by Steve Gaines

there’s nothing quite like the camera’s eye to stop the world
to capture the sense of things
discover the beauty of motion
that will not stand still for the human eye
that one magic moment of our human continuum
existing infinitely in the instant

illusive and otherwise invisible expressions of life:

playful moods
sorrows and excitement
sights and sounds
motions and emotions
the sense of love in a mother’s touch
the smile of a child caught in youthful surprise
the faces of toil and sweat
tiny stories of progress and failure

the playful moments of childhood:

fathers fishing
sisters wishing in some private corner to be all grown up
brothers smelling flowers secretly
grandmothers growing quietly grayer
everybody engaged in doing things and being someone
all explained exactly through the lens

and a of course a zoo full of other friends:

casual cute kittens
puppies cheerful and chewing things
dignified dogs
regal cats with a flare for importance
otherwise invisible insects
and caterpillars cum butterflies
and squirrels scurrying
small fish darting
tigers larger than life
with a fearful roar written across their faces
horses in a field caught at a full gallop…untiring
flowers exploding with impossible colors
storm clouds overfilling a sky
a simple single rain drop
reflecting the light of summer
silently a leaf turning color
the smoke of autumn
the heat of July
the icy grip of winter
the rebirth of Spring

moments of a complex world
busy and forever moving past us
recreated one frame at a time
each one its own reason
the machinery of existence reduced to single pieces
moments forged by the living of them
made for the scrapbooks of life
little shards of light saved for another time
to be taken out tomorrow and wondered at
reminders of a world no longer current
a world we were ever a part of
a constant reminder of us
forever etched on that emulsion.