My online journal sharing interests in photography, nature, coffee life, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, spirituality and asking deep questions.
This is my favorite pen for journaling and the newest and smallest journal I’ve ever used. I found a pen just like this one on the street one day and fell in love with it immediately. I carried it around for a month or two before I lost it. It was so enjoyable to use I searched around until I found one. Way too expensive but some things are just worth it. I like how the pen and the moleskin work together for me.
Yep, some days are like this. The mind is blank, empty. No creative juices are flowing. What was in there yesterday has been moved out. Where’d it go? I have gone through those times when I needed to fill the empty garage with new tools. Give me more camera equipment, I shouted. Now I will admit a new tool can help stir up creativity but creativity by itself is not going to be found on those same shelves as our tools, it’s in another department. Well, those times in my life when my mind seems empty I have learned a few things that will help refill it.
I also do some of these things to refill and refresh all aspects of my life. What are some things you do to refill the empty creative garage?
It’s not my desire to copy another photographers work but to create my own unique images. However, there are those assignments we can give ourselves that will copy or at least be very similar another’s images. That’s what this is all about. It’s my version of the all familiar studio image of the kitchen fork on a white background. With this exercise I experimented with some lighting and got more hands on time with my macro lens, a lens I don’t use often. My question for all you gurus out there who happen to find my blog is: How often do you give yourself assignments or projects? And, what are some of those? What’s their purpose? Are we wanting to learn something specific or just copying someone’s work?
Some images just do not need words.
It’s always best to check the seat before you sit down after it has rained. I say that not because I’ve heard that before but with the voice of experience and admittedly more than once. We only attain the voice experience from our trials and errors. This is so true with our photography. It reminds me of Ray Ketchams’s post where a spark of an idea and a little bit of action allowed him to light up the forest in an unusual way. He makes a couple of powerful statements in his post: “Fail, fail and fail, no one ever learned anything by only knowing success” and “When it comes to an idea or a photograph don’t ask someone else what it will look like, go out and try it.” So go ahead and try, your pants will dry.
We had a dusting of snow a couple of days ago. I must admit I do enjoy watching it snow, so quiet and peaceful. However, I’m not a fan of shoveling and driving in it nor do I enjoy the cold temperatures that come with it. As the years of my life continue to increase, I am not able to stand up to the cold as I once did. Today, I felt the urge to venture out into it so I bundled up and made my way over to Blendon Woods Park. There I found nature had added to its beauty with its light brushing of snow. Brown leaves, curled by autumns frosts, had formed small cups where nature had quietly filled them with snow. I love how nature is always providing us the opportunities to enjoy it and if you have your camera, even create a few images.
If you hadn’t noticed I added a few snow flakes to my blog. If your so inclined to also add a few more flakes to your’s, here is the link on how it’s done.
When it’s 25 degrees outside I’m not as interested in going outside. So, while backing up my images from this past week I noticed these shells sitting on my desk. I picked them up a few weeks ago while walking the beach in Myrtle Beach. I wouldn’t mind walking along that sandy beach right now.