Hi everyone in craftland. I hope you all had a lovely weekend, and some of you at least were able to get your craft on. It was beautiful and sunny here in Melbourne, perfect for outdoor activities, and for taking lots of lovely photos.
Which leads me onto my topic for this blog: when to take photos, and when not to.
I went to a Christian retreat this weekend, it was set at a stunning gardens, and of course the weather was fantastic. There is a policy of no photos at these retreats, which I understand and didn't have a problem with, until I went for a walk in these beautiful gardens.
I learned something about myself this weekend. That is, I now see the world through a camera lens, and then thru the pages I would scrapbook Until this weekend I didn't realise the strength of my urge to document most of the moments of my life, thru photos.
I was happy not to take photos of the beautiful friends I was making this weekend, I was happy not to photograph the aging, but peaceful retreat building. What I really, really struggled with was not taking photos on my walks in the garden. I saw some things I really wanted to take photos of.
The garden had a pond in it, well, it was really a small lake, and in and around this lake was the most stunning garden. I don't really have to the words to describe it too you so I won't even try. Another fellow retreater commented that some of the views were very 'Monet's Garden', so that should give you some idea.
I also spotted some very unique and stunningly beautiful toadstools. They were not like ones I've ever seen in nature they were red, with little white spots on top and perfectly round. Its like a little fairy should have been sitting under it.
I realised my inability to look at anything if I wasn't photographing it. It was a struggle not to run back to my room and  get my phone to take these photos. But here's the funny thing. I learned something. I learnt that I don't have to photograph EVERY experience of my life, some can just come along and you sit with them. These experiences become the fabric of who you are and can be even more special and important because you can't photograph and then journal them.
I also learnt that I'm reliving that lovely walk in that beautiful garden in my mind, because I have no other way of re-looking at it. Maybe this memory will live on sharper because it touched me so much and there isn't any physical evidence of it???
So to sum up this long, and 'no project' post, I'm not sure how this experience will alter my photography in the future. I do know there is a certain print shop relying on me to continue taking vast amounts of photos... but I'm definitely going to ponder on this weekends experience.  
Till next time when I will definitely have a project for you to looks at.....