Too Early

When I first noticed these confused-by-a-mild-winter daffodils, I thought I would shoot close up. But the long lens was on the camera so I changed my mind and went for a bit of context. I like this... the green stems having pushed up through the fall leaves and the tree trunk lit by a sunny afternoon in January.

Stolen Pixels

I've changed the background image of my blog, using one of my images. I don't know why I just went with the template defaults... easy or lazy? But with all the discussion of piracy and SOPA and PIPA recently, I see (possibly) stolen images everywhere. I wonder if permission was granted to Google or if the template images were purchased from a stock agency or if they were just found and copied because they filled a design need.

I am surprised at the number of people who think that if something is online, it's free... or should be. And I'm even more surprised by the number of my photographer friends who are against any sort of reprisals for theft of intellectual property. Yet they would be in an uproar if they found one of their photographs being used without their permission. Why is a movie or a software program any different?

I am not for or against the proposed SOPA and PIPA bills. I haven't read them in full. Maybe they go too far, I don't know. But I am in favor of punishing those who steal and their indignance at being held to a higher standard is ludicrous to me. Am I a goody-two-shoes? I assure you I am not. But we must all agree to play fair; especially since, thanks to the internet, we are all neighbors.

Now, people have said to me "If you don't want it to be stolen, don't put it on the internet." Surely, we can do better than that. But this brings me to another question that I have asked myself and other photographers: If you couldn't show your photos to anyone... not online or in local galleries or at camera club meetings... would you still take them?

Stacked

“Art is not to be found by touring to Egypt, China, or Peru; if you cannot find it at your own door, you will never find it.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson


I firmly agree with RWE on this point. I really like this image and it's certainly something I see on a daily basis. And the bowl I usually need is on the bottom of the stack. 


Although I love my photos taken in far away places, I love the ones from own door just as much. A photo of a leopard resting in a tree is my treasure; evoking memories beyond the animal itself. Sitting in an open, 4x4 vehicle, snapping pictures of such a majestic creature was an extraordinary experience. Capturing my everyday life is just as rewarding. Here's another favorite quote:


“Photography is not about the thing photographed.  It is about how that thing looks photographed”. - Garry Winogrand

Golden

Ahhhhh, what a difference a day makes. I have a plan... well, the beginnings of a plan. Nothing too life-altering, but enough of a challenge for me. Today is a brighter day, in spite of a bad dream and waking to thunder storms.

I love the fact that pansies survive the winter, in fact they thrive on it.

P.S. Sometimes the universe knows best and should not be questioned. ;-)

Faye's Five

I don't have a plan. 

I'm not sure if I've ever been much of a long-range planner. I've always been more of a survivor and a take-advantage-of-an-opportunity type. If a job opened up that I wanted but was not quite qualified for, I went out and got the training or whatever was needed to be seriously considered for the position. And I've had a fairly successful life so far. Serendipity has been good to me.

And for the past few years, all that I have focused on is survival so I didn't feel as though I needed to accomplish much else. But when people say "If you could do anything, what would it be?", I don't have a good answer. I think I touched on this not too long ago when I wrote about wishes... 

I'll be working on a plan then - time's a wastin'! As the saying goes: if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.

Don't go in the garden shed...

I think that garden/tool sheds have a definite masculine energy. While men might consider them a necessity, a utility space for their tools, mowers, etc and think of them fondly,  I find them spooky. I never open the shed door without wondering what might have crawled inside and is waiting for me. Too many movies, I suppose. 

But I wanted to see if there was an additional rake inside before going off to buy a new one, so I (deep breath) took the padlock key and set off (camera in hand) on my quest. No rake (at least not the type I needed), so as I closed the doors, I turned to look at the house. Seemed so far away. No-one would hear me scream.