spanish moss and palm trees

A change of scenery can spark the creative self; out of my comfort zone, seeing fresh shots everywhere.... the change has been good!

Beauty

"Beauty is as deep as it gets".... a quote from someone I met online recently and whose artwork is quite amazing. His philosophy on art..... also amazing! Thank you R.

motivation and rating one's own work

Motivation... the photo-a-day project keeps me taking photos and I honestly try not to post just anything to fill the slot. There is a quote by Alfred Eisenstaedt, "Once the amateur's naive approach and humble willingness to learn fades away, the creative spirit of good photography dies with it. Every professional should remain always in his heart an amateur."



I try to improve my skills and develop my own style; when I look back at my photos from two-three years ago, I feel better about my images today. Hopefully, I will continue to evolve and will be different/better three years from now, and so on and so on. ;)



Rating my work.... well, that can be as simple as 'if I like it, that's good enough" or as complicated as "how does it stack up to..." who? what? What/who should I compare my work to? I know the answer in "noone", but the temptation is there....

I don't have two lives

There is an exhibition of Annie Leibovitz photographs at the High Museum.... I hope to get there after I get back from the beach.

From the exhibition catalogue: "I don’t have two lives,” Annie Leibovitz writes in the introduction to this collection of her work from 1990—2005. “This is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.”

photo sharing sites & photo talk forums

There are numerous sites where you can share your photos and discuss them with other photographers. The number of pics in cyberspace boggles the mind!

Pbase is the biggest photo hosting site. I joined in 2001 (it was free then!) because I wanted to post a photo in the Sony DPReview forum challenge. This is the photo, taken in the Mediterranean:

Phew! Lots of relationships have come out of those two sites. I still spend too much time on pbase, although I need to shift my neighborhood..... I seem to have gotten sucked into a negative energy vortex! ack!! I rarely go near DPReview anymore, too caustic and too much talk about equipment. I am investigating other photo hosting sites at the moment.....

Shutterfreaks was started by a few people from a DPReview forum and it is probably the most friendly forum that I am still a member of, with a very high quality of work being displayed too.

B&W Photography Forum - discovered them recently and I don't know what holds them together. They don't seem to have similar tastes or talent, the forum is weak in form... very odd.

Digital Photography Challenge - strictly contests, though they've added a forum recently. You'd better be a top notch photoshop guru before you post anything there!

Fred Miranda - the forum with the highest (IMO) quality work on the net. Go there to look and learn!

Open Photography Forums - the owner is a little too involved .....

THE shot

I had a portrait session with a one year old today... the daughter of friends, so no real pressure. But I was nervous beforehand and wishing I could cancel.... swearing that this would be the end of portraits for me!

We did some outdoor shots, then went inside for studio lighting. Everything went ok, although the baby really wasn't enjoying the process. Then, on the third outfit (true!) , I leaned in to give her a comforting hug, stood back and snapped. I think the mom, grandmother and I all said "wow" at the same time. I looked at the camera LCD (first time during the shoot!) and I knew that was the one.

So glad I didn't cancel.

Pressure

A fellow photographer, whose work I greatly admire, left a message in my photo gallery the other day. An excerpt: "Aways exciting. Never a cliche." Of course I am honored, but now I feel the pressure to live up to those words.....

everything looks good in black and white

Of course, I will never have to make the choice between black & white or color. It would be difficult to give up color, but impossible for me to never make another b&w photo again. I love color photographs, especially other people's work - Galen Rowell is an example. But black and white is what stirs me, what makes me want to do it again, do it better. From the blackest black to pure white... keep your grays to yourself.

P.S.

Thanks to The Online Photographer for this link Stranger a Day 2007 I may borrow a version of this to try to get over my FOSP (fear of street photography).

Light in the Darkroom

A small film company ("Life is My Movie"), based in my hometown, has produced a documentary about the history of photography through the digital era. More info can be found here Light in the Darkroom

listen to a photograph

A photograph can evoke many emotions - anger, sorrow, lust, love, tranquility - but only if the viewer is willing and able to listen to what the photographer is trying to say with his camera. It takes input from both the viewer and the photographer to determine the tone; and each person will translate the photographer's voice differently because they bring their own life experiences to the image.

As a photographer, I should choose my photo-words carefully; as a viewer, I must become a good listener.