Hokus Pokus Focus

So. I haven't written in a while. I've been sort of stuck in a busy bubble, and haven't been coping with it very well. I recently encountered a photography crisis, and it pretty much had me close to tears for a straight week. I guess it's because once you get bitten with the camera bug, it becomes an extension of your artistic expression. I felt like I'd lost a limb- as I was convinced that there was something terribly wrong with my camera. Not so. Operator error. What you're about to read is my humble confession about all of my blurry out of focus photos. Eek. So embarrassing. Here it goes...

Focus Points. Yes, so very simple and super elementary in the realm of learning your camera's functions. Well, I totally neglected it. I would half-press the shutter button and wait until my subject came into focus and snap a picture. By some amazing coincidence this led to more good photos than bad ones. At least until a couple of weeks ago :/ I'm assuming that as I am forming a style, I'm getting more deliberate with my framing and such. The result was entire batches of super weird pics. I was baffled. I scoured blogs and forums for answers to why my camera had completely flaked out. Today, yes... today I found the answer. There are a given number of focus points on your camera model. My D3100 has eleven. I completely ignored the tiny red highlight on the focus point being used. Basically, the camera could be focusing on someone's hand an I'd be trying to get it to focus on their eyes and I'd end up all frustrated. Or, even worse, I'd be fooled by what looked like a great shot on my LCD only to find that on the computer it was out of focus. And I was completely in control of which focus point was being used, I just didnt know it! Today, since learning this- I have taken non-stop tack sharp photos with my 35mm 1.8, and I'm freaking OUT. In a good way. It was that simple.

Ever find yourself in a blur? Life gets so crazy sometimes- we start to feel like nothing is going right and we tend to blame Jesus for not properly equipping us. Maybe it's not that at all. Maybe you have just the right equipment, and it's YOU who needs adjusting. Maybe it's as simple as re-evaluating your focus points. I hate to be a burster of happy self-centered bubbles (actually I quite like it) but if you're focusing on how things are affecting you then you're missing it completely. And it's no wonder that things are so fuzzy. I am hearing this, deep in my heart today. Thanks, Jesus.

I hope this finds you honing your focus, seeing life through the mind and heart of Jesus, and with clarity.
Happy Tuesday :)