[quoteRight]But out of limitations comes creativity. – Debbie Allen [/quoteRight]
Oh how time flies and how drastically things can change while that time is flying. My single mama adventures (or should I say misadventures?), lessons, and victories have now been going on for TWO YEARS. I have a seven year old and a two year old. Seriously. When did that happen and can somebody please tell me where the pause button is?
I’ve done posts with and about Instagram in the past. I adore it, and am so thankful for it. Instagram has really taken on a whole life of its own and I think it has brought such a great new visual aspect to social media that wasn’t there before. However, back when I was doing those instagramy life posts I had no clue just how important it would end up being to me. My life has gone through some drastic changes as y’all already know, and one of those huge changes for me 6 months ago was giving up pretty much everything I owned, packing what little was left into two tiny crates and moving myself and my boys over 3000 miles to get us back to our family and to give the boys the life they deserve and need. That also meant having to give up every single piece of my camera gear. Me without my camera is like…well I really have no words for it other than to say it felt like I lost a limb. Like part of myself had been severed and ripped away and not only had I left a piece of my soul in WA but another piece of my soul was temporarily being held hostage somewhere within a camera that was unable to be in my hands. To those that aren’t photographers I am fully aware that it all may sound silly or dramatic and obviously not everybody feels that way about art or photography. However as an artist it was brutal to go from using that extension of myself every single day to just having it be gone. Rough. Thankfully I pretty much have the worlds most amazing family, friends and support system and they help me keep my creative juices flowing and useful in other ways for now. On one hand, being free of material things can be very refreshing and freeing and really suits this girls gypsy soul. I have decided though, that a camera is not one of the things I can live without. Give me a tent over a house any day, but make sure there’s a camera in there somewhere please. So for 6 months now I’ve pretty much just been stuck with a little old iPhone 4 and Instagram.
After I got done crying about it I decided to just make the most of what I had and take the challenge thrown at me. Never again will I be one of those canon L glass snobs or take my gear for granted. Never never again! I have learned that lesson. I have also decided that the first chance I get I will be finding some way to give back by creating some kind of gear loaning system/program for photographers who are in need. I think it would make for an amazing resource and I know that there are plenty of photogs out there with gear just sitting on shelves that could be going to good use! I used to be one of them.
Ok, on to more fun topics! Since I had no “real” camera I committed myself to getting better with Instagram and documenting things in new ways. There is never a dull moment when you are a single mama to two boys. Countless adventures (and misadventures). Most of which have thankfully brought more laughter than tears. I can definitely say I have learned and done things that I never thought I could or would just out of simple necessity. A few years ago if you had told me that I would be making cross country road trips by myself, that I would know how to rewire and rebuild a four wheeler, master throwing a football or play softball, be teaching my babies to surf, be flat broke but yet ecstatically happy all at the same time, that a little blue eyed tow headed boy with the most beautiful smile you have ever seen would be teaching me how to live in the moment, that I would get my music back and be singing and playing again, or that I would be happy to let others take the reigns on things and actually enjoy it, I probably would have laughed and told you you were crazy! Because well, that just wasn’t in my plan. HAHA…”plan”. That word doesn’t really exist in our lives anymore as anything other than a joke. I think in all of this, I’ve learned to embrace having a complete lack of control. On the photography side I was forced to not count on gear for certain things and learn to focus on other elements like light, angles, and details that I might otherwise take for granted. I can’t wait to see where we are gonna be in another two years (hopefully it will include camera gear 😉 ). So here’s a little insta-mashup for you of the craziness and fun that is our instagramy life!
[quote]@the_tara_mc on your instagram app if you aren’t already following (I do have to keep it private but feel free to send me a follow request!)[/quote]
