Before Sunshine was born, the only portraits I had taken were candids at family gatherings and a few newsy items for my high school paper. Well, plus that one ill-advised attempt at senior portraits, a cheesy set of shots of my best friend leaping over a stream in the woods just before high school graduation. Those never graced the pages of a photo album, let alone our yearbook.
Over the next decade and a half I whipped my camera out for every hiking, rafting, and camping expedition, but the results always made it look as if I went on these jaunts alone because no people ever appeared in the shots. Plenty of flowers and mountains and butterflies and chirping birds, but never, ever nature of the human sort.
Then I had a baby. I traded in my zoom lens for a 50 mm and finally read the manual for my auxiliary flash. Sunshine learned to ignore the camera and my embarrassing attempts to coax her into looking into the lens, while I learned to take portraits. 
No one who peeks at my hard drive these days can claim that Sunshine is not well-documented.
Here’s the thing about photographs of your baby, though: Even your most die-hard Facebook friends don’t need daily documentation of your child’s every facial expression, and the internet at large probably shouldn’t know that much about your little cherub. But photos are much more fun when shared (just ask a grandma), so I needed an outlet beyond portraits of my kid. And so, after nearly a year and a half serving as Sunshine’s personal paparazzi, my camera lens 
and I have rediscovered nature. Because the truth is, one subject is no longer enough, no matter how cute she may be.
This isn’t sudden, nor is it unexpected. It happens every time I begin working on a new book. There’s something about writing copiously that brings out the photographer in me, as if playing with photos is the twin of playing with words. Creativity is a funny thing.
If you’re curious, you can find the results on my photoblog, Playing with Pixels, which I finally started back up again. In the meantime, I’ll be outside, taking pictures of nature and Sunshine, in-between jotting down paragraphs for the book I’m working on.
By the way, if you have a photo – or even a photoblog – you want to share, I want to see it! Post the link in the comments. (No more than three links, though, or your comment will be kicked to spam, and we’ll all miss out.)
Your photos are BEAUTIFUL, Caryn! I’m still fiddling with my new camera whenever I get the chance…
Maybe your new book should be a gorgeous coffee table tome… 🙂
Thanks! As for playing with your new camera, experimenting is one of the best parts! Have fun.
Thanks for the kind words, guys! I swear I wasn’t fishing for compliments. I just wanted to share my photoblog since I didn’t know how many of you knew that it existed. Plus I was pretty excited about it, as you can probably tell.
I just checked out your photos. They are just lovely! You are so talented.
Aww, thanks, Beth! Now I’m actually blushing.
Nice photo blog. I’m obsessed with photography, though I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately. Looking at your pictures makes me want to get back out there!
Oh, good! I hope you do. It’s a fun obsession to have.
Great photos! I’ve always been so envious of people who can take amazing pictures. My father is a photographer and just got the most fantastic image of three hummingbirds hovering above a feeder. I’ll try to pop back in with a link for it:)
I’d love to see it! Definitely post, please, if you can find it.
Hi Caryn! Good to see you again. Have fun playing with pixels!
Thanks! It’s been a good time. Though photography is a bit of a black hole for me. I start taking pictures or editing them, and suddenly lots of time has zoomed by.
Just found your blog. 🙂 Can’t wait to browse through it. I love words and pics too, though I have never written a book. Though some of my blog posts are long enough I should consider it. 😉 My photo site is cdostudios.com. Mostly portraits though, I’ll warn you now. I do enjoy landscapes, and nature on my own as well. Thanks for the little prompt to do a bit more with those!
I checked out your site, Rachel, and it’s fantastic! I love to see portraits, and yours are so pretty and well-done.
Oh, so that’s how you heard about my blog. Lisa. 😀
Love your pictures, Caryn. I’ve been slacking lately with my photography. My writing seems to have taken a bigger priority. For now. That’s definitely going to have to change. I want to play around with it again, soon.
I know what you mean, Stina! You can only do so much, and writing has to come first.
Caryn, I’m so glad you’re taking nature photographs again!! Your pictures were always so beautiful and compelling — I love all three that you chose for this page. Looking forward to seeing more in the coming months ;).
Thanks, Marilyn! It was fun to share them. I never put my photos on here. In fact, I probably won’t post all that many on my main blog, but will keep them at https://www.caryncaldwell.com/tester/photos. I’ve spent the last several weeks posting photos there 2-3 times a week, and I have plenty more in the queue.
Beautiful photos! As I get into writing–that is when I must stop to try to organize photos, create collages or find healthier ways to start cooking for my family. I made real progress on the WIP last night so when I had a few minutes this morning? Frittered the entire time away, searching for a good juicer online. *sigh*
(Found some more great recipes though!) 😉