Images that inspire...

I am the family photographer. Very rarely do I step out in front of a camera lens and if I do, it is usually to mark a special occasion: a birthday, Christmas, or a family vacation. My camera allows me to study my surroundings and the people in them. In return, I am gifted with intimate glimpses, moments of repose, tranquility, and joy. I mark the present with the click of a button. In my viewfinder, I have captured the lives around me and I have learned about my own.

It is a treat to go through these frozen moments. I never have the time or patience to view all 11,000 of them currently residing on my hard drive. Instead, I find myself wandering and flagging the ones that seem to make me pause. Today, as the winter wind howls outside and the brilliant sun betrays the frigid air, I find myself looking for a little red bathing suit. I hadn't seen these photos in a while. They were taken on a vacation with a small digital camera and then downloaded just to free up the memory card. I photograph my children a lot. My son tends to hide and will complain if I go near him with a camera but my daughter...well she is something else all together. It's like she is everything I wish I could be. She wears red polka dotted bathing suits!

So here is what I found. The ME I wish I could be, the HER that she is and ALL of it captured in an instant by the family photographer.

(© All images are the property of Millie Donovan and cannot be reproduced without permission. milliedonovan@sbcglobal.net)