River Rocky (South Yadkin River, North Carolina)

Sometimes with post-processing I tend to push a little beyond normal, whatever that is, getting surreal or strange results. The finished product is not so much planned as accidental–justified in my mind as creative art. Yea, for many I couldn’t duplicate the process.

But that’s okay, because sometimes the process and what was learned along the way over shadows the “strange” results. Having fun, learning something and finishing with a photograph I like for all it’s perhaps surreal strangeness is a win-win-win.

I’d rather reach the finish line with a bunch of weird and surreal photographs I honestly like then have a collection of cookie cutter photographs tailored more for and from the judgement of others.

The point of ‘make each day your own’ hit home again recently while watching the 2006 film “Bella,” where a New York City single waitress finds herself pregnant and fired from her job on the same day. With all looking bleak, she’s asked by a friend if she’s worried. Her calm reply is, “I’ve done research and found that ten out of ten people die.”

Nothing can cheat that final outcome so instead of worrying or living for someone else, why not live each day, and each photograph, for yourself and those you love.