

    I encountered this young lady sitting on the porch waiting  patiently for them to open. I stopped and asked if I could take her photo. With a big smile she said yes so I took one photo. This experience gave me this gift.

  • Candid Portraits,  Documentary/Street,  People/Portraits

    Patience

    Reading Her Book
    Reading Her Book

    I would venture to say many of us could use some improvement on our patience. I think aging has improved my ability to wait patiently more. Life does not need to be rushed as much as I think it used to. I could take a lesson from this woman as she patiently waits and reads. You can also note she came prepared, which helps.

  • architecture,  Black and White,  Travel

    Waiting

    Sky Harbor Airport
    Waiting

    I’ve heard of a prayer that goes something like this, “God give me patience and give it to me now.” Waiting can be difficult for many of us. Several come to mind. Standing in a checkout line. Sitting in doctors office. Waiting on a delayed flight at the airport. Meeting someone who is late for coffee. Waiting for the arrival of a new grandchild. Waiting for our tax return. 🙂 Waiting for a freezer of homemade ice cream to finish. Waiting for the pizza to be delivered. Yet, as I grow older I’ve learned to appreciate waiting. I really do enjoy those times of sitting or kneeling in wet grass waiting for the sun to touch the horizon as it rises or sets. Walking the streets waiting for a photo opportunity to present itself. Waiting silently in prayer or mediation. Waiting is a teacher if we let it. Waiting can be a discipline if we let it. Waiting can have special rewards if we let it. As Elizabeth Taylor says, “It is very strange that the years teach us patience – that the shorter our time, the greater our capacity for waiting.”  Are we learning to wait patiently or wanting it now?

  • Canon Powershot G12,  Documentary/Street

    Cancelled Flights

    Waiting

    I am always witnessing people waiting at the airport. Some are planned waits such as connecting flights and some are not. When this image was taken we were waiting on our plane which did not arrive until early the next morning therefore canceling the flight.  It’s times like this we have opportunities to learn about waiting that Earls talking about here. For me waiting while I watch the sun to rise or set is easier than waiting for a late plane. Sigh!

  • Documentary/Street,  People/Portraits

    Waiting Together

    Waiting Together
    Waiting Together

    Waiting is not something people like to do, especially in these present times, and I’m one of those people. While waiting in line at the bank yesterday, I found myself getting irritated. Even though I had nothing that important on my “to-do-list” I wanted a second bank teller. It was my perception we needed to be moving along faster. Has that ever happened to you?

    As a child I remember sitting at a doctors office waiting to see a doctor. It seemed like eternity. Now that I’m a few years older I’ve come to accept sitting and waiting as a time to enjoy the moment, relax and take it all in. I admit to failing, as in my example above, but hopefully getting better at it. When we really think about it, there are no real short cuts in life. When we ask for it quicker we sacrifice something. No way did I want to be short changed by a bank teller. I like this image as it shows a couple waiting for a boat to carry them down the Potomac River to Mount Vernon. I went along with them and it was worth the wait.