Never mind photography...

[mich8261]

seeing an elusive animal in its natural environment without having a camera or not being able to take a picture. Then I can simply enjoy the moment and not worry about light, composition, missing the shot, etc.

[Trius]

Originally Posted by mich8261

seeing an elusive animal in its natural environment without having a camera or not being able to take a picture. Then I can simply enjoy the moment and not worry about light, composition, missing the shot, etc.

Got any pictures of the moment?

[pesphoto]

The anticipation of waiting for the Celtics playoff game to start, sipping a beer and waiting for my pizza to be ready. Then, later my wife comes home form a girls night and I give her a big hug.

Also, the moment I send in my mortgage payment each month, knowing how hard I worked for that money and the satisfaction that comes with that, no matter how hard it is.

[gavinlg]

Driving. Wether it be a mid afternoon pleasure drive through the mountains whilst the sun is lowest in the sky, or having a nicely prepped car constantly squirm underneath you as you push harder and harder around a track.

Music - the type that lets you get lost in it.

[John Robertson]

Sitting in the sun in the late evening in midsummer, listening to the birds and insects, and Oskar the cat--------snoring!!!!

[smiway]

Holding my three month old granddaughter and watching her smile at me. My fifth grandchild, all girls. They never cease to amaze me!

[mich8261]

Originally Posted by Trius

Got any pictures of the moment?

just in my head

[Bob Michaels]

Meeting someone different, very different, while being in a very different, place. Talking, developing a short term relationship, finding all the things you really have in common in spite of the obvious differences, finding all of the differences in spite of the obvious commonalities. Making the most of the present time without knowing if your paths will ever cross again but knowing that if it does happen, both of you will be happy.

These are the times when things are so good that you do not bring out a camera because you know there is no way the feeling can be captured by any tangible means. But you know that it will be in your mind for some time.

[rbiemer]

Last Friday, I made time to hang out with my sister and a few of our friends. Fairly low key; a few beers, a little red wine, some good food and lots of great conversation. And some truly bad jokes. We've all known each other for a lot of years now and that sense of "home" when I get to spend time with these folks is stronger than ever. And it is the people not where we are that gives me this feeling. I stopped bringing a camera along to these gatherings a long time ago; there really isn't any need to because the people I would share the pictures with were/are all there.
Rob

[swoop]

When a girl I'm infatuated with turns out to feel the same.

Taxiing onto the runway and stopping at the hold short line to and giving the engine throttle. Then feeling gravity give out.

Rolling my mountain bike down a 50 degree decline over earth and jagged rocks and coming out of it with grace.

Exploring cities and small towns I've never been to before in the late hours of a summer evening when the streets are empty.

When an editor tells me I did good.

[CraigK]

Dogs

Darne Shotguns

Running

Single Malt

Grilled snipe on toasted French bread

[charjohncarter]

How about sitting down with the first 'real' guitar you ever had (1964 model purchased in 1964), and then playing 'La Comparsita' for the 4000th time. And you are by yourself and think that may have been the best I've ever played that tune.

[Allen Quinn]

Riding the Aprilia...knee down of course.

[Twigs]

landing a backside 360 when even the rude kids on the chairlift cheered, and then riding away like it's nothing.

sitting on a board just drifting, staring out into nothing but the sky, the ocean, and the line where they seem to meet, waiting for the next wave to come.

driving without having a destination.

any form of spinal decompression.

[marke]

Originally Posted by feenej

Long distance running, long distance Nordic skiing. That's what keeps the demons out of my head.

I can relate. Even though I never ran, I was an ultra-marathon cyclist (200+ miles/day) in the '80s, and that's a sure cure for keeping the demons at bay. Now days, I'm satisfied with anything between 20 and 100 mile rides.

Aside from that, I experience much joy in singing. I'm not a professional, as my wife is (opera), but I love to sing in my church's choir. When we learn a piece well, and it's a well-written piece, you can feel a power running through you that no camera could ever accurately record. I also love spending time with my wife. She is truly my best friend. My dog is a close second.

[nikon_sam]

I ride a road bike (not a motorcycle) sometimes it's climbing a tough hill and other times it's coasting down the other side...
I also do a bit of woodworking...so cutting into a nice piece of hardwood and feeling it as it's being cut...then smelling the wood after...

[BTMarcais]

The sound of 8 oars catching the water at the same moment while watching the sunrise over the river and feeling the water rush by.

The smell of my babies hair. and his happy laugh when I do something he thinks is funny (which is a lot more often than I try to apparently...).

-Brian

[maddoc]

I remember that feeling, sitting in a J3 Cup and waiting for the moment the tail-wheel lifts shortly before taking off a small grass-strip...

[Roger Hicks]

Originally Posted by Pablito

The Pleasures of the Flesh.
Guess it does not rank high here.

Why do you think I wrote, "Let's exclude the obvious" in the original post?

Most of us take that one for granted...

There are some wonderful word-paintings here. Even things I've never experienced, but always wanted to, like flying a small 'plane, are more real to me now thah they were.

Thanks everyone. This is one of the happiest threads I've ever seen.

Cheers,

R.

[flip]

I recently wrote to some friends about the sakura (cherry blossoms) that came and went over the last month in Japan. Expectedly, they requested some pictures, but barring a few shots, I had little interest in photographing the scene this year. I've tried before and found it just doesn't suit me to photograph this material. This is in contrast to the fall colors, which I love to shoot. More importantly, I realized that the enjoyability of the experience is to sit amid the trees and enjoy a picnic. The movement of falling blossoms. The community of others enjoying them around you. The feeling that the weather is subtly transitioning from cold to tepid. I cannot capture the experience. Moreover, I have realized that trying to do so takes time away from enjoying a very brief event.

[maddoc]

You lucky guys down in Honshu already could see the beautiful Sakura while we here in the north still look at blank trees ...

[funkpilz]

Listening to good music on a proper hifi is one of my most-treasured pastimes. In fact, I'll just be so bold to say that if you do it right, it is at least as good as sex. But of course, that's debatable.

[Rob-F]

Originally Posted by back alley

one thing i enjoy as much as photography is listening to music on a good stereo.

joe

I could say that too. I "preserve old technology" that way, too. Marantz 7, Audio Research D76, Marantz 8b. Tschaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, etc.

But what what I meant to say was, working in my rose garden. Or sitting in it.

[Mr_Flibble]

I'm jealous of the open-cockpit flyboys here!

I'll settle for taking a long drive with my friend in our 1943 Willys MB Jeep on a warm spring Sunday, after spending a day or two fixing the carburetor, oil pump, water pump and putting on the new windshield frame. Cold beers and a fine lunch somewhere in a picturesque village are optional.

[skibeerr]

Originally Posted by Trius

Paddling my canoe -- there is a Zen quality for me that is unmatched by any other activity other than meditation itself. Then coming back to campsite for a meal from an open fire and some gorgeous cab franc, and/or single malt, and a Cuban. Cigar, that is.

I can do without the last bits, but give me the canoe.

Late afternoon on a quit north sea and that seal keeps following you.



And paddling with my wife