Whenever I travel anywhere, whether it's across the state or across the world, I like to leave early in the morning. Like really early. We're talking the roosters are yelling at you to be quiet kind of early. I have always found it to be the most peaceful time to go anywhere. There's rarely any kind of traffic, first dips on the best pastries at local coffee shops, and people are genuinely nicer before the hell that is the morning/breakfast rush. Some people may call me crazy for even opening my eyes before the sun rises, but eh, they don't get to see the world the way I do and that's okay.

Since pursuing my photography and other art full time, I have noticed how insecure I am in regards to simply stopping on the side of the road to snap a picture. Apparently, at least according to multiple blogs on “Lé Googlé” this is not an uncommon feeling amongst photographers; experienced or amateur. I suppose there's some underlying social-anxiety based blah blah blah psychology, but I don't know it's hard to explain. I mean, I did read that one textbook in college about psychology in a psychology class, so I guess that gives me about as much credit in the psychology field as WebMD does in the medical field, but again, who knows.

[[[[sarcasm intensifies]]]]

In response, I've had been pushing myself to do more of this kind of “pull over and click” photography in order to boost my comfortability and confidence. After spending so many years in a “go go go!” mentality, switching over to a “slow your roll” attitude has been challenging for me. I used to just have to drive everywhere fast as possible, now I am adopting the attitude of “PULL OVER, PRETTY FLOWER, *FLIPS A U-TURN*” and needless to say, I am liking it more and more. However, it's still a weird experience to be this big fat guy pulling out a large camera to snap a shot of the sunset when there's a family of eight standing next to you taking selfies with their camera phones and iPads. That I don't think I'll ever get used to, and my generation started the “selfie culture.”

Sometimes all you have to do is stop and smell the roses. Who knew?

Cheers,