I am deep-diving in a book right now. It's not the kind of book that tells your typical story, with characters and plot lines, a start, middle, and end. No, this book shares the story of the author’s experiences navigating through personal trauma, heartbreak, and pain. It's kind of like a personal diary mixed with deep thoughts and well-articulated short essays. It delves into the philosophical and spiritual and explores vast themes such as how to find strength to bloom during dark and dismal periods in our lives. As she relays her unique experiences, she talks of finding moments of awe and wonder in her everyday life and how these encounters left her feeling elevated, uplifted, calmer, stronger, and more connected. It’s a really interesting take on how everyday moments can profoundly impact our well-being.

While reading this book, I can't help but relate the practice of photography to many of the ideas she discusses. For example, I am constantly spellbound by the photo-making process, even after all these years. I still feel a spark of excitement every time a good picture materializes. It's visceral for me, starting as a buzzing feeling deep inside my chest, which flows outwards, through each of my limbs, reaching out to the furthermost parts of my body. When I get that feeling, something akin to an internal luminescence being switched on, I know it’s a damn good image. 

Photographing ordinary moments or routine happenings, which some might overlook, can, when framed just right, evoke genuine awe in both the photographer and viewers alike. As photographers, it is our duty to see, to notice, to create; to be driven by such a sense of wonder that we are compelled to pick up a camera and capture what inspires us.

Photography is more than just making pictures; it's an invitation to enter a flow state and switch off the logical, cognitive side of your brain, tapping into the free-flowing artistic part of oneself. It's a reminder to allow yourself time to slow down, nurture ideas, and find curiosity in the little things.

When I think about it, photographs are like windows of pure wonder.  Over time, our eyes tune in to the magical light that wraps around subjects with an almost celestial glow. We look for alluring shadows that dance and flutter across walls and faces. The way a prism strategically placed in front of a lens can bend and shape the light in such a way, it looks and feels like magic. How light entering a lens at vast degrees of angles produces such beautiful, swirly bokeh, while layering multiple images in double or triple exposures can produce unexpected wizardry in a single frame. These are testimony that exploring the magical qualities of photography is a great way to ignite and nurture creative positivity.

The sense of marvel I experience is even more profound when an image is captured on film. thanks to that chemical reaction that remains invisible until we see the result in the developed negative. To think that tiny little particles of silver halide crystals are ready and waiting to be exposed to light is beyond simple chemistry - it is pure alchemy!

And what's even more remarkable are the little imperfections that come with film; light leaks, grain, negative scratches - that serve as tangible proof of something physical created from something as abstract as light itself.

Much like the themes explored in the book, it's clear that photography offers us a unique path to discovering awe and wonder. By capturing ordinary moments with a sense of magic, we not only find beauty in the everyday but also tap into a deeper, more creative part of ourselves. This practice invites us to slow down, embrace the beauty in the mundane, and let the imperfections of film or the intricacies of light and shadow spark our imagination. So, if diving into these moments of wonder is as transformative as the book suggests, then we have every reason to grab our cameras and keep exploring. Through each click of the shutter, we keep fueling our creative positivity and capturing the extraordinary in the ordinary.