A few posts ago I had mentioned that I had gotten myself a new camera and was attempting to get back into a passion of mine that has been missing for a long time. Since being diagnosed with CRPS I’ve really struggled to regain my love for photography. Thanks to my wife this past weekend I got the chance to take a break away from the kids, and go on a photography trip. It was a chance to get used to the new camera and spend time with a good friend. Overall it was a great trip, with a few added guests as well. On one of the nights a bear decided that he wanted to enjoy our bbq along with us wondering out of the bush. After that we decided that we were going to be a little more cautious walking around our cabin. It added to the overall experience of the weekend.

After a few frustrations things started to feel natural again. Learning a new camera is never easy and slowly I started to figure it out and it became fun again. After taking such a long break, I can honestly say that things started to come back naturally. As I relaxed it was as though I didn’t have my CRPS! My pain was manageable and not once did it stop me from doing what I wanted to do. For once it felt good that I didn’t have to adapt my life around something because of pain. So it was a successful weekend on so many different levels. The creative juices are once again flowing, and I’ve taken back something that meant more than I ever really realized. As we returned home I couldn’t stop thinking about all the places that I wanted to return to take even more pictures.

The owners of the log cabin that we rented were great! They went out of their way to make sure that we knew about all the great places that we could go to capture that perfect shot. They weren’t just hosts that put you up in your accommodations and took your money. So I will be returning at some point in time! As we were leaving one of the owners asked me to come back and that he would give me a personalized tour of some of the things that we had been talking about. There are wolves that live on his property that I would like to see, and he has offered to take me out to see them among various other things. So as you can tell the passion is back! Replacing my pain with my photography is just what the doctor has ordered.

It hasn’t been easy getting back into it, and at times I’ve been hard on myself. As I took on this challenge there were all kinds of times that I wanted to give up because it wasn’t going the way I wanted it to. Instead of giving in though I found a way to make things happen. It’s about time that I start taking back things that have been missing from my life. My photography is a piece of who I am and allows me to express myself, and big hole that was there has now been filled. So I’ve decided to post just a couple of the photos that I took, out of nearly 300 that I took. I hope you like!