Why I Began A Hobby In Photography

by Karen Rose Smith

I'm always looking for inspiration. When I'm inspired, writing flows more easily. My interest in photography began with pictures I took on research trips to remember everything about the settings.  It wasn't difficult to take beautiful pictures of the Red Rocks in Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Oak Creek Canyon as well as the sage, columbine, jack rabbits and big horn rams in Wyoming and Montana.  I even managed a photo of a black bear!  Back home, those photos became my screen savers because they brought back memories and helped me add details to my manuscripts I might not have remembered otherwise.

I began taking lots of photos when my BFF visited with her daughter and when close friends visited with their children. Instead of just having the pictures for memories, I ordered prints and for two years filled albums for each of them for a different kind of personal Christmas present they could treasure.

We had two inside cats at that time and I always enjoyed trying to capture their antics.  Now we have four inside felines and two feral strays we are working on socializing.  Most of my photos these days are of all of my cat babies.

In my reader newsletter, I insert photos of our cats, of our gardens, and of the dishes I cook.  That way when a reader asks me about a recipe in my mysteries, I also have a photo to accompany it. I also began shooting photos for my blog and Facebook.  One of my past times is gardening.  Over the years my husband and I have planted seasonal perennials and annuals to keep color blooming from spring through fall.  I usually begin the season with photos of my daffodils, hyacinths and then roses. Soon I found that our hummingbird garden helped me actually take photos of hummingbirds if I was patient.  Butterflies on zinnias were easy to capture.

Memories are precious.  Taking pictures helps me hold onto them as long as possible.  I can honestly say each picture I take enhances my writing because I note that bee on a sunflower, realize the infinite shades of green in my gardens, appreciate the crystalline blue of the sky, the ruff of fur around a cat's neck, a quirky smile on a child.  Seeing and saving photos and filling my mind with the beauty all around me aids the creative process daily and adds richness to my life.

P.S. I use a Cannon Powershot to take almost all of my photos.