Before I began writing, I took very ordinary photographs. Empty beer cans or fast food trash littered my beach shots. Framing a distant view with nearby trees never crossed my mind. When I look through my albums of old 35-mm photos, I understand how limited my powers of observation were.
Writing has taught me to pay attention to detail, to imagine a scene as though planning the props for actors, to see the main subject of the photo and then observe the subject’s surroundings. Where are the shadows? Is there a natural frame if I move a little to the left or right? Are there interesting clouds in the sky? Is everything in the landscape the same color?
Since I began writing in the mid-80s, and as I became a better writer over time, I also improved my photographic skills. I still have a lot to learn. Thank goodness I’m not still practicing with a 35-mm camera (and thank goodness, I’m not still writing at a typewriter).
Here are five of my favorite photos from over the years.
1. At the Wagon Wheel Bunkhouse of Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch, Loveland, Colorado
2. Along the 17-Mile Drive on the Monterey Peninsula in California
3. A Northern Colorado sunset
4. On the hiking trail from Monterosso to Vernazza in the Cinqueterre, Italy
5. The Seine in Paris – taken from one of the Bateaux Mouches
For me, learning more about photography is almost as much fun as exploring a new genre for my next novel. They are two different ways to express our creativity, yet both are enhanced by attention to detail.
Patricia is the author of two amateur sleuth mysteries, The Prairie Grass Murders and The Desert Hedge Murders. She is in the process of submitting her first historical women’s novel to agents while revising the first draft of a suspense novel. To learn more about Patricia and her books, please visit her blog, http://patriciastoltey.blogspot.com.
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