photography – Page 3 – Telling Stories

Day 6: Photography and Recovery

October 6, 2015October 6, 2015Posted in contemplative photographyTagged beauty, contemplative photography, flood, nature, photography, South CarolinaLeave a comment

Today, the sun shone. I thought I’d need to look it up on Google just know what I was seeing. (Yes, this is a bit of sarcasm and hyperbole, but it seems so long since I’ve seen sunshine!)

I went for a walk today, and I took my mp3 player with some happy music and my camera to see what there is to see. After being inundated with images of destruction, all I could see today is beauty. God provides.

I had a plan for this month’s series. I really did! It’s in my planner, but the events of this weekend, the flood, the destruction—well, my thinking about what photography means to me. I needed to see beauty today in the midst of the destruction. I needed to see the beauty of nature. And taking the camera out with me allowed me to see.

After days of gray, these blue skies and white clouds are welcome.

After my walk, I sat in the “John Deere” yellow swing to soak up the vitamin D. Peace. . . .

Thirty-One Days in October

September 27, 2015September 27, 2015Posted in contemplative photographyTagged blogging; challenge; writing; contemplative photography; thirty-one days, photographyLeave a comment

I have been debating this in my head for several weeks: will I participate in the annual “Thirty-One Days in October” blogging challenge. I have attempted to do so for two years, and I have even tried to do the 26 Days in April Alphabet challenge (that one didn’t work out so well). And I have decided to try this writing challenge this year. The next problem I have had to deal with is coming up with a theme. And this year, I have my theme: Thirty-One Days of Contemplative Photography.

And it seems kind of challenging in more ways than one. Posting a blog entry for thirty-one days consecutively is daunting enough. I teach part time at a local career college, and that presents enough of a challenge to my time. Another challenge is to figure out exactly how I want to approach the topic. There are so many other really great photographers who would do a much better job than I.

Yet, more and more, I feel “called” to this way of thinking about photography. I do enjoy a more documentary style of photographer; sometimes, I am the family memory keeper, taking the photographs of special family events. Those kinds of documentary photographs are important as part of our family’s history and story.

But there are times when I need to use my camera in other ways. There are times when receiving photographs has become my worship. I use the lens to see the world, to see creation, as a gift from God. This is partly due to my introduction to contemplative photography. Through this thoughtful approach, photography has become for me a spiritual practice.

So, during the coming month of October, I want to explore this aspect of photography: the contemplative and spiritual aspects of receiving images through the lens and into the making of “art” through which others can experience the world.

Beginnings

July 6, 2015July 6, 2015Posted in writingTagged inner excavation, Liz Lamoreaux, photography, poetry, writingLeave a comment

Today is the first Monday in July. It’s the first day of a new work week. It’s another day to begin again.

Liz Lamoreux is offering a free (yes, free) read-along for her book Inner Excavation: Explore Your Self through Photography, Poetry, and Mixed Media. I have had the book for a couple or three years, and I followed along the first time that Liz offered the free read-along. But sometimes, I have trouble finishing what I begin. Today, I am not only a “begin-ner,” but I am setting my intention to become a finisher as well.

My first “excavation” is in my living room. Truly, I do need to have an archeological dig in this room. Who knows what I will find! This morning, I started with my sofa, and here is what I found:

I’m finishing a “reader’s wrap” made from the Unforgettable line of Red Heart yarns. I am in love with the softness, not only of the colors but of the texture of the yarn.

There are my “art” supplies—pens and colored pencils that I keep in a wooden box that once held either Cuties or Halos (mandarin oranges). I am an office-supply junkie as well as an art supply junkie.

I will be using a top-bound spiral sketchbook as my journal for this go-round of Inner Excavations. And I am not going to be afraid to mark up my copy of the book. I’ve already begun coloring over words and phrases that jump out at me.

I don’t remember how old I was when I first learned to play the piano. My mother was my first teacher, and then Mrs. Wessinger taught me from the time I was in fifth or sixth grade until I graduated from high school. I thought I was going to be a concert pianist when I went to college, but that was not to be the case. However, I took piano lessons from one of the college instructors until I did my student teaching during my last semester on campus. And after nearly forty years, I am resuming those lessons with an instructor at the same college where I studies those many years ago. These lessons are feeding my soul.

I love sea shells, the colors, the textures, the coolness of them in my hand. However, I don’t get to the coast often enough to collect them myself. So, I resorted to buying some from a local craft store. I keep a jar full of these shells on my piano.

I begin. . . .

     Here

     Now

A journey

                A pilgrimage

                                         A quest

I BEGIN

to answer a call, THE CALL

     The Invitation

I begin a voyage of discovery, of questing

I begin to know me.

I’m back. . . . After a long hiatus

May 26, 2015May 26, 2015Posted in contemplative photographyTagged Lensbaby, looking for beauty, photography1 Comment

I am back (I hope). It seems that “inspiration” is seasonal at times. It’s hard for me to sustain the inspiration to write, and so I let it flounder. The same is true of my photography and photo editing as well. When I am inspired, there is no limit to what I can create, but when the well is dry, I experience true famine. Lately, that famine has been quenched by a return to needle arts, mainly knitting and crocheting. The projects I have going are easy to pick up and work on in the evenings as well as to carry with me when I need something to do to “kill time” between classes or as I ride in the car.

And then there are the books. . . . I have read more in the last months than I have in a long time. Some of those historical romances should be called “hysterical” romances because they are either so poorly written that they are laughable or because they are humorous. Of course, Saturday night, I think I cried during the last fifty pages of a book, and yes, it did have a “happily ever after” ending.

I have some new camera gear, a few accessories for my Lensbaby kit. I have the Lensbaby Sweet 35 optic and the double-glass optic with the Composer Pro. I added the wide-angle and telephoto attachments as well as a macro attachment to the kit. I think I am set for now. I still love the Lensbaby soft-focus look. I keep telling people that you will never, ever get ultra sharp photos from a Lensbaby, but what you do get is something rather dreamy. Last week I went out with the macro kit and made a few images. These are relatively unedited, just a few basic adjustments in Lightroom.

I love the texture of the hibiscus bud as well as the color. The rhododendron has finished its annual bloom, and these are the last of the flowers. I’m not sure what that pink flower is! I think it is dianthus.

I’m learning that with the Lensbaby, finding that “sweet spot” of focus and finding the optimal exposure settings is crucial. Post processing can improve a photograph, but with the Lensbaby, if it’s bad SOOC, post-processing will not help. Lensbabies just take practice and more practice.

I am teaching for the next three weeks, so my photography time is limited. I hope that we will have beautiful days so that I can explore some of the public gardens in Columbia.