When I was 14, life was boring. However, I didn't mind having the same views every day. And even though my school had over a thousand students, I didn't really care to notice the differences between us all.
But this boring view of mine changed when my parents bought me a camera for my birthday. After a month of playing with my new camera, I realized I had no talent for taking pictures. Even if I got friends to pose in front of ancient buildings and in flowery fields, nothing seemed to work. My photos were clearly missing something of importance and had no creativity. After a while, I dropped my new hobby.
Then, a month or two later, I suddenly decided to pick it up again. During the summer break, I went for a walk on the railroad tracks (铁轨) behind my house.
The tracks are in a warm red color. Before the walk, I thought, "Maybe I should bring my camera."
Surprisingly, this walk was what began my love for photography. When I was walking on the tracks without a model and only nature around me, I realized how important it was to look at the details (细节) of things. I didn't worry about trying to create something beautiful. Instead, I just took photos of the beauty already around me.
I quickly became crazy about color, lighting, shape and everything in between. After months of studying outdoor sights and looking at people's eyes, I was finally able to create beauty of my own. Slowly, my photos became something I was proud of.
So far, my works have appeared in two magazines and two different museums. They're not huge achievements, but they're important to me. And they're the signs of how much my artistic abilities have grown.
Thanks to this birthday gift from my parents, I now have a new way of looking at the world.
