There’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.- Sarah Kay
We sat looking over the blue Pacific. Shades of blue melting together from shallow to deep. A slight wind pushing sailboats across the horizon as an occasional sea lion bobs to the surface then disappears. I missed our Oregon coastline on this beautiful ocean but savored our moments as we watched nothing but water, knowing that we were receiving a gift. A gift of the deep blue sea.
Loren was invited to participate in Rfotofolio Depth of Field at a gallery in Carmel, California. So we packed our bags, photographs and eagerness to get out of Oregon rain and headed to Monterey. Sometimes things work the way they are meant, and you don’t quite get it until the moments have passed. Our three days in the beautiful sunshine were filled with such as these.
This new life of mine with this gentle spirited photographer is an adventure for both of us. He has the seeing eye of the camera, and I have the words to accompany his gift. We are an indomitable pair. Our conversations and observations definitely have depth of field. (Depth of field is the distance between the closest and farthest objects in a photo that appears acceptably sharp. For me, it narrows down the area that you look at in a normal view but what you might end up finally focusing on in a wider view.) I know Loren will correct me if I have this wrong. So where Loren focuses on life through a lens, I see it in all its possibilities.
Loren spent time with a very prestigious group of photographers, while I soaked up sun and visited with a very sweet lady named Sele. In a matter of minutes, we had covered life, politics, religion and relationships. On the surface we had nothing in common. Peel away the layers, and both our lives were enriched. I came away from that afternoon and evening with many new friends. Those I will in likelihood never see again.
We enjoyed the beauty and uniqueness of Carmel then spent time at the Monterey Aquarium. In Carmel, we saw a town filled with beautiful buildings and people. In Monterey, we marveled at what lies beneath the beautiful, blue Pacific. We sat overlooking the ocean drawn into the sheer loveliness of it. We wondered what it would be like when the water begins to rise with global warming. We were concerned that the water temperatures are rising. What then of the lovely life that lives below that deep blue sea? This was a new depth of field.
Our seats on the way home were on different sides of the plane. I was tired and not really wanting conversation. I heard Loren laughing across the aisle. He had made a new friend from Pátzcuaro, México, who was visiting in Portland. The young lady next to me finally made me talk (hard to believe, huh?). She is a preschool teacher from Vancouver. In just a few minutes, we were sharing pictures and stories, ways to engage young children, marriage and twins (her having a twin brother). Parting we finally exchanged names. Two more people we were gifted with to share our lives for just a bit of time. Our depth of field truly focused us in on people who were just part of the mass when we first boarded the plane.
What is your depth of field? What do you see when you focus on something that is near to you? Do you look beyond and find a new point of focus? Do you find something interesting or even life changing in the view? I learned a great deal about photography and people on this trip. I learned a great deal about me.
We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.- Mother Teresa
