NC trek

I love pictures. Photographs to be more specific. I do not have a great appreciation for paintings, but photos are another story. The screensaver on my computer often captivates my attention. It’s nothing fancy: just the screensaver that displays a different picture every couple of seconds, but I am so content watching those shots go by. I don’t yet have a digital camera, so the last time I was at my dad’s car lot, I scanned a bunch of pictures I only have hard copies of just so that I could have them on my computer and be able to watch them on my screensaver.

My appreciation of photos has expanded to include a greater appreciation of picture frames. I went through a phase around a year ago when I bought frames that I liked even though I didn’t have a particular picture to put in them. I would even walk around in Target or Bed Bath and Beyond (wow, I’m starting to sound like a girl) just to see if they had any cool picture frames I wanted to buy. I also have some photo coasters that are stored away in my closet patiently waiting for the day I get a coffee table.

I’d not thought much lately about the pleasure photos bring me until last week when I took a trip to North Carolina to visit friends from college. I drove there and decided it would be cool to get my picture taken with the welcome sign of each state I drove through. I knew it would only be 4 pictures, but I still thought it would be a fun way to document my excursion.

At first I wanted to take a picture with the welcome sign that was at each state border. My first (and only) attempt failed miserably. The “Welcome to North Carolina” sign is on a small bridge and is not an ideal spot for picture taking. I should have known when I stepped onto the bridge and felt it shaking that this idea was not one of my best. Besides the fact that cars were flying past me, each time I propped my camera on the roof of my car a gust of wind would take hold of the camera, turn it around and ruin my photo opp.

So I settled on taking pictures at each state’s welcome center. What I loved was the response I received whenever I asked a stranger to help me out. Each encounter went something like this:

Me: “Excuse me. Could you help me out?”

Stranger: look of panic

Me: “I was wondering if you could take a picture of me with the welcome sign.”

Stranger: The look of panic diminished, he smiled and gave a resounding, “Sure!”

I know they were initially just happy I wasn’t asking for money, but it also reminded me how much almost everyone likes pictures. Plenty of people turn down invitations to be in pictures (I have some painful memories of those pictures you took every year at school), but I can’t think of a time when someone has refused to take a picture.

In North Carolina the gentleman who took my picture was named Ferd. After he took the first shot, he totally got into it and when I said thank you and started walking away from the sign, he exclaimed, “Wait! Let’s try it from another angle. You never know how it’s going to turn out.” This is the 2nd shot, which did turn out better. Turns out Ferd's got a good eye.



In Georgia, I saw a lady smile as she walked past the guy who was headed to Fort Myers take this picture of me.




The guy who took my picture when I made it back home to Florida was on his way to Pensacola with his family. The picture he took came out blurry, but that's alright.

My portrait with the "Welcome to South Carolina" sign didn't happen because I was on a state highway and I didn't realize I was in South Carolina until I drove past the small sign. I did, however, get to drive past the world's largest strawberry and grab this shot as I drove out of SC.

It is amazing to me how a camera can capture a moment. How can that little tiny thing suck in that second of life and freeze frame it? Even after taking a photography class in high school I still don’t get it. I don’t think I ever will. I'm just thankful someone did get it.