One of the things I promised myself at the beginning on the year was to get out and explore more. Whether it was around my hometown, surrounding cities, or a different state, I wanted to get outside and just live in the present. With the Pokemon app Dallas and I both have been going out and exploring more but sometimes I want to just go out with nothing but my camera and shoot. Nobody around and nothing else to worry about. Most of time my shots are trashed but there are a few I keep and sometimes get printed but that really isn't the point of why I go out and just shoot for me. I love doing this every once in awhile to push myself and see things in a new way. This is Lensbaby's slogan and I couldn't agree more with that. With shoots like these, all I take is my Lensbaby Composer Pro and a couple Lensbaby lens. This time I carried with me the Sweet 35 Optic, Edge 50 Optic, and my Double Glass Optic with the wide angle and telephoto adapter. My parents and I headed up to Ruidoso to have Cafe Rio pizza and walk around. The weather was beautiful with rain coming down lightly making everything shimmer. I took my camera around the downtown area and photographed some people walking around and the river on the back side. Since it had rained, the water looked bluer then normal and the plants seemed to dance with the breeze. It was so relaxing and helped clear my mind. We headed to another location a little further down the river and while my mom and dad walked around looking for Pokemon, I got into the river, kicked off my shoes, and photographed the beauty around me. There was nobody else around and I was free to be me and do what I loved. I don't consider myself a nature photographer, but creating art with what the world provided was just what I needed.

*Scroll to the bottom for a helpful tip on shooting in bright light!*