Self Indulgence, every day? I’m in!

One day, decades ago, I was standing on a beach with my film camera waiting patiently for what looked to be a pretty cool sunset in the offing. It was freezing as I waited for the sun to go down; my feet were cold and my shoulders were hunched against the winter wind.

Then, as I stood there, I had a realization, an epiphany really: I was never so physically uncomfortable while at the same time having so much damn fun!

Fun, a great concept. It’s addictive and beneficial.

I’m new to this blogging so be patient dear reader. I’m only a tiny voice in the vast wilderblog hoping to add just a little to your reading and image viewing experience.

I will respect the time and attention you honor me with and I will make every effort to make it worth your while.

I’m retired as is my girlfriend, Cheryl. We are partners in selfish pleasures. We live in Long Beach, NY. And we get high…on doing fun.

First, I take pictures as you have deduced. I enjoy looking at still photos but most of all I love taking them. It’s a passion to me, but most of all, immense fun. That’s really why I do it, for the fun and satisfaction it provides.

Many thousands of photo-framed moments have come and gone  since that day on a cold shoreline but the magic I see is still there, in the world around me and also in my little magic camera box. Every day I’m like a kid on Christmas morning playing, for the very first time, with the toy he’d always hoped for and finally received.

Sometimes photography takes me to mundane places where wonder is hidden and which only the  curious and incurably tenacious will discover. I love to search for the wonder. I have vistas near and far, from the tiny grids of our terrace screen, the open web of a fisherman’s net, to the majestic Manhattan skyline, I love shooting it all.

This dragonfly landed on our terrace screen. Great macro photo op.

A fisherman through his fluke net. He didn’t have a computer so I sent him photos via snail mail. Costco’s a bargain for it, no postage or handling. The fisherman has the photos on his fridge.

Manhattan sunset, from our Long Beach, NY terrace.

When I’m on the beach I take shots of surfers, fishermen, kiters and kayakers. I email the photos to them. If they don’t have a computer I snail mail the prints to them. Low cost to me, big high for me.

Cheryl and I are hooked on getting these highs. No, this is not huge philanthropic giving, just tiny gestures  of good will to other human beings. 

Ah ha, you feel I’ve betrayed you. You think, “This was to be about selfishness and now he’s talking altruism”. But read on.

We do feel in the big scheme of things, this little stuff makes a difference. Yeah, we do it for that but we do it for ourselves too. We just get a lot of pleasure doing little things for others. I strongly suspect all of you have given, helped, donated and felt that unmistakable lift. If you haven’t, you’re missing out on a great high.

It might be an acquired taste for some, like scotch. I used to be  among the legion of scotch aficionados but initially, like many others, I felt it tasted like medicine. For some it actually became their “medicine.”

This selfishness can be “medicine” too. It can keep you feeing pretty damn good.

Now, this “good feeling” can be addictive so be warned. After you become used to its effects you may want it again and again.

Should that happen, don’t go cold turkey. If someday you find yourself feeling low, go for a good hit and do someone a favor. If you’re particularly depressed do a couple of lines of donations to the very, very poor.

But it can be a part of your daily life, you can maintain the working level and just be a social giver.

One small example:

During the course of this past year Cheryl has developed the habit of taking photos of people’s houses while she walks our pooch, Bailey, especially homes that have gone to the trouble of presenting a nice garden.

Then she gives the photos a snap of charm, putting a sketch effect to them. She then drops the prints off in the mailboxes of the homes. Sometimes she even mounts the photos onto magnetic strips and encases the project in plastic to make a nice refrigerator decoration.

Inspired by Cheryl, this Christmas season I started taking photos of houses decorated with lights.

The American flag flying always gets my attention. So, one day I spotted a flag flying amidst the Christmas decorations of a home nearby. I started shooting.

Then, as I walked with Bailey I kept stopping to take more shots again and again. Bailey would lose patience from time to time tugging my arm, sometimes causing camera shake but I persevered.

Cheryl later did her magic to my photos. Then we jumped into the car with prints in hand and a note of thanks to the homeowner for brightening our town.

I drove up one street and down another with Cheryl scooting out to the various mailboxes. It was fantastic holiday fun, beats caroling I’ll tell ya and many victims of my voice can swear to that.

We received an email soon after that rewarded us for our efforts:

Lee,

Thank you so much for the photos of our lights and your kind note.  It meant so much to us that you enjoyed them and took the time to let us know in such a wonderful way!

The American flag enhanced this Long Beach, E. Broadway home for Christmas.

Cheryl’s sketch-effect to the patriot-family’s Christmas loving home.