I came across this rusty door knob on a recent photo walk in downtown Springfield, OH. I liked the texture on the knob and took the picture. Now all of you are looking at a black and white photo of a rusty door knob. All because I liked the door knob.
Now, you are beginning to see the power and influence of the photographer.
As many of you are aware, I have been struggling a bit lately. Trying to find a direction for my photography. In some ways, I feel as though I've lost my photo mojo for the moment. So, I am going to try a little experimenting. This will be an attempt to rediscover what I enjoy about photography and have some fun with it.
A prime example is this image that I took yesterday morning on the way to work. The first twenty minutes of my drive winds through local farm country and, at this time of the year, I catch the light just prior to the sun's rise. When I saw this scene, I was struck by the saturated colors that looked as though they had come from the brush of Maxfield Parish, the American painter from the last century. I share a fondness with his work with my sister. She has often displayed prints of his work on her walls. This image is no Maxfield Parish and is not even similar to his work. However, his colors inspired my take on the scene. You just never know where inspiration will come from. Maybe that's why it is inspiring.
As part of my work flow, I often switch to black and white to get a good look at the tones. I find that the colors can sometimes be distracting and seeing the image in black and white helps me during the process. While, I have no intention of using the image in black and white, I thought it was interesting and that you might like seeing the converted image as well.
Have a fantastic Friday folks.
Writers get it. Can photographers get it? I think I have it, the “it” being photographer’s block. For the last two years I have been working very hard to improve my photography skills. I have had a vision of where I wanted to take my photography. I have worked very hard over many long hours to get me to where I wanted to be. More or less, I have arrived at my destination. 2012 was in incredible learning year for me and as I look back at the images I created, I am very proud of my work.
However, since the beginning of the year, I have been feeling a general malaise about my photography. I feel as though I am at a standstill or perhaps it is a cross roads? Consistently bad weather has kept my photography to a minimum. What little I have produced this year feels as though I am just repeating what I accomplished last year. I keep finding myself asking what is next? Where do I go from here?
I have some time off next week as I visit my family and my son in Atlanta. Besides the anticipation of seeing many people that I love dearly, I am looking forward to the change of location and routine. Perhaps I will gather some new inspiration.
I’ll be sure to let you know as my thought progress. However, I would like to know if you have every found yourself at a cross roads or with a block in something you’re passionate about. How did you overcome your issues and move forward?
Tim
This morning I took a chilly walk along the lake shore as the sun rose up into the clouds. I was there to try a graduated ND filter for the first time (more on that later). I used the filter for this image and I am pretty happy with the results. In spite of the cool wind, It was a really nice experience.
This pano was taken one evening last week while on my way home from work. I stopped to get gas just a few miles from home. While I was filling the tank, I noticed that the light in the fields across the street was really nice. the day had been rainy, leaving mist in the distance. The soggy fields were black with moisture.
As much as the scene was about light, it was also about layers. The damp dark fields lead to the trees in the middle distance and finally to the two layers of distant trees on the far side of the farmland.
It seems, that over the years, I have developed this habit of seeing my surroundings with a photographer's eye, even while performing mundane tasks such as pumping gas.
I hope that you never tire of seeing these images taken in the natural light of the windows at the farm. It seems that I don't tire of taking them. Though, you are probably surprised that this one is not of Debbie. This is one of those images that you find while organizing your images. I had forgotten about it. So, I re-cropped it and re-processed it. Now, I think I really like it.
Have a wonderful week everybody.
As you can see, I have been to the zoo again. I don't keep flamingos in the back yard. Really, I don't think they would like the cold or the snow. Every time I visit the zoo, I spend time with the flamingos. They have that vibrant and saturated shades of coral color that I don't see in my every day experience.
So, I have a whole flock of flamingos standing in the bright sun. What can I do with that scene? Maybe the challenge is one of the reasons that I like the flamingos so much.
The first thing I always do is break the big picture into it's smaller parts. I like to find the details and the individuals within the flock and focus on them. I usually leave the big picture up to others and go small.
I think this approach worked out pretty well. How about you? How would you tackle a large flock of flamingos at the zoo?
Sometimes my simplest photographs are my favorites. A simple straight forward subject combined with soft natural light is the way I like to go whenever possible. Such are my feelings about this image of period clothes hanging in a closet. I know this image is no form of high art in photography. It's not even framed particularly well. It's just simple and I just like it. That's all.
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| Winter Grain Silo |
The weekend before last, the sun peeked through the clouds for a few hours and then return to its winter hibernation. I loaded the car with gear and headed out for a drive and managed a couple good shots,
However, see that offending dark spot way up at the top? Dust on the mirror. Evidently, I was in too big of a hurry. This happens to the best of us. Slow down, check your equipment!
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| Breaking Wave |
I recently visited an orchid show at the Franklin Park Conservatory, in Columbus OH, with a local photo group. The goal was to capture the gorgeous and colorful blooms.
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| Come Hither Look |
The shoot was a lot of fun and I think it was a success. My problem was that in post processing, I kept wanting to see the flowers in black and white. Forget the color, I was fascinated with the gray tones.
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| Pinwheel |
And so, you my viewer, are stuck with my vision of gray when you could just as easily be looking at spectacular colors. Sorry folks. This is my photo blog and you have to play by my rules. Sometimes life is unfair. Sorry.
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| Hello Gorgeous |
Still, are you really suffering so much?
Tim
tim mcmurdo 