Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Asleep at the wheel; the quest to become a better photographer

So yeah...asleep at the wheel...I've not updated this blog since I got back from my trip in early June, but hey life has been hectic. Been busy...I had to plan and execute a payback for one of the perpetraters who rearranged my house for me while I was gone. Mission accomplished. Ever hear of "Christmas in July"? Well, that is what Pam came home to. I mean...that's what I heard anyway. I had nothing to do with it O:-). Also been busy taking pics. I've been pushing myself real hard to do what I love...no, not eat Famous Amos cookies all day...although I love to do that...been out and about, and in studio when I can to get more experience. One thing photography has done for me; I look at the world completely different now. I see things, I don't just look at them. No matter where I go I'm constantly thinking about how the scene is composed, how it reacts to light, and how it may look from a different perspective. For instance, if you happen to be walking along a path somewhere...could be anywhere...your obvious reaction is to watch where you are going. Safety first, of course. But do this...stop and look around. Look down...get down on your back and look at the trees from a lower vantage point...turn around and look behind you...look closely at the ground...at the shadows and how they interact with the things around...lay on your stomach and look at a flower that's close to you and examine it...and take note how things in the distance become blurred when you are focused on something right in front of you...walk around and see how the scene changes when the sun is behind you instead of in front...or on your left instead of your right. I could go on and on, but I think you get the point now. While thoughts go through my head about how a scene like this would play out in a picture, it's more about the experience than what might look good on paper. The world is amazing and when I see people walking fast, jogging, or running along the lakefront and don't appear to be worried about anything but dropping a pant or dress size, I often wonder if they ever have taken the time out to just see things. I don't judge people by what I see, for I don't know any of these people. After all, we can't always be chillin out looking at nature like that. If so, we'd never get anything done and we would all look like we smoked a bag of weed or something. I spent some time recently in Madisonville and Lacombe doing just what I described. No, not smoking weed, but just taking in nature and looking ALL around instead of just what was in front of me. When I was in Madisonville at the end of the road (near the lighthouse) I was captivated by an old boat partially sunk in the water. There's an old pier that was partially destroyed (perhaps by Katrina) and some reminants of an old camp or something. But was I was most intrigued by was the few broken fishing lines and corks hanging from the old power lines leading out into the lake. Not sure why, but I just kept looking at them and a millions thoughts kept going through my head. I took some pics of all this and they can be seen here. I spent about 2 hours walking around the peninsula. While I took pics, I spent about 90% of my time just seeing everything. It was fantastic.
That's about all I have for now. More to come later. Perhaps not only will I continue to see what the world is all about, but I'll find the time to update this blog more often. Lord knows I have a lot of stuff to say (for a somewhat quiet person). Lots of thoughts about my Dad, life in general, and oh those Famous Amos cookies....


If you are a road warrior like me, check out www.gowestusa.net (especially if you love the west like I do). Lots of great trip ideas if you happen to be heading that way. And if you are...let me know cause I wanna join ya! I'll bring the cookies!