Jim walked around. For being a Thursday afternoon, it was surprisingly quiet around town. He could hear the cars off in the distance, but this area was silent.

Clicking his camera without really paying attention to what he was shooting, Jim thought about what brought him here. He had never really been into photography before; he most definitely didn’t like having his picture taken. But, a few weeks ago, he was shopping, trying to find a good present for Karen, to appease her for … well, who cares what for. Anyway, he was shopping, and he came across this camera. It was insanely expensive, a few hundred dollars, especially since he didn’t really know anything about photography. But it caught his interest.

He had wound up buying some cheap earrings for Karen, which had helped the situation temporarily, but the camera still occupied his thoughts. Two days later, when the camera was still on his mind, he decided to go for it. Apparently, his subconscious wanted him to buy that camera, and he was in no mood to argue.

It took a few nights to figure everything out. After spending the day at work and then the evening with Karen, Jim would be up until the early hours of the morning figuring out how the lens worked and what aperture meant.

Up until right now, most of his photography was at night, or at least evening. This was the first time he was able to photograph in the bright mid afternoon sun – or at least the setting sun.

The first shot, Jim knew didn’t turn out the way he wanted. It was of a random bike rider. Jim wished he had gotten it focused a bit quicker, but it would have to do. It would have been better if the bike rider weren’t nearly disappearing behind the tree. Live and learn.

Jim really enjoyed photography. It let out a creative side of him that he didn’t know existed. Sure he had proven it in creative pranks, but this, this was different. It was artistic. He liked to think of it as a common bond with Pam, imagining showing her his photographs while she showed him her paintings. A famous art duo they would be. Travel the world and the seven seas.

As Jim walked to the lake, he passed a tree. Some of the flowers had already bloomed, but most were still unopened, just a symbol of the beauty that would awaken. Jim found one bud that just seemed to have an inherent beauty. Maybe not as obvious as those that had already flowered, but still beautiful, just waiting to get noticed. Its tip was just opening, with the promise of beauty when in the right hands.

The lake was exactly how he remembered it, sheer nature. He felt like running around, climbing trees and just being a kid again. He stopped short however, when he noticed ducks sitting on a log near the shore. He laughs, remembering the Duck Crossing sign he had passed.

Glancing at his watch, he knew it was almost time to go. The sun was setting, and he only had thirty minutes to get back to Scranton. “Just a few more shots, then I will leave.”

He found a secluded piece of the lake, one that was nearly hidden by vines and branches. The setting sun was reflected in the water, broken up by small ripples and shadows. After that shot, Jim turned his camera skyward. It looked like it could possibly storm, the clouds gray and heavy with rain.

As he walked back to his car, the darkness of night quickly took over. It went from still being bright to nearly pitch black.

“Last shot of the night, this is a perfect shot,” he thought, as he saw a small bench alone in a field.

Jim packed up his camera and drove to Scranton Community Center where he was taking a photography class.