mis-fit (miss fit) somebody who does not belong

When I was just a young lad, I had a teacher ask that “just once could I do what everybody else does”.   When I was married my mother in law proclaimed, “you certainly do travel to the beat of a different drummer”.  I was hurt by what my teacher said, but at an older age, I simply accepted what my mother in law said.   That’s because I had heard it many times between those to occurrences.

There are very few of the normal socially acceptable celebrations that I have truly embraced in my lifetime.   I realize that some of you that read my blog come from Europe or Asia, so please understand that some of what I speak of are uniquely American.  I sometimes have some very minor sentimentality about remembrances of the Thanksgiving holiday, and I truly do love the spirit and atmosphere of Christmas.  I keep the true meaning of Memorial Day (war dead), Veteran’s Day (military) and Independence Day (American freedom), but see no real need to personally go on a picnic or engage in some other celebration on those specific days.  I honored Mother’s Day and Father’s Day because I loved my parents, but not because I thought there should be a special day for it.  I have bought my share of presents for birthdays and anniversaries, but that was always just to be courteous.  I do not acknowledge my own birthday at all.  It seems strange (not silly) to me that the world should honor the day I was born.  Really I had nothing to do with it.  I think my mother should have been given a big award on my birthday and my father a small one.  But me?

I have joined my share of groups in my life.  When I am part of a team I will give absolutely everything I can for that team.  Still I would rather just find my own path.  I am unbelievably slow to make commitments, but once I do, I keep them.   Unless of course the other one involved breaks that commitment, in which case I am gone.

I have been no less of a misfit in nature photography.  When my friends wanted to photograph all wildlife, or even all birds or all landscapes I needed to go off on my own and photograph everything.   My business plan was all mine.  It was a failure but that may be because I did not remain healthy enough to finish the task.

I have literally never taken a trip anywhere that I did not like.  I mean when I was young and visited cities,  I loved New York, and Washington D.C., and Montreal, and Denver, and on an on.  As a nature lover and photographer I have loved every trip to every location.  Maybe I am just too easy to please on this subject but I just go with an open mind and expect to enjoy it.  And I do.  Sometimes it seems that it is supposed to be about finding fault with places.  I guess I find fault with plenty of other things in life, but for some reason not this. Over the past fifteen years I have led many a nature photographer to disappointment.  I write and talk about the places I have been.  I write with the love that an adventurer and nature lover should ( I think) have, but reality (for others) never keeps pace with the colorful and sentimental terms that I use to describe my feelings about where I have been.  That is funny because when I read the descriptions of parks and wildlife spots  by other writers, and then I visit those locations, I generally think they have undersold this place and that it is far greater than they described.

I know there are others out there that are misfits as well.  Join me in celebrating what we bring to the world.  Maybe a national Misfit’s Day?   No we would never show up.

As  a small attempt to reform I will wish all of you mothers a very happy Mother’s Day.

This is where I usually write, today’s pictures have nothing to do with the above article.  Actually the first two images fit my theme quite well.  Trust me.  This 2006 trip to Texas and New Mexico was a fitting way to prove the misfit theory.

Big Bend N.P., Texas and sunset at White Sands New Mexico

Bergamot Field

Black-crowned Night Heron, Wisconsin

Pronghorn, South Dakota

Just to prove that I am not heartless, for Mother’s Day I give you this in honor of a real life mother.I have been sort of analyzing the differences between having a full-sized website, and having a photo blog.  At first I was stumped. I mean this is basically all I was doing on my website for its final year.  There was the business side to the site where you could purchase art prints or workshops, and my daily photo galleries contained all new work, but for so many to remain loyal for so long with that website.  It was amazing and I am forever grateful.  The only things I can tell on this blog is how many hits each post gets, and if they come to me through links on other sites, including Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and an assortment of other sites that have put up home page links to me.  Facebook is non-existent and I been experimenting with not linking many posts there anymore.  Everything else is good but I clearly am being left by many of the original viewers of the Earth Images Blog.  I will admit that if I was a viewer I would have long grown weary of making daily visits here.  My point is just like in life we lose some friends and make new ones.  My goal in life has always been to keep those precious special friends, and simply recognize the time has come to move on when it comes to the rest.  Life is of little value without special friends, but also without change and evolution.