Five days of ocean sailing, long night watches with unimaginable starry skies, breaching whales, large waves, thunderstorms, calm sunset dinner cruises and great friends all have a way of clearing the mind and soul of  the accumulated cobwebs of daily busyness. When you are just a speck floating on a huge ocean, the past and future are not what hold your attention. It is the present…the now. Are the sails trimmed? Is my course correct? Am I on a collision course with anything? I could go on and on with sailing analogies, but suffice it to say…this trip has helped me refocus on the moment. Leave the regrets of yesterday and the worries of tomorrow behind. Today, this moment, is where I need to concentrate.

P.S. Technical note: Many of you know that my wife and I produce stock photography for Getty. It is this relationship with Getty that has made many of the NGO/non-profit shoots possible. (See this interview on the Scott Kelby Blog for further info) I carry a camera everywhere I go. There are always opportunities to shoot stock, and this sailing trip was no different. I did not go with many preconceived ideas of what I wanted to shoot. The photos just came as I experienced what was happening around me.

All Photo ©Copyright Gary S. Chapman 2010