I Didn’t Like The World I Saw, So This Is What I Did…
“People say photographs don’t lie, mine do.” -David Lachapelle
I’m holding my favorite toy car.
No, I don’t usually have toy cars, but this one is a Volkswagen Beetle, enough said.
I wish this was a real car.
I hold this car, with daisies and hearts painted all over. I smile, imagining myself driving it around town. It would be a dream.
And then an idea pops into my head. I can’t change the car of my dreams, but what if I could change? I mean, would it be possible?
The wheels in my head start turning.
I know what to do. No, I’m not talking about photoshop.
Time to grab my camera!
I set my car on the street, inches away from my camera.
Setting the 10 second timer, I run to my spot, several feet away in the background. A spot that it’s taken over an hour to find.
The neighbors must be having a riot. What is that girl doing laying on the street? Oh never mind, she’s got a camera in her hand…it’s Jessica.
Laying on the street — on my belly — is a little rough…but it’s okay.
I do weird things for my pictures. I’m a photographer.
After too many shots to count, I’m tired of running back and forth. When I look into the 1-inch screen, I laugh. I did it!
I email the picture to my brother and he actually believes I have a new car.
Then he takes a closer look 😉
I can’t believe I fooled him. Yes!! So what that it was just for a moment. It counts.
And this is the actual size of the car:
It’s a small world
My appetite is whet. I look around for other objects to photograph. The world has just become much bigger.
My miniature sand castle sparkles as I place it in the grass. I know it looks like I’m in my backyard, but through my mind’s eye, I’m a princess in my own fairytale.
If it’s even possible, I’ve fallen more in love with photography, and it’s for keeps.
I have total freedom to go wherever I choose to go, nothing is off limits.
I fit in.
And finally the kid in me comes out to play, and the world is a safe place to pretend.
“The camera is an excuse to be someplace you otherwise don’t belong…”
— Susan Meiselas
At age 6, I put my arms around my parents and exclaim,
“You two are the best friends a girl ever had!”
Mom had just told dad that I’m always quoting movies.
They look at each other and she smiles, “The Wizard of Oz.”
I’ll admit it, I always wanted to be Dorothy, skipping down the yellow brick road in the shimmering ruby slippers.
So much that one Halloween, I painfully found out I will NEVER be a seamstress.
I made myself sit at my sewing machine for hours until I (sort of) finished my Dorothy costume. So what that I never hemmed it? So what that I’ll never sit at another sewing machine for life? I did it.
Slipping on my less than perfect Dorothy dress, I positioned my little lion and scarecrow figurines.
And I entered that world for a few minutes. I can’t share the wonder, but I will give you a little glimpse, and tell you- it was fun. Except we were missing The Tin Man…( because I didn’t have that one)…but it was fun.
And no, don’t look at my hem!
“I think good dreaming is what leads to good photographs.” -Wayne Miller
For me, one of the things I love about taking pictures is creating shots that make people wonder, “How in the world did she do that?”
“I don’t know how you’re taking these pictures with that camera,” one friend said to me. Brent knew my existing camera was 1 megapixel, a Sony Cybershot “point n shoot,” handed down to me from my brother. I LOVED it.
But I smiled to myself. I knew how. I was letting my camera be an extension to my imagination. I create the scene and my camera captures it. We’re a good team.
I wanna put on…my boogie shoes
As a teen, disco and 60s music was always in my CD player. I used to think I was born at the wrong era.
“Shake your booty” and “Play that Funky Music” were on repeat too many times. Turning the page of the inserted album art, I saw them — my boogie shoes. It was time to dance!
I must confess, this was one of the hardest pictures I took because I had to align my legs exactly with the image on the cd case. It took about 50 shots and my camera’s internal memory was short — it could only hold 100 images. Still, I loved it.
I believe sometimes life is hard, and we need an escape, a time to dream. When I want to escape, I’ve learned to pick up my camera. To go to those places in my mind. To make my dreams a reality, and that satisfies me deep inside.
It’s funny how just looking through a lens can take you someplace else.
A camera must be magic.
What about you?
What picture do you wish you could be in?
What are some of your childlike dreams?
Leave me a comment, I’d love to hear them.
If you like this article, check out my art book, Make Believe: A picture/poetry book. Available on Amazon. Click here to order your copy. This is a collaboration with my mom, Anne Peterson; her words inspired by my photographs.
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Originally a guest post on www.justhowcoolisthat.com