These days it seems to me that everybody is a photographer. When I’m out and about in the world -- whether I'm taking a ferry across Puget Sound, or hiking a remote trail in the Cascade Mountains -- it’s common for me to encounter folks toting a Santa-size bag-full of top-of-the-line digital camera gear, thousands and thousands of dollars worth of stuff.
As a fella who has, for nearly 40 years now, made his living by making photographs, I get the passion that other folks have for photography. Taking pictures is more fun than anything we typically think of as "work."
And, take it from me: Making photographs is certainly more enjoyable than cleaning out the gutters.
It rained and rained here in the Seattle area last week. There was strong wind too, which blew the last remaining leaves from the trees and onto our roof, filling the gutters. When the sun finally made an appearance one morning, I knew it was time to get out the ladder and do some gutter cleanout. As I walked toward the barn where the ladder is stored, I was stopped in my tracks, brought up short. Raindrops on our clotheslines were shining like jewels in the sunlight.
I had me some pictures to take.
The cleanup chores could wait.
