Re-frame for Happiness

Bare with me, I will get to the point I promise.

The anticipation of photographing a powerful and mutant wave. His spirit wave he calls it. The energy it gives, the form it takes, the way it literally looks like it can chew you up and spit you out no matter how strong a swimmer or surfer you may be. It has a name this wave, The Bull. From the first time he saw it, he knew we’d be coming back. His gut told him this is where he is meant to be. This is where he will be happy. This would be “THE” wave. His wave. Some may say it sounds silly to claim a wave, it can’t be done. But you should see how he’s captured it. It’s perfectly his.

What do you see when you look at this picture? A pretty sky, with a man in a wet-suit going to take some photos of the ocean? A man dressed as a seal walking along the cliff-side with a nice sunrise? Yeah, cute outfit mate. Maybe it was just the perfect opportunity for a good Instagram photo so he quickly got into position for the right shot at the right time. #rightplacerighttime

No, he did not know the picture was being taken. He only saw it later that afternoon after our daily adventure was done, he was happy with his choices that day and we were home drinking our comforting, hot coffee.

He did however help me choose the right filter for it just yesterday. A simple HDR filter on the PS Express app on my iPhone 8 to sharpen it up.

Speaking of yesterday, I remember this day like it was just yesterday. Granted it was only taken less than a month ago, but it’s still clearer to me than this morning is. As is the conversation we had about a week ago when I needed a "pick me up please because I'm in a rut" slap to the face. It was all about re-framing the mind.

It’s 7am and the sky is still dark. It’s almost 8am and there’s a sliver of light separating the clouds in that dark almost always stormy sky. A small break between the gray blanket that is almost always covering our tiny town. He tells me to get up out of bed quickly and be ready in 10 minutes if I want to go with him to checkout if the surfs any good today. With hopefulness in his eyes and excitement brewing in his belly he tells me he thinks it should be a good day. Sure enough as we’re driving towards the sunrise the breaks in the gray blanket are getting bigger and lighter and holy wow it looks like fairy-floss. This was a perfect sunrise. This was a perfect moment for us to share together. Within minutes he’s parked the car and he’s rushing to get his wet-suit on and his camera gear ready, he’s bounding through the frozen grass and muddy potholes towards that cliff he climbs down and jumps off into cold water. When I say cold I mean it’s 1 degree outside. But he doesn’t flinch at the cold when opportunities like this are in front of him and he can see his dream so clearly. He frames his mind to focus on the good, the positive.

Not unlike other days, he could see something special in the world around him but this particular day he wanted, needed, to capture this moment.

I wear his jacket to keep it warm for him (ok, it’s obviously for my own warmth but I can try to pretend I'm doing it for his benefit right?) and I follow him along that narrow cliff-side on this 1 degree morning.

But today as I’m following him, I realize I want this moment too. Don’t get me wrong, I take a lot of photos on my iPhone. So much so that it’s currently NOT backed up with over 10,000 pictures and moments that I have felt are worth capturing. I don’t post everything, I keep most of it for myself. To help me remember that sunny day in the beer garden, that funny joke that had us falling off our chairs, that time my brother let me put make up on his face, that person in my life who may not be in my life anymore.

But just as he saw something special in the ocean that day, I saw something special too. I watched that frame of mind work wonders. I watched it transform him into a fearless "I'm going to get what I want today" attitude.

That’s why I chose this photograph. This moment.

I live in a small and cold town quite far away from where I grew up. I have no friends here and it can get pretty lonely. Don’t worry, this is not a sob story, this move was my choice and I have zero, zilch, no rAgrets. Not even one letter.

But when I look at this photo I feel happy. It reminds me that happiness is always close by. In this moment I captured two of my favourite things about living in this negative degree, nothing to do town. The sky, and this inspiration of a man. I mean, look at that sky. Have you seen something like that with your own eyes? When the sky is like that, I want to be awake.

This moment reminds me that I can leave the house on a cold day and still feel warm with the right company beside me or perhaps even without company at all. That you can quit your boring job and start doing something you love, something you have dreamed about if you have the right frame of mind to do it. Always look for the happier side (not necessarily the brighter side), it puts you in a better place emotionally, physically, mentally. It's healthier.

The way he wears his “otter” suit with pride, the way he carefully assesses where to jump into the water so as to not damage himself or his gear, the way he throws his hands up in triumph when he knows he’s captured something beautiful. This is a happy man. A content to continue pursuing his dream man. And this inspires me everyday.

This reminds me that I can choose to do things that make me happy. Rather than do things because I either have to or I feel there is no other choice. In this day and age, yes it may be easier said than done for some but we keep making excuses, it is possible to do things because you want to. Do things because you dreamed about them. Follow that dream, choose a new goal. What can you do today that will make you smile from ear to ear, put a goofy grin on that dial?

So I will choose to do things that make me happy, even if it may take me outside of my comfort zone occasionally. Because happiness is key. That’s what this image is to me.

It re-frames my mind when it lingers in the cold or hovers on the verge of a breakdown because what is my purpose here? Why did I move to the other side of the world? Why did I stop what could have been an amazing career short? When I miss the sun on my skin, when I cry at night because I want to hug my mother, when I miss the cackling laughs of my aunties, the inside jokes I have with my father, the games nights with my friends and the delicious meals they cook me. There is so much to miss. Re-frame this… there is so much to be happy for. Instead of missing them so much and being sad about it, I am happy I have these beings and moments and memories. And this photo, the subject, the man, the ocean, the sky, reminds me why it is important to be in the right frame of mind. This image, this moment I captured reminds me I am happy. (unfiltered and original photo below)

I love the picture as it was taken on my iPhone 8, no filters, no brightening or light effects. I played around with a few different filters but have chosen one simple filter as mentioned in my story, a simple HDR effect using the PS Express app on my phone. Vinaigrette (below) worked beautifully too as it surrounds the main subject in the center of the photograph but to me the image is the whole picture you see, coast, human pursuing happiness, cliffs, sky, sunrise...

Yours truly,

me.