Taste it. Touch it. Hear it. View it. Be there. It’s 7:20am and I’m at the National Mall. My 6:30 am shoot off the wharf has ended early and I’m enjoying every second of DC. As I got closer to the capitol, I started getting a bit giddy. On the road I’m running from shoot to shoot, backing up images, or hotel bed to an airport, so extra time is a luxury.

I went and grabbed my camera when I got to the pond, and as I pulled it out of my bag I went into work mode. I no longer was giddy but thinking. I’d lost the moment. I quickly grabbed a snap with the Hassy, but to be honest, taking a few photos for me for social media and sharing with my community was more exciting. I quickly packed up everything and just absorbed the surrounding. Breathe.

The picture in my mind is more crisp and brilliant that this photo could ever. To be honest, this photo itself is kind of, well… blah. Not great light. Nothing interesting outside of the documentation. The earlier photos bring me so much joy. It’s in those moment of disconnecting and being with the surroundings is what I’m training myself to experience more of. A new muscle. Really being present, before the needs of grabbing and image, or showing to social media etc. Building memories. My hopes is as you read this you take a few seconds, where ever and whenever you’re about to grab your phone/camera and pause for a breath.

Take it all in. Absorb.