• HDR,  landscape,  sunsets

    Taking Action

    February 27, 2012
    February Sunset

    Examine the lives of people who have truly excelled in any of the arts – music, theater, dance, sculpture – and they have one characteristic in common: the capacity to commit themselves wholeheartedly to their chosen disciplines. They do it every day. No excuses. A dancer, for example, cannot compete at even the lowest level without years of daily exercising; a pianist cannot perform at a concert after having taken a nine-month break; actors are not given roles in a Shakespeare play because they fell they should be. So why should photographers expect to reseive one-person exhibitions or publications without similar dedication? Are the standards in photography so low that success can be archieved with so little effort? Of course not. – David Hurn

    I mentioned in a previous post that one of the components of motivation is getting “active.” None of us will succeed at attaining a goal unless we get in gear and become active. For someone like me who considers himself a dreamer, it requires a major effort to take steps and get active on those dreams. Don’t get me wrong as I’m not a couch potato and do get active on many fronts of my life. It seems I falter when the dreams are about my creative side.

    I can find a hundred excuses for not taking action on inspirations and not one of them holds much weight. It is easier for me to just dream about ideas or projects. That way they are a success but only in my imagination. Taking action requires effort and time plus the possibility it may not turn out the way I dreamed: failure. And I am aware that those failures are vital steps to improving. After a period of little action, I finally spent almost two full days shooting. My simple action accomplished more than one objective. The thought of failure was gone. My creative juices were flowing. I felt good inside. I also put a few miles on the car, testing it in the snow and mud, which it did pretty good. So, I guess this post is about getting off my tush and taking action otherwise my dreams and inspirations are only unfulfilled fantasies. Now, to clean the car and the bathroom. 🙁

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  • Plants,  snow,  trees

    Motivation (or lack of)

    February 22, 2012
    Tree Trunk

    Most artist will tell you that their ability to inspire themselves was the key to their success. Well I have plenty of inspiration but I’m lacking in “motivation”, which is preventing me from moving forward with those inspirations. I’ve little motivation lately. I hardly take the camera out for walks and when I do it’s for short walks. I could blame the cold but that will not suffice. Just not motivated.

    Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge. They say there are three major components to motivation: activation, persistence and intensity. Activation is something gets us started. Persistence is the continued effort required. Intensity is staying focused through its completion.

    Motivation can be activated in several ways. It can be caused by the influence of others, such as a shooting session with another photographer. Making a list of projects. Searching for new places for images. Shoot a different venue such as portraits rather than macros, or macro rather than portraits. Work on storytelling. Being invited to try a project such as Earl’s calendar. Or working new software for creating books such as Paul.

    Something had to be done to get me moving. So, I decided to take a cold walk without my camera. I bundled up against he cold and took the treacherous walk as the melted snow was now turning to black ice. Without my camera I was seeing a lot of potential images. There was a lone Canadian goose just sitting on the ice, no other birds around him. It was so out of the ordinary I suspect the bird may be ill or wounded. The next thing to catch my attention were the cattails along the edge of the lake. The stalks are standing tall while in stark contrast their snow laden flat bladed leaves bend heavily downward. And then there were the rabbit tracks in the snow. They were telling of scampering feet looking for cover. Between the edge of the lake and sidewalk I discovered feathers that told of the demise of a bird. I wondered if death came from the powerful claws of a hawk or owl. This exercise was new to me, and it seemed to do the trick. What steps do you take for motivation?

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  • Plants,  trees

    The Little Tree

    February 4, 2012
    The Little Tree

    I spend way too much time on the computer. I wonder if I’m a blog addict ( notice the quiver in my voice). I think it all started when I joined a small community of photographers sharing their images on a site called pBase. I enjoyed seeing others images and enjoyed the feedback on my images. Loved those at-a-boys. I then started buying more equipment, spent more time in the field and making great plans for a career as a pro, bringing in the big bucks. I joined a couple more photo websites. Next came the world of blogging and the spiral began increasing. I started spending more time on the computer in my attempt to be a better photographer. That was all good but I could easily get lost in my computer, leave the present world of real relationships, working on projects, eating and sleeping. It is amazing how deep and dark that hole of cyber-space is. Two to three hours later I would find my way out, shaken, dazed and confused. The tea pot had boiled dry, the sun had gone down and I’d missed meeting up with Patricia. Could be why I’m still single. Anyway, here’s the little tree I’ve discovered.

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  • Avian,  Plants,  trees

    Perched

    January 13, 2012
    Perched

    As I took a few images of this tree a hawk decided to enter the scene. I have a couple of images of it as it flew in from the left side and perched on one of the branches. I like the ones of him coming in but this one of him perched spoke to me me. So, here it is!

    I start another trip today then head for Phoenix on Sunday morning to visit family. Enjoy the weekend!

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  • landscape,  Plants,  sunrises,  trees

    Surreal

    January 12, 2012
    Two Trees at Sunrise

    This is one of the surreal presets found in HDR Effects Pro. Again, it is three images at on stop. I chose HDR effects Pro because it felt their presets were not as surreal and closer to the natural feel. I’m not a fan of the surreal images we see done with HDR but as with most people I have to also play around with the software.

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  • Plants,  trees

    Moving on to Winter

    November 17, 2011
    Cottonwood Grove

    I paid another visit to the grove of cottonwood trees near Mary’s Lake at the Rocky Mountain National Arsenal. My last visit, two weeks ago, showed the vibrant colors of yellow-gold of the leaves. Since then we have had snow and wind, so I expected to see some barren trees. The leaves of the cottonwood are shiny and triangular with rounded teeth on the margin. The nearly heart-shaped leaves are similar to poplar and aspen, also members of the Poplar family. We are moving on to winter and then I will try and get a photo of them in a blanket of white.

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