I was prepping some photos I caught of a recent thunderstorm for friends and I came across this photo. I had somehow missed it while I was going through the hundreds of photos I took that night.
I was practicing both shooting at night and capturing lightning – neither task is easy for me. In a perfect world, I would have already attended several photo and camera classes by now. In reality, I took a term of photo journalism in the eighth grade with my dad’s old Olympus. Back then we used black and white film and processed it ourselves in the red lit darkroom after school.
While the photo is far from perfect, there is something about it that reminded me of those old days. Perhaps it was the anticipation of not knowing whether I actually got the shot – or just a blurry mess – until I pulled it out of the camera. I’m not sure.
What I am certain of is that I’m grateful our photo journalism teacher took the time and made the effort to teach us some camera and photo composition basics. She turned her hobby into an amazing class and taught us to look for beauty in places we wouldn’t ordinarily expect to find it. So, thank you, Mrs. Hansen, from Pilot Butte Junior High School circa 1984.
The Girl In Muddy Boots 