Category Archives: Photography
Project 100: Photograph Seven
Project 100: Photograph Six
I was on my way to workout when I stopped for a passing train. Gave me a few minutes to practice some motion blur (image stabilization = greatest invention ever 
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Project 100: Photograph Four
Project 100: Photograph Three
We have several parks close to our house which affords many different playing opportunities for our kiddos, as well as various interesting items to photograph.
Announcing Project 100
What’s Project 100? Well, it’s somewhere between 52 and 365. Other than, it’s just a random number that popped into my head. So here’s the deal, I’ll be posting 100 photographs to the blog in 2012 as part of this project. I’m also planning on a few reviews, random posts about teaching, and linking to some great posts or wallpaper from other photographers I admire.
Gotta run, I have some photographs to create.
Thoughts on Teaching
I was fortunate to be asked to teach a class on photography at our local bookstore in town; Reading Frenzy Book Shop. I didn’t want to have a class in which we talked about technical details or gear-related questions (although we managed to cover those questions anyway) so I focused on helping them discover and pursue their photographic vision. Some thoughts:
- We had a great class of 13 photographers ranging in experience of a few months to 40 years. It was exciting to see them light up when talking about photography and vision.
- I had planned on a 30 minute talk, 60 minutes to go shoot, with a 15 minute discussion after. The discussion and questions by the group were so good that we didn’t even get out to shoot, except for 10 minutes at the very end.
- Since we didn’t get out to shoot, the entire class wanted to have another workshop which would be hand’s on. I hadn’t planned on multiple workshops but apparently there is a demand in the area for this. Looking at the end of September for the next class.
- We hit on the holy trinity of arguments: film vs. digital, Canon vs. Nikon, and Mac vs. PC. Nobody got hurt and it was all in fun.
- I forgot how much I enjoyed teaching. I did quite a bit with my old job (and now will do so will my new job!) but it’s been awhile. It’s always good to share some information, encourage someone and then get out of their way.
- Teaching the class motivated me to take better photographs. I need to be more intentional about shooting more.
All in all, it was a great experience and I’m looking forward to seeing where this leads to.
Life Interruped
As the title suggests, things have been a bit different to say the least around our place. I was laid off from my past employer of ten years and had to transition to not only being at home more but also spending more time and energy looking for employment. With that, my creative juices took a nosedive. I haven’t picked up my camera in several weeks and obviously haven’t updated the blog in a month. Call it a rut, call it a funk, call it whatever but using my camera as an outlet became less fun for me.
It’s funny but it’s actually been okay not to be pursing photography right now. Call it a sabbatical if you will but I had gotten to the point where I was shooting more, which is good, but didn’t feel I was getting better. Oh sure, the photographs had gotten better when compared to my earlier attempts but it was more of “I need to find something to get up for the weekly project” rather than taking time to really practice and hone my craft.
I could use the excuse of life getting busy now with a different job that requires a commute and blah, blah, blah, but the reality is, if something is important in your life, you will find the time to pursue it. I’m just wrestling with the question of how important photography is to me.
If you’ve ever been in a rut creatively, I’m curious as to how you climbed out of it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
The Next Project
After finishing up the 52 Week Photo Project, I had a little downtime to try to figure out what I was going to do next (besides updating the site, etc.). I thought about a 365 project but the odds of getting to January 15th let alone the entire year was almost zero so I tossed the idea out (major kudos to those photographers who can knock out a 365 project!).
I’ve started reading through Stuart Sipahigil’s Close to Home: Finding Great Photographs in Your Own Backyard ebook from Craft and Vision and was inspired to do a 52-week project that focuses on where I live; Zimmerman, MN. The project will mostly be in and around the Zimmerman area but will also include various locations throughout Minnesota in order to provide a sampling of the people and places I encounter in 2011.
I’m excited to see what I can turn up this year by focusing only on Minnesota and more specifically, the Zimmerman area rather than the six states I shot in last year. I think it will force me to have a more focused approach on what I’m looking at, which is a good progression on continuing to learn my craft.
{If you haven’t already, I would encourage you to check out the ebooks on the Craft and Vision site. They offer a wealth of information for a bargain price. Well worth it, in my opinion.}
Learning New Things and Findng Vision
Up to this point, photography has been a hobby that I’ve enjoyed a great deal. I’ve learned a little, made a few good images (or so was told) and even made a little money on the side. Recently though, I’ve been wondering and thinking “Is this it?” Shoot a few pictures of the kids, family, nature, whatever and then store it on a hard drive or show a few images on this blog (or heaven forbid, actually use Flickr)? Is that photography? It seems like it should be so much more.
I’ve started reading Visioneering by Andy Stanley as well as the Craft & Vision books written by David duChemin and have really started to look at what I feel are some visions for me in photography. Right now I’m in the investigating phase and am trying to be very patience and not be hasty about jumping into to anything too soon (as is my habit). In addition, I’ve been reading Light:Science & Magic and have just got involved in a new site that has some amazing potential on helping me (and others) learn about photography and to shoot better (more on that later ). Knowledge wise, I feel I’ve learned more in the past month then in the prior couple of years.
I’m not sure where this will end up but I’ve dusted off some lenses I haven’t used in awhile and will be running through some “assignments” from the various books I’m reading in order to gain more experience and to start seeing things a bit differently then in the past. I’m hoping to post a few more images here in addition to the 52 Week Project.
Where in the World is ???
Yes, the blog has been silent for way too long and no new images on top of that. I have images ready to go and will get those up.
As for the lack of anything on the blog, perhaps the easiest way to describe it is a change in workflow. Or more importantly, a change in life’s workflow. I’ve been reading quite a bit lately about vision and realized that I had none. Okay, not quite none but not a lot. If you asked me “What do you want to do when you grow up” or “Where do you see yourself in five years” I couldn’t give you a decent answer and that includes my photography. I’m in the process of jettisoning the things that aren’t important or are time-wasters and focusing on the things that are.
So what changed? This post by David duChemin was pretty much the catalyst to make some moves in my photography. What that led to was a change in everything, work, family, etc. Everyone has the same amount of time in one’s day to get stuff done. We complain we never have enough time yet there are many people who use their time effectively and enjoy life rather than bumbling along in the rat-race.
As it pertains to photography, I’m setting aside time everyday to practice. Practice taking pictures, practice in editing, spending time looking at other people’s pictures for inspiration and to gain knowledge, and following blogs and using Twitter to find articles that will help me get better as a photographer. As for the blog, I’ll be posting more, not daily but several times/week with articles, links and images as I feel the blog allows (and sometimes forces) me to focus on what’s important with my photography.
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