D171: Vertical Field

Some day’s are tough to find inspiration. Creativity comes and goes. I fee like I took the easy way out today because it wasn’t very challenging to make this image. It did take a while to find something worth shooting today but with the lack of ideas, I didn’t “see” anything that sparked my interest.

Industrial lattice affixed to the side of a building awaiting the arrival of vines.

I added 35% deep blue color filter in Photoshop to give this image a cold feel which is very different from the warm feel I typically try to create.

Read: Black & White – Reading Color as Mono and Dodge & Burn – Practical Photography, May 2010

Viewed: More of freelance photographer Jeffrey Chapman.

D166: Disconnected

If you’re asking yourself “what is this?” after looking at this image, I don’t think you’ll ever guess.

An uncommon trick to making interesting images is to simply rotate the image or flip it 180 degrees. I rarely do this and in fact, I’ve probably only done it twice in the past year but it worked for this image. This image is actually upside down from the way it was originally shot. After editing I decided to turn the image over and as it turned out, the image became much more interesting and unrecognizable.

So what is is?…It’s a water spicket in a brick wall of a school building. This is my 2nd day of looking for interesting subjects around a school near my home…

This image somehow lost sharpness after uploading to wordpress. Not sure why.

Read: Spent a lot of time researching new gear bags today so I guess my reading for today was technical information about camera gear.

Viewed: Showcase – Inspirational Images From Pros & PP Readers, Practical Photography, May 2010.

D165: Standby

I decided to ride my bicycle down the street to a school in my neighborhood to make an interesting image. I think I’m going to limit myself to shooting around this school for the entire week.

Read: Communicate Your Strengths to Get Respect – a post by Scott Belsky at 99% blog.

“…our creative strengths will go unnoticed if they are not properly communicated to our colleagues, clients, and fans. Truth be told, people value only what they are told. In a world full of constant stimulation, it is every creative person’s responsibility to cut through the noise and broadcast their unique talents.” – Scott Belsky

Viewed: Images from Manila on Karl Grobl’s blog. Karl is one of seven Focus For Humanity advisory council members. I’ve been looking at each of these photographers dreaming of the day I can do what they do.

D158: Not Made in China

“Iteration or repetition of a subject makes for good composition.” – The Daily Shoot: D204

I found my shot of the day while preparing to replace a broken floor tile in my home. In following with The Daily Shoot, I discovered my repetitive pattern when I turned a floor tile over to inspect the bottom of it. I was also delighted to see that it was made in Spain rather than China. The fact that this tile was circa 1991 is probably the reason it’s not made in China. Tile from Spain says “quality” to me.

Read: Composition: Prescriptive or Descriptive? – Matt Brandon’s The Digital Trekker.

Viewed: More of Matt Brandon’s images at The Digital Trekker. I’d love to be mentored by someone like Matt. I can only dream of doing what he does for NGO’s (non-governmental organizations).

D157: Bellflower

Needing some inspiration today, I decided to follow Sandra Marek’s Daily Post challenge #204 and shoot a manhole cover (D152 of her 365). I think it was fun trying to come up with ideas on how to shoot a manhole cover. Do I shoot it horizontal with shallow DOF, straight down from directly over it, or capture it as an element in a landscape? Saturated color? De-saturated color? Black and white?  What do I want to say about this manhole cover? This was a great lesson in “how do I make this interesting”. In the end I chose this image. Thanks Sandra!

Read: Five Easy Tips For Handling Customer Problems – GoingPro2010. In addition to photography, this post applies to many other aspects of life.

Viewed: Powerful images by Matt Brandon. If you haven’t checked out The Digital Trekker yet I suggest you do so. Sensory overload. I think I’ll be there for a few days discovering more about photography.

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D153: Slipping Away

Today’s Tasra365 ThemeThursday subject is Time.

As creatives in pursuit of a dream it seems that the time we have slips through our fingers everyday. I find myself up late into the night reading, editing, and viewing images. I “make time” to pursue photography without interrupting my family life. I dream of days when I can spend all my time working creatively. I’m amazed how many people waste their precious time watching television, reading about celebrity news, shopping for useless material things, or keeping up to date with the latest gossip that has no direct impact on their lives. I wonder if, 30+ years from now these people will look back and regret not putting greater value on the time they had.

Are you taking full advantage of what little time you have in your life?

I had a lot of ideas for today’s theme but ended up shooting this. This was one of the times when a model would have been great but I had to make do with a mirror and myself. Sometimes I find myself full of ideas but neither time nor place to capture my most favorite idea.

Read: The Wisdom Of Cosby – Collide Magazine. You are who you hang-out with. If you want to be creative, surround yourself with creative people!

Viewed: Focus For Humanity council member and wonderful humanitarian Gavin Gough. I’m spending the next week or so to view the work of each FFH council member. These are the kind of photogs I admire.

D152: Panes

“Leap and the net will appear” – Julia Cameron

This quote has been stuck in my head for days. It’s a reminder to keep moving forward without fear. It’s a reminder to have faith…

Shot through a glass dome at Mercy Gilbert hospital. Not a place I’d think of shooting architecture but this hospital is a work of art.

Read: Get Out of Your Rut Part 2 – GoingPro2010. Great tips for not only pulling yourself out of a rut, but also growing all aspects of your photography business/hobby.

Viewed: David duChemin’s Venice set at PexelatedImage.

D143: Our Lady

I grabbed this shot through the window of an old Buick (40’s era I think) in a parking lot this morning. The Our Lady of Guadalupe air freshener got my attention as I peered through the window to admire the wonderful interior.

Read: Lots of Lights Keep It Dark – Popular Photography, May 2010

Viewed: The Desert Botanical Garden Flickr group.

D140: Salvage

Just when I thought I had a handle on “seeing” in black and white, I shot this flop today. The tree had lots of yellow flowers in it which caused it to blend into the background when I converted it to B&W. I should have recognized that but instead got caught up in the unusual color rather than thinking about it in B&W. I think this shot would have benefited from a larger aperture to help separate the background a little more. A heavy dose of dodge and burn helped isolate the tree and recover from the poor quality of the original image. I strive to get everything correct in the camera so that the image requires little post processing. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case today.  I admit to salvaging this image for today’s 365 post.

I went for something completely off-the-wall and not my usual style of processing. Let me know what you think and don’t sugar coat it. Bad crop, ugly purple hue, washed out background…I can handle it.

Only honest opinions can help me improve my photography. Don’t tell me what you like about it; tell me what you don’t like.

Read: Guest Blog Wednesday featuring Jeremy Cowart! over at Scott Kelby’s Photoshop Insider. I’m a huge fan of Jeremy and the way he’s making a difference in this world. If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, watch the video about Help-Portrait.

Viewed: More images from Tamara Lackey

D137: Clouded Movements

Found that the clouds had a really great texture today so I experimented with long exposure to try and create wispy clouds. I shot this at twilight while I hand-held a 4 stop ND filter over the lens. The filter that I had in my bag was for a different lens than the wide angle lens I wanted to use for this shot. I didn’t capture exactly what I wanted to but I was able to capture some cloud motion.

Read: Stable Mate – Popular Photography, June 2010

Viewed: Portfolio of Art Wolfe

Watched: Shutters & Shutter Speeds at CreativeLive