My first photo

This is the photo that started it all. Picture it: a small New England fishing village on the shores of Narragansett Bay. 1600s and 1700s homes lining the main street, leading to a wharf where the boats come in and out. 1973, 1974, people still said hello to you as you walked the street. That was because they knew you.

A budding photographer, snapping this and that. I caught the cat resting on the steps of a two hundred year home, ivy dangling and the weathered clapboards behind it. When I got it developed, the developer said, "This is good. It could be in a contest."

I don't know about that, but I kept it and many years later I found it again. The photo helps me remember the nice day, striding the streets of my town, camera slung over my shoulder, looking for beauty. I've been taking pictures ever since. Hard to believe that was over thirty years ago.