Peace

Walking the shoreline of the lake today, I took the time to appreciate the beauty around me and the quiet filling the air. Just me and my camera. The water up to my knees. Soft sounds of the waves lapping against the sand. Ripples. Birds chirping.

The lake is my favorite place. My special place. The place where I was raised. The place where I was married. The place that we consider paradise. So I took a few minutes today to explore the shore with my camera and see things from the perspective of my lens. The sun was starting to set. And I was surprised that I was able to catch these sun bursts on the waters surface (without using the fancy starburst button on my camera). The sun was hitting the water perfectly. I had been carrying this flower with me. My parents have several growing in the garden and when I asked my Dad if I could pick one, he said to pick as many as I wanted. I chose one. And I wanted to photograph it in an unconventional way. When I laid it down on the water and saw it floating in the bright reflections from the sun, I knew that this was the image that I wanted to capture.

Because this lake is beautiful to me. It is peaceful. It hosts a million memories and will produce a million more. Seeing my own family here enjoying this special place makes me smile because this lake has always been such a huge piece of me. This is part of the foundation of who I am and it means so much to be able to share it with the ones I love. And who knows, maybe years down the road my son and daughter will each marry their soul mates here on the lake and wakeboard away into the sunset.......just like their Mom and Dad did.

Peace. This place gives me peace.