Friday, March 23, 2012

promise


Recently I had the chance to handle a Leica M9. I was literally shaking, partly because I knew how much the camera was worth, but mostly because I could feel the promise held within this little box: The creativity it would unleash! The photos I could take! The places I could go! The possibilities in that camera overwhelmed me. I'm fairly confident that me plus that Leica M9 would be a beautiful combination, but alas its pricetag means it's something I can only dream about.
My daughter is relatively new to instrumental music. She took up the flute just one-and-a-half years ago n eighth grader, but she took to it right away, and her teachers have gone out of their way to praise her accomplishments to me. A few weeks ago, she and I visited a music shop that we had visited in the past, but with her new understanding of music, she saw through with different eyes. I like to think she saw the same promise of new creativity and possibility in the exotic instruments lining the walls and ceiling that I felt in that Leica M9. The store's owner sensed her excitement and gave her a tour. She got to try various exotic instruments including this hurdy gurdy (whose name is Mr. Bubbles -- yes, this hurdy gurdy has his own name and his own amazing story). My daughter came home dreaming of owning her own sitar or possibly an oud. I came home thrilled to see my daughter so inspired and already plotting how we can bring those instruments into our home.

Mapleeye's photo, uke, gives me that same sense of this promise -- a young man proudly holding his new ukelele, with all the creative possibilities held within.

Deirdre a.k.a. Superdewa.

uke

uke by mapleeye

14 comments:

Kirstin said...

Oh yes, Deirdre. A world of possibilities. Thank you for musing with us today. x

Anne said...

My husband plays the piano, guitar and violin. me, I just listen. Music is such a wonderful thing. Playing it (I wish I could) must be real heavenly. Nice post!

Unknown said...

Thank you for inviting me to guest post!

Millie Rossman Kidd said...

Lovely!

mapleeye (nancy) said...

always feel so very special when one of my photographs is chosen. Thank you, kindly, Deirdre and thanks to everyone else. This was a strange experience for me because it was my first "street shoot" - approaching strangers to snap them on the street with a group of other photographers. So...I felt a lot of promise myself in starting to get more comfortable approaching strangers for a shot. It was a beautiful uke and he was a very kind subject. :)

cara said...

this is great; so happy to see you musing with us!

heatherstockett said...

That is a great story! And what an awesome parallel between you and your daughter.

Staci Kennelly said...

Such a beautiful story of your daughter finding what makes her come alive! Love this post!

damiec said...

Beautiful, Deirdre - words and pictures.
so nice to see you here!

Michelle, Queen Behind the Lens! said...

Lovely, Dierdre! Your words and (of course!) your pictures. The wood just glows. :) You deserve that camera... start saving your pennies now!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful illustration of the possibilities I can't help but think that one day you will fully realize those dreams by photographing your daughter with her dream instrument with your dream camera :D

Simon said...

Sitar and oud-she's taking on some unique challenges and sounds. Beautiful photos both, your and the inspiration shot.

urban muser said...

beautiful deirdre!! love this post. thanks so much for musing with us today.

mapleeye (nancy) said...

oh! what a dunce am i! I thought each of the above photos had its own comment box not one combined! forgive me, Deirdre - your photo is beautiful (and the story). the handcrafting that goes into making this kind of instrument is mindboggling. so nice your daughter had such excitement over it. I hope my son will also be musical (he loves dancing and singing to music and loves listening to it). i, unfortunately, can only play the radio. ;) i love this blog and thank you for making me a part of it today especially alongside such a beautiful post and special photo of your daughter.

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