The Camera

                                                                      The Camera
                                                              Brett Rainey. 01/2014
Click. That’s the sound I hear in my head whenever I start to write. After all writing a story is just like being a camera. Deciding what to write is the hardest part of the process have an idea of what I want to capture for everyone to see.
  The camera is sitting next to a high mountain lake just before sunrise. Steamers of fog roll lazily off the lake in the still morning air. Due has formed on the lens in the cool of predawn. The smell of pine permeates the air and a few birds can be heard singing their song of live as the story begins to unfold. The sun crest the horizon and spreads its golden rays across the lake and onto the mountains in an artistic manner that only Mother Nature herself can compose.  “The perfect story.” I say to myself.
  Aperture now becomes nouns and verbs, deciding how much to bring into the story or how much to leave out. Shutter speed will set the tempo of the story, with higher speeds for action and slower for somber moods. Lens size is of the utmost importance.  If I have a large lens I will bring people in close to the story with little to be seen on the outside. A small lens will give a wide view with room to contemplate the world around us. With all of this sitting on a sturdy tripod I am ready to capture the beauty that surrounds us all.
  Looking through the view finder I put pen to paper, compose the story, focus; “Click” the shutter fires as words begin to flow. Again and again the shutter fires as simple words fill the page and become a tangible object. The words paint a vivid picture. A picture so vivid in fact that you can almost hear the waves lapping onto the shore of the lake, or see the rays of light cut through the fog to illuminate the pines in a ghostly but beautiful radiance all their own. I move the tripod as I try to cover every angle of the story possible. Not wanting to miss anything the shutter clicks over and over as more and more of the story unfolds and takes shape.
  At last, as the sun moves high in the sky, the time for writing has come to an end. Time to post process the images of the story. Fine tune everything, make sure the focus is where it needs to be, sharp, crisp and to the point. As I print the final copy it all comes rushing back to me. All the sights, smells, all the small sounds that you can only hear if you stop and listen. It’s all in there, every last word. And now it’s ready for the rest of the world to read.
  The camera sits silent for now, but at a moment’s notice it is always ready to come out and “Click”.