“The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Scarves
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Scarves -
The Act of Photography
MacDonald Lake, Glacier National Park “You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.”
Ansel Adams -
Finding Ourselves
St. Agnes Church in Rockville Center “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
Thomas MertonI’m on a 4-day trip and sitting my hotel room. It’s quiet. I like these times. These are times when I read or journal, check emails or read a few blogs. After finding the above quote it has perked my interest to write.
For me the past year has been focused around art. Most of the books I’ve read all pertain to some form of art: writing, painting, photography, sculpting, etc. I’m not sure how much I considered my photography as art but because of all the reading I’ve done, and looking closely at how I work at photography, my views are changing. Photography is my paint brush for expressing my vision, my creativity and how I see the world around me. I’m learning to listen to the voice within me to create images pleasing to me and even write posts about my photography. As I’m listening to the muse, as Pressfield suggests, I’m finding out new things about myself and seeing the world with a fresher vision. I press the shutter button on my camera for my need to express myself. And, to express myself I need to know more about myself.
Here are some of the books I’ve enjoyed reading lately:
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott
- Linchpin by Seth Godin
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Paying Attention
Flowers We may notice amazing details during the course of a day but we rarely let ourselves stop and really pay attention. As a photographer learns to stop and take notice, we have the opportunity to make people notice, make people pay attention.
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Here and Now
Chain and Lock Sabrina Henry has a good read about our journeys here. I made a comment about a t-shirt I have that says, “The destiny is the journey”, which I understand and believe. In reading a book by Steve Hagen on Buddhism he talks about the Buddhist journey as one that must go nowhere – neither in or out. He states it is a journey into nearness. A journey to be awaken to the here and now, to awaken “to” the here and now, which I also understand and believe.
After taking a walk this afternoon I saw for the first time this chain and lock. It’s always been there as long as I can remember. I’ve had to walk around it every time I headed to the overpass. But, today I really saw it. And, as soon as I saw it I knew how I wanted to shoot it. I took two shots, knowing I had the image I wanted. This image will not change the world or make it into any magazine but it demonstrated to me I’m on my journey, at my destination, awakening to the here and now.
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Side-by-side
Side-by-side Spent some time at the mall shopping for a new pair of running/walking shoes. After parking the car and walking up to the mall I noticed the symmetry of these cones against the green background. Not sure why I’m being drawn to so many objects that I normally have just walked past a few years ago.
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I’ve waited long enough
Nap time at airport in Torronto, Canada The last couple of weeks have been busy for me and it’s not looking like things are going to slow down much in the next two weeks. My oldest daughter is getting married on the 15th so I’ll be back in Colorado from the 8th to the 16th. I will be mooching off family and friends while trying to catch up with as many as possible. I’m looking forward to the wedding and all the family stuff that goes along with it. The wedding will be in Estes Park which is just outside of Rocky Mountain National Park. Time in the mountains will be good medicine for me.
After much internal talk I finally decided to purchase my own domain name a few weeks ago, then find a hosting service, Bluehost, and then purchased this theme by Photocarti. It has taken me a while to get it up to this point due to time constants and lack of knowledge about the theme and a hosting service. I’ve made a few mistakes but finally have something to present to anyone who wants to follow along on my journey of photography and life.
Blogging is fun for me. I enjoy posting images along with a few words and especially enjoy following some of my favorite photo bloggers, you guys. I’ve chosen this theme because with this one site I have 1) a blog, 2) the ability to have galleries (which are still being worked on), and 3) a home page with flash. We will see where this leads me. Please let me know what you think of this layout.
By the time you read this I most likely will be on a jet plane and heading to Colorado. Travel can be tough so I hope I do nat spend my travel time like this fellow. I will try and catch up on reading your blogs and posting a couple. See ya!
