Two Roads...

Last Tuesday's photo shoot with Shaunise was so much fun that... that... Well, I honestly can't put it into words.

What photography has done for me this past year is indescribable. It's not only provided for me a huge, gigantic creative outlet, but it's also instilled in me a feeling of hope. Hope for a future that is, as we speak, expanding oh-so-beautifully.

So, with that being said, it makes me wonder - in an I'm-just-curious sort of way - why I'm continuing to partake in things/situations/events that are, to put it mildly, less than pleasing. When there is something (photography) that brings me so much joy that I can't even express it in words, it seems almost self-destructive to consistently surround myself with people and put myself into situations that cause me to feel, well, the exact opposite.

With 2009 coming to a close and a brand new year just around the corner, I'm suddenly finding myself at a crossroads. It's almost as if the Universe is forcing me to make a choice. Urging me to come - finally - to a decision.

I know what choice I desire. But I also know what choice is safe.

I'll make my decision. Soon. And I'm almost 100 percent sure which one it will be. As I've said before, the safest route doesn't always end up being all that safe.

I'm reminded of an old Robert Frost poem, The Road Not Taken. Lately it's been running over and over in my mind, wearing a trail through my thoughts and playing with my dreams. It's absolutely beautiful - always been one of my favorites - and seems to be prodding me in the right direction.

As for now, here are some more shots from my session with Shaunise. Beautiful girl = beautiful pictures. Enjoy!

_______________________________

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-- Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken