Texas beauty... or "It's all on your perspective."

I don't usually tag my blogs but I want to link all the travel ones since they are so different from my usual writing.  Well, the tags did something and a bunch of people read the blog on Marfa.  And a couple of them chewed me out.  It was a bit snarky in tone and I do apologize for that.

I remember walking on the sidewalk of my own little-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere. A tourist was complaining about how the one "decent" restaurant was closed on Sundays.  "What?  Why? What a terrible place, who would live here," etc.   I'd love to say that I stopped and directed her to another restaurant and gave her a tour of my really cool artsy town where I know everyone and where there's lots to do.

I didn't. I just kept walking and thought, "With that attitude, you don't need to stick around anyway."


So- for those of you who love Marfa and know I missed a cool place, I am sorry. I wish I had met you there and had a tour of your home town.  But I didn't.

I went back to Alpine, Texas to the Maverick Inn where I had booked a room.  I read how people hated that place, too- not the town but the inn. Well, a busy railroad does run through the middle of Alpine.... but they have earplugs in the rooms. And trains don't bother me. The inn management was very gracious and generous with me- full kitchen and a big space. So I cooked, wrote and wondered if it would be worth the effort to figure out the tv. Nope.



The next morning, the sun turned the sky that fabulous, just before sunrise light of pinks with promises of gold.   I raced down the road toward the light  (turns out there was a wonderful view ... the other way, up on a hill overlooking the desert and the distant mountains.)  It didn't matter- I had left the memory card for the camera in the room.  But later I did take some more pictures and there's some lessons here- for photography, for perspective, for finding beauty anywhere.  Probably it was in Marfa, Texas, if only I had looked harder.

Pink with promise of gold....

The promised gold.
And the end of my camera memory.

So I decided there would be more sunrises and it wasn't worth the stress of racing around for a memory card and a decent place to view it.

The lesson?

  Don't sweat the small stuff. 

The sun will rise tomorrow, and if it doesn't? 

- a whole new adventure awaits. 

_________________________

Light on railroad tracks

The big picture.

And a train on the tracks.

Up close and personal with a train. 

What happened to the light? 

The lesson?

If you hang around, if you just show up- stuff happens. 

Trains come and get closer and closer. 

Cool light makes everything look better- even railroad tracks. 

Step back and look at the big picture.

And if the light isn't fabulous, mess with your photos.

Find beauty or make beauty. 

______________________

The lesson?

Light is life.

 It makes cool silhouettes,

 it makes bare branches stand out like a burning bush.

And sometimes getting closer,

in photography and  in life, 

gives you a whole new perspective.

_____________________________

A empty street, an abandoned church or... an opportunity.

A grim scene, a sad church. With a dumpster. 

And broken windows.

But there is the light.
Transforming light. 

Golden windows.
Texture.
Story.

A new look.




The lesson?

Beauty is where you look for it.
The church wasn't appealing until I looked for the light on the eastern wall.
The sky wasn't great but the empty bell frame is the focus now.

There's a story in that church.

________________

So when you run out of memory or patience or time or even money, breathe.  Know that there will be another sunrise.  Relax. Rest.  THIS is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in IT. 

When there seems there's nothing to do- just show up, expect, wait. A train's coming, there's a new way to look at your world.

Look for the big picture and the up close and personal details.  The structure of the far tree and the tangle of the near branches. 

When you are frustrated with the results, play with your tools!  My camera isn't fancy and I don't use Photoshop but I have found some fun features of my computer that I didn't know I had.  

We usually have more resources than we think.

And, last but not least- it's all about the light. 

God gives light to each new day. 

Beauty is everywhere you choose to look.  

Look closely,

 find it. 

Or be a part of creating it.