natalie grace {a mother's love}

For the longest time I thought the lack of quality exhibited in my photos was entirely my camera's fault. I use an old(er) Nikon and, as I assume most beginning photographers do, I blamed my equipment when things didn't turn out as I had hoped.

But then, a few months ago, something magical happened. I like to compare it to when you're learning a language: you painstakingly learn the alphabet, individual words, phrases and how to conjugate verbs. And then, suddenly - boom! One day it coalesces and you're speaking fluently. I can now take pictures without laboring over details such as aperture or shutter speed - they just happen; my camera has become an extension of me.

So now I sheepishly think about how foolish it was to blame my lack of skill on my poor innocent camera. But to this day, camera angst still follows me. Mainly into low light situations. My Nikon is notorious for 'noise' when the ISO is pumped up even a little bit. Noise is essentially how 'grainy' an image looks.

I'm trying to learn however, how to go with the flow. Yes, the images below are grainy. But I like to think it adds to their timelessness. To me, these photos embody a mother's love so pure and beautiful it makes my heart explode.