want to join me?
washington apples, seattle, 9.27.08
saturday evening, jon and i were up in seattle having dinner with friends and afterward we did our usual "we are in fremont so we might as well go to PCC before we head home" ritual...
while there, i suddenly had an urge to take photos of snippets of the produce section.
when i stood up after bending over to capture as many colors of apples as possible, i caught the eye of a man who had been watching me with quite the bemused look on his face.
if someone created a comic strip of that moment, this man and me looking at one another, the caption above my head might have said, "you mean you don't take photos in the produce section?"
i found it so amusing to think about what he must be thinking. as i walked across the store to join jon and our friend christine, i imagined explaining the life of a blogger to this man...explaining how blogging has caused me to notice my life, my life experiences, in a richer way. how blogging for three years has invited me to document my life now...how i pay more attention.
and this made me think about you...
you out there reading these words...
you trying to do this same thing: pay more attention in your life.
and as i walked up to jon in the cheese section (because where else would he be?), i explained that my mind had connected all these dots from bending over apples to thinking about you out there who visit my corner of the world...how my mind had connected these dots to an idea of a series of posts...a series of "i dare you" kind of posts that i might toss out into the world every now and then...a series of posts where i see if you, you out there reading this, might want to join me in a few things...like taking photos in the produce section...
still rolling the idea around in my brain...
but today,
today i wonder if you just might want to grab your camera the next time you go to your favorite grocery store.
i wonder if you might want to capture something bright and cheery in the produce section.
just for fun.
just because you want to look at your world in a different way...because you want to pay attention in even the simplest moments.
just because you can.
yep.
i dare you.
you reading these words.
i dare you to take a photo in the produce section.
(then come back here and tell me all about it please)
a question (for you)
Reader Comments (20)
Since I am sitting here in the same room with you and heard you talk about this as you just typed it out...I totally "hear" you saying this...literally...he he he.
Being silly aside, I love this idea...and the fact that you yourself did it and were caught doing it...fantastic! :-)
xoxo
It's a great idea...and since I've been blogging, since breast cancer, there are so many ways I am so much more aware of my surroundings. I take my camera various places and my kids are so "in tune" with this now -- they laugh and say "we know, it for the blog" (and they stretch out "bloooogggg" when they say it)...but I think it's made them more aware too. I'm off for groceries tomorrow so aside from my list and my eco bags, I must remember the camera!
I'd have loved seeing the look on that man's face!!
I'm sitting here laughing because I think all the time about taking pictures in the produce section but haven't worked up the nerve to do it yet. Hmmm, I think I've just been dared to do something new.
oh i love a good dare, dare me to do just about anything, and i can't not do it... i always embarrassed myself so totally when playing truth or dare at summer camp - they always gave me a dare, just to see if I would really do it... produce aisle, here i come... ooo or farmer's market produce on a thurs afternoon... love this idea Liz
:0)
strangely enough
this is asking me to do something
that does feel
totally
out of my element.
i have this fear of taking photos
in stores, in buildings,
where people might tell me i can't.
but you know.
i think i will take your dare.
i think i will.
i think.
{i will}.
I will take your dare, but hmmm....I would rather take pictures of the cheese section! Love cheese. Mmmmmm....brie..emmenthaler..stilton...mmmmmm....cheddar cheese soup with buttered popcorn garnish...mmmmmmm....
Hey Liz,I love a challenge too. Am heading to the Tacoma Film Festival later and then to see live theater. Wonder what wonders my camera can capture?
if you could only see the huge collection of produce section/market stall photos i've accumulated over the last couple of years!!!
i promise to post some soon in honour of this lovely, thoughtful, empathising post of yours.
hugs to you and sweet jen
Vx
Hi- lurker here. Your blog has been such a great inspiration to me...I think some days your vulnerable musings have kept me afloat. Thank you for sharing.
On another note, did you see this little hat-tipping in your direction?
http://persistingstars.blogspot.com/2008/09/oh-dear-oh-dear-i-am-almost-too-late.html
what I wanted to let you know is that right after reading your hummingbird blog I went out to my porch swing to contemplate my universe, and this is the first time I have seen one, a hummingbird buzzed my head! From you to me, I boiled the water and sugar......goodwill feeder dug out.
once again a circle.
We literaly have apples falling from the trees here at the moment.
liz ~ I am a newbie and I must say I cannot agree more ~ you do look at the world differently...fruits and veggies here I come!
I may have to take this fruit & veggie photographic challenge! Wonderful photo ... and, I love the comic strip image :)
xx,
JP/deb
Heehee, I did this a couple months ago but I chickened out and had my daughter take the pics. Everyone thought she was so cute, lol.
Beautiful pics hon!
a.
Hi Liz, Michelle Ward posted a picture of pins that she and her daughter got at the mall -forget the store- that say "I am so going to blog about this" A perfect accompaniment to your post! I take pictures of everything and anything and was so frustrated today when my battery died on a studio tour in my town that I had to leave the tour and go find batteries. Great thoughts.
i know how it feels to get those strange looks....while in Paris, walking the open air market, all the glorious fresh produce, fresh chantrielle mushrooms!! i had to take food pics....and got some very amused/strange looks from the french doing their daily marketing.....i just smiled...and continued....do it...just do it!!
I was in PCC Sat night, not in Fremont, but the Aurora store showing my daughter, she just moved here, our brillant healthfood store filled with all the most sensational produce. That's one reason I love blogging, I often find that others have written the post I lived. we are all so very much the same...
I was in Whole Foods and took a picture of their flowers and was told NO! so I had to stop.lol. Laurie
I'll admit, I may not be back with a produce picture, but I so relate to (and just happened to be thinking about) what you've expressed here: being a part of this whole blog thing has made me so much more aware of my surroundings and how I choose to live. I had no idea how reflective if would make me years ago when I started. It's so wonderful to be part of a community that causes one to think about how we live our lives.
Hi Gorgeous!
thought of you today. was talking to my staff...and then to a friend...wanted to moan about something and thought..how can I turn this conversation into something positive....and I asked her to tell me 5 good things that has happened in her day so far! (gorgeous you!)
and...
last year i went into Harrods, London (!) walking around in the...can you guess...produce department...everything looked so so fresh! and bright! and colorful...i did not even think..the camera 'just appeared' in my hands and when I heard the 'clicking' sound...i looked up...and a man was looking at me from behind the counter...what will i say? I asked him if I can take a photo of him behind these gorgeouse red cherries!
I love your energy, your words, your way of expressing yourself...I'm totally loving YOU! xx
PS: while taking the photos there was one moment where i thought what if....I remember brushing that thought away, smiling and just continuing...thinking no one knows me here...i don't care! heehee!