Growing up in Mississippi right off of the Jordan River I spent a lot of time in a bayou, on a gravel road, out in the woods, or at the beach. Time outdoors always made me feel calm yet energized. Nature has a funny way of doing that. Later, as an adult, I moved to Louisiana, got married, gave birth to and raised four children. Although my children are my life’s greatest blessing and accomplishment, twenty-six years later time for "me" had become more and more scarce. My life revolved around everyone else’s needs. Life threw some heartaches and struggles my way ,and eventually I found myself feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted.
I had always been the "picture taker" in my family capturing all of those "Kodak moments." Then last year a family of Cardinals decided to nest in my yard. When their fledglings hatched I became very interested in watching them and taking photos of them. I felt very much "led" to do so and seeing them made my Spirit happy. We put out some feeders for them and the next thing we knew we had about a dozen different types of birds out here. So I became a "bird watcher" a.k.a. "Crazy Bird Lady." Watching and capturing photos of the birds became a daily joy and challenge. It was like some sort of magic had entered my life and I was doing my best to capture it and then share it with my friends on Facebook. It was making me happy. Soon I purchased a new camera and felt a desire to venture away from my yard and my birds to seek other photographic subjects. Again I seemed to be very "Spirit-Led." I found myself once again in life beside bayous, rivers, beaches, and out in the woods. In need of more adventure, more beauty, and more of nature’s magic I ex-tended my search to lakes, swamps, marshes, wildlife refuges, and other places I never thought I’d be visiting. The moments I have experienced on these outings have been very nurturing and healing. My Spirit feels revived.
It was seven months ago that I made a life-changing decision to quit my stressful job and dive into photography. In that time I have joined several groups where I have met many new friends. I’ve learned so much from these new friends and received some wonderful support and encouragement. This, along with practice and study, has helped me to grow as a photographer. I have found what I think is my "niche." I enjoy
capturing what I call "moments" in nature. This is often an amazing sunset or beautiful scene in the golden hour or at twilight. After a lot of suggestions to do so I created my own photography page on Facebook called "Louisiana Dreams Photography." I am absolutely thrilled with the response I’ve been getting, and I’m currently in the process of creating a website where my photographic art will be available for purchase.
My message here is just that I listened to my Spirit and made a "choice" to take a "chance" and "change" my life….those 3 C’s. Seven months later I find my Spirit renewed and my "Louisiana Dream" well on it’s way. Each day as a photographer is a new opportunity to see and experience something wonderful. Each day offers it’s own magic with the chance to capture a bit of it, and that is my ultimate goal. When I am attempting to capture that magic I am feeling awe, peacefulness, joy, and love in that moment. So when people tell me that one of my photos has made them feel something then I receive confirmation that I am on the right path. I’m blessed each day that I’m able to continue on this journey, and with no expectations I plan to continue
allowing my Spirit to lead the way.
http://facebook.com/sherry.peranich