Flea Market Finds

My mom recently took on a new role - Marketing Director for the company that is responsible for the Midwest's largest flea market, which just happens to be right in the heart of Amish country.  One of her responsibilities is to put out promotional materials and advertising pieces and because these needed to be updated, she asked if I’d like to come and take photos at the flea market and around the town where the flea market is located.  Of course, I jumped at the opportunity and was thrilled at the possibility that some of my photos might actually be published!  Plus, it allowed me to conquer some of the fears that I have of walking around a public place by myself with a big camera in my hands.  For some reason, I always feel like I’m drawing too much attention to myself – unless I’m taking pictures of my kiddos and then I don’t care – so this was a really good exercise for me.

I’ll admit, I did feel rather funny, at first, taking pictures of fruits and vegetables and others items that were for sale but eventually I found my groove and really enjoyed myself.  I even stopped caring about whether people were wondering what I was doing and why I was taking pictures and just got lost in my work.

I did learn that taking pictures of people – especially strangers – still makes me nervous.  I used my kids and my dad as models on the second day and that helped tremendously but it was still hard to get a good shot when there were so many other people around.

Life is a journey and I know that part of my journey involves believing in myself and my abilities and not letting fear and insecurity keep me from trying new things.  I’m thankful for the role that photography has played in helping me to move forward in that part of my journey.

I don’t know how many pictures I ended up giving to my mom, but she informed me yesterday that some have already made it onto one of her advertising pieces!  I’m so excited!  Here’s just a small sampling…