Photography Goals and A Japanese Maple

Do you ever take a picture you just really like? 

This is one for me. 

It stopped raining sometime yesterday afternoon, so I went outside and literally ran around the yard snapping pictures as quickly as I could.  So many days of dark gray skies make it difficult to capture well-lit images.  I really like how this one turned out, not sure why, and I'm pretty sure I would have a hard time repeating it.  While in theory I understand what aperture and shutter speed mean, I'm pretty much incapable of applying them in practice.  My camera's auto-mode and I are great friends. 

I hate saying resolutions out loud.  Fear of failure keeps me from telling anyone my goals - I would hate to be held accountable for keeping them.  But that won't get me anywhere...so I'll just say it now.  My goal this year is to learn how to use my camera.  It can't be that hard.  It is the most basic simple SLR model available.  I've found so many good sources of inspiration, as well as instruction, online - it is actually really overwhelming.  I just need to pry myself away from other distractions and focus.  That might be quite a challenge in itself, as five month olds generally don't allow focus on anything for longer than five minutes or so. 

It helps that the sun has returned today.  There is something about waking up to sunshine this morning that has really motivated me. 

There is a story that goes with this picture - as there usually is.  This little red stick is a Japanese Maple tree from my Grandma's backyard.  Anyone who has ever shopped for said tree will know that by the time they reach a sellable size, they usually have a ridiculous price tag attached to them.  If I am able to keep this little sapling alive for the next decade, it should reach a decent size suitable for planting in my future backyard.  So far, I been able to nurture it through one summer and part of a winter, surviving 100+ degree temperatures, freeze, and extremely powerful winds - not simultaneously, of course.  I figure if I can keep it alive for one year, it will be a good sign.  In the case it doesn't survive, I'll be digging in my Grandma's backyard again for another try at it.