Beauty Every Day

During the Holiday break I made an extra effort to look for beautiful pictures every day. When I found a scene I liked, I pulled out my phone and took a picture of it. Sometimes the shots worked out and sometimes they didn't. The important thing is that I looked daily.

I have noticed several things in my pursuit of daily beauty. The first is that not all smartphone cameras are created equal. Some take better shots than others. I have one phone with a really good camera and when I know I am headed into the mountains, I make sure to bring it along. The pictures it produces are exceptional. If you are into photography, splurge a little and get a phone with a good camera. There are plenty to choose from.

The second thing I have noticed by taking pictures every day is that there is a lot of beauty all around us. One morning I woke up and marveled at the spectacular colors of the morning sunrise. I grabbed my smartphone and took several pictures only to have the sun come up just enough for the spectacle to disappear completely. On another occasion, I noticed the sunset casting a magnificent light on the mountains to the East. I grabbed a picture at the perfect moment. Professional photographers will tell you that sunrise and sunset produce some of the best light for pictures but don't let your guard down the rest of the day. One of my favorite pictures of the break is in a complete whiteout where you can barely see the chair in front of me on the chairlift I am riding. It looks cold and miserable but those are the skiing conditions I like most.

When cameras first started appearing in phones, I didn't see the point. Then I started using it as a way of capturing whiteboard notes at the end of meetings. Now I am using the camera on my phone frequently. If I don't like the picture, I delete it. Otherwise I have a nice photo documentary of my daily scenery and have taken some beautiful pictures.