Walking with my camera

I’ve lived in Belgium 18 months and only recently started walking with my camera. Like any good tourist, I’ve photographed the famous sights and settings of the places I’ve visited across Europe, but until recently, I hadn’t carried my camera along as I’ve walked to catch a bus, strolled through my neighborhood, or run errands in my small village near Brussels.

As I hit the midpoint of our three year stay here, I realized how much I wanted to capture scenes from my daily life. In the past my inner perfectionist would flatten my photographic ambitions by harping that the light wasn’t right, the sky was too white, the composition was boring, those wires would ruin the photo, the angle isn’t the best etc. Happily, my inner creative muse finally succeeded in drowning out my critics and insisting that imperfect photos were better than no photos at all and would put me on the path to improving my skills.

So after my children boarded the bus recently, I took my camera on a walk through local terrain. With my sights set on photo-taking, I saw so much more: the old white chicken coop with the turquoise blue paint peeling off the doors, a little cobblestone courtyard between an old barn and a house sporting a lovely potted garden, a door framed by climbing ivy, a pink house with bright yellow curtains sporting lime green polka dots at the kitchen window, the curve of the road as it winds downhill through the village and the curve of the planted beds on the corners. The hard part wasn’t finding interesting things to photograph but having the courage to dare to point my camera at people’s private property, to dare to be conspicuous!

Since moving to Belgium, I’ve been almost absurdly conscious of trying to blend into my environment, not attract undue attention, not risk offending anyone in any way. I’m acutely aware that I hail from a country that has a reputation for boorish behavior and a foreign policy that is scorned by most of Europe. I watch what I wear, how and when I eat, the volume of my voice when I talk in public, the way I interact with shopkeepers and natives. I am more like a very well behaved guest than a resident at home in her community.

Walking with my camera is teaching me to step out of the shadows literally and figuratively, to accept who I am and where I am. The photos I’m collecting will remind me not just of a place I’ve loved but the moment I felt at home enough to claim it as my own and risk being noticed, imperfections and all.

October 4, 2006

Copyright 2006 Veronica McCabe Deschambault. All rights reserved.

(Photo Album in the navigation bar to your right. More photos will be added soon.)

Comments

[Neil]

I'm learning also that there is something very special about taking photos of your surroundings, almost as if you're saying that you're taking part of it with you.

[Javacurls]

It's great that you are now feeling comfortable enough to capture your surroundings! No doubt you'll treasure these photos for years to come.

I tend to be very critical of my photos but slowly I'm learning to enjoy & appreciate the moment I've captured rather than obsess over the lighting, composition or all the other things that can go wrong in a photo. No matter how horrible the photo is it will always bring me back to that memory & I'd much rather have an imperfect photo than to lose the memory of the moment.

Years ago, I attended an exhibit at the Smithsonian and found this interesting quote:

"To tour without a camera is to lose one of the keenest pleasures of a trip. Without it, the joys of site-seeing live only as long as the tour lasts or at best until its memory fade." -Official Auto Blue Book, 1923

And now that we're living in Belgium I want to capture everything. It's a shame my camera can not capture sounds and scents! ;)

[mamatulip]

I'd love to see some of your pictures...

[Mary]

For Javacurls... A camera that captures sounds and smells too! That sounds like something from a Douglas Adams book. Wouldn't that be great?

V-Grrrl, I've really enjoyed your pictures and look forward to more. What I personally have enjoyed about a digital camera is that I feel free to take tons of pictures. Invariably more of them turn out better than I thought and I'm not so disappointed by the ones that don't. The only problem is that I'm rarely in any pictures. Part of me is fine with that, but I hate to think my kids won't have many pics of me in the future.

[Wendy]

Came here from Neil's blog...lucky girl..you blog crush you! I laughed at your profile. My geezer would have yo be pretty old..for me to be the trophy...Very funny!
I'll be back...nice to meet you.

[wordgirl]

If I walk with my camera, how will I hold my satellite radio? Okay...I've got two hands, but...really! Hmmm. Running/walking without music. I wonder if it's possible.

[Annie]

When I lived and traveled overseas, I often carried my camera with me. There were odd times I wished I had had it along when I didn't. You never know what will pop up around the bend. I look forward to seeing some of your photos.

As far as blending in, I'm sure the natives (especially the locals) really appreciate your efforts. I don't consider your actions hiding out, I consider them good manners.

[TB]

I'm so glad you're doing this. I like seeing Belgium through your eyes.

[Lux Lisbon]

i know what you mean about trying to blend in living in a new country. it's a very strange feeling. walking around with a camera is great. and if you are not to self conscience try walking while looking through the view finder. you'd be suprised at how different things look that way. some of my best shots were taken like that.