Opportunity;
A Chance,
A possibility due to favorable combination of circumstances
I am intrigued by the weekly photo challenge. At first I read the challenge of the week and I did not quite understand the concept. Wish that I had participated in it, known about it earlier. I would have rocked the last few weeks challenges. And I almost passed this week because I was struggling to picture it.
But the opportunity presented itself and I am inspired.
There was a time I could look at him when he wasn’t aware of my gaze. I preferred to study him this way even more than to photograph him. I saw more than any photo could capture. He doesn’t like to have his picture taken so much anyhow. If someone photographed us together or him alone, unless they were quick about it, the result was someone I didn’t quite recognize. Posed, inanimate, cold almost. I have many pictures of him but only a few that I hold dear to me. There is so much to learn about a person when you watch them and they are not aware of it. I felt so much love, and desire. He was just himself, no posturing because he had anything to prove.
I would watch him talking to other people. Or cooking or while we worked. I was always amazed at the strength in his hands while they were occupied and amused to be a voyeur to him winning someone over to his point of view without even hearing the conversation, these things so difficult if not impossible to capture in a still photograph. I watched him while he slept and as often as I could be still enough myself to just absorb him. I have many images of in my mind that are as sharp and clear as any photograph.
If I had known there would be a time I wouldn’t be able to contemplate him when the whim struck me, that we would not be together, I am not sure if I ever would have believed it. That was not the man I saw when I watched him. And yet, that is where we have come to. A place where I rarely see him, and never it seems unaware of my gaze.
And then this day, while showing me a place he loves, he was unaware, it seems, of my proximity, unaware of his guard being down and me seeing once again a part of his soul. And from that one moment, that chance, because of a favorable combination of circumstances which included me having my camera with me, I captured him the way that I used to see him all the time.
It was a chance, like our love, like our life together. All of it, him, us; the opportunity of a lifetime.
Running Naked With Scissors 
[…] Weekly Photo Challenge – Opportunity (runningnakedwithscissors.wordpress.com) […]
Great post 🙂
Thank you !
[…] Weekly Photo Challenge – Opportunity (runningnakedwithscissors.wordpress.com) […]
Wonderful!! Loved it!!
Many thanks. 🙂
[…] Weekly Photo Challenge – Opportunity (runningnakedwithscissors.wordpress.com) […]
Beautifully written
I thank you for taking the time to look and appreciate your compliment.
[…] Weekly Photo Challenge – Opportunity (runningnakedwithscissors.wordpress.com) LD_AddCustomAttr("AdOpt", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Origin", "other"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_bg", "ffffff"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_text", "333333"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_link", "0066cc"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_border", "f2f7fc"); LD_AddCustomAttr("theme_url", "ff4b33"); LD_AddCustomAttr("LangId", "1"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "books"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "entertainment"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Autotag", "religion"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "challenge"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "photo"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "photography"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "postaweek2011"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "weekly-photo-challenge"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "dailypost"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "fireworks"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "photography"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "postaweek2011"); LD_AddCustomAttr("Tag", "weekly-photo-challenge"); LD_AddSlot("wpcom_below_post"); LD_GetBids(); Share this:EmailPrintDiggLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. […]
[…] Weekly Photo Challenge – Opportunity (runningnakedwithscissors.wordpress.com) […]
[…] Weekly Photo Challenge – Opportunity (runningnakedwithscissors.wordpress.com) […]
I love the way you write, Lizzie. It’s a sensational post.
Thank you so much. I apprecdiate it 🙂
Its during those unguarded moments that we see how beautiful and real the person is…. That was an awesome shot. Sometimes all we need is a few photos as long as they are meaningful to us. I hardly have pictures of myself cause I too don’t feel comfortable with the camera. I think some people are just like that. I admire your affection for your source of inspiration. You have a generous heart. Thanks.
Thank you for your kind words. It was odd to me that one day I looked at a photograph of he and I and I did not recognize him. So I cherish one that captures the way I see him. the photos I see of myself are rarely of the times I want to remember. I have hardly any of when I was pregnant with any of my kids, or in the army or even now when I feel more comfortable in my own skin than I ever have. It just crossed my mind that if one of my descendants were to look at most of the photos there are of me when I was younger, they would not know the real me. Kind of like how if you look at a fashion magazin from the 70’s you would wonder if the world was wonky. Maybe not the best decade as an example but in the same way that todays magazines are not truly a reflection of anything but the trends.. It’s something that keeps my mind wandering for awhile.
Peace 🙂