Day 5 of 365 - Rituals

As I'm learning with photography there is a certain amount of ritual involved with taking a picture. You find your subject, move around it looking for the best spot to shot from, choose your ISO, check your white balance, decide if you want aperture priority or shutter priority, decide on those settings, frame the shot in the camera, recheck all these settings and then, just maybe, you're ready to press the shutter release. I'm sure I've left steps out but I don't feel like having my wife dictate while I verbally run through my checklist with my camera in hand.

I was thinking about what I wanted to shot today and since it was a rainy miserable day outside decided to do something inside. I was looking at my old boots and thought they really need a good polish. In the military there are a number of rituals, some meaningful, others mundane but worthy since it keeps you from getting yelled at. One ritual you learn very early on in your military career is one of spit and polish.

These old boots need some spit and shine...much like my photography skills. A little polish buffed to a nice sheen with a brush will do but for the real shine I'm going to need a little elbow grease. It's going to take putting some polish on a soft damp rag and working methodically in small circles until I can see my reflection. That's what I'm working for...ritual.