Relaxing photos

One of the coolest things about photography these days is that the world of the digital camera is big enough for just about anyone. Whether you’re a professional photographer, a budding amateur, or someone who simply loves capturing snippets of life on your mobile, photography coaxes and sometimes even cajoles us to explore the world around us.

Another awesome thing about photography is that pictures truly can say a thousand words. Take this photo submitted by Sandi Weeks on her favorite way to relax where she wrote:

“Relaxing – I relax the most when I am on the beach. I try to plan our yearly vacations near the beach. We don’t live close enough to one or in an area that promotes year round beach enjoyment, so I have to take what I can get.” Sandi Weeks

The simplicity of the subject matter combined with the solitude of the footprints on empty sand carry a thousand nuances that words alone could not capture. Have you managed to capture scenes like the one below, ones that drag you into a photo so that you feel yourself there walking along the foam, sniffing the salt on the air, and feeling yourself unwind with each step?

Members submission - relax by Sandy weeks
Members submission – Relax by Sandi Weeks

And if you still need more convincing to get yourself out and about with that digital eye, consider this: aside from causing us to feel more focused, alive, and creative, survey results show that photography makes us feel good about ourselves, increases our contact and connection with other people, and even helps to improve out memory. And at the end of the day, we get to surround ourselves with glimpses of life that might have passed us by had we not been holding a camera.

So if you haven’t picked up your camera lately or you find that you’ve been shooting the same old material for a while now, see if you can find something you’ve never shot before, or better yet, a new way of looking at something you see every day. What new and engaging perspectives are out there waiting to be discovered? If you find any good ones, I’d love to see them! Send in the old with the new and if any epiphanies or “Aha’s” happened, let us know that, too.