Searching for the Perfect Shot

A friend once told me a story about a professional photographer who, having tired of taking amazing photographs around the world decided to spend a year taking photos in the woods near his house. He was a typical photographer (photojournalist even?) who had taken thousands of photos to get the right shot. He decided to spend the entire day searching and take only one photo a day. The perfect photo. Then he took the 365 perfect photos and published a book (of course, my critical mind immediately went to the question "What if he messed up the photo one day?" but I suppose in a digital age with a seasoned photographer, that's a moot point).

The friend went on to tell me that one day the photographer had to choose between an amazing waterfall photo (or some other beautful scene) and a photo of some muddy leaves that had something unique about them. The guy went for the muddy leaves. It was more indicative of that specific moment in time and he saw it as his job to capture location and time-specific moments.

Of course, this is my recollection of a story told to me many years ago, so apologies to both N. who told me the story and the photographer-guy wherever you are. The point is I feel like that photojournalist every day. I spend all of my time with this amazing human being who is learning SO much and growing so fast and everything that comes out of his mouth is both hilarious and insightful. What to share?

Do I tell how Toe walked into my mom's house yesterday and announced, "My daddy just bought you a birthday present, Uncle James!" (the birthday in question is 3 weeks away and we were hoping to surprise him) and then talk about how I am still in awe how much like a sponge this two year old is? Do I describe the strange jump-dancing he has adopted in the last week, which he does most of the time and constantly has me in stitches? Do I share stories of our last trip to the zoo, where Toe was SO GENTLE with the goats as he brushed them? Each day, the stories I want to share pile up, and I know, just like that photographer, I have hard choices to make.

Today it means, two posts. But I'll leave this one with a single image.