Monochrome

Today's Photo-of-the-Day word... Monochrome. Otherwise known as Black & White.

I shoot quite a bit in black and white... Color tends to distract me. I like the absolute of a black and white photograph. I'm not so much into grays... I'm getting just enough of those in my hair to be annoying as opposed to being striking.

That doesn't mean that I don't appreciate color photography or imagery that runs the gamut of gray. I love finding myself in awe of other people's work.

But when I'm showing the world what I see, it's usually in black and white. Hopefully in the next few months I'll begin to understand why... Here's to some self-discovery!

Askew

If you type the word "askew" into a Google search, your computer screen goes a little wonky. It's amusing.

When you turn your camera askew, you get a slightly different perspective on your view of the world. It can be more than amusing... It can turn into an exercise on tuning in to how you see that world of yours...

I always try to encourage my students to keep shooting after they think they've got the shot. You see, when you get the shot you've pictured in your head, you have accomplished your goal. You can relax. Now you get to play!... And magic happens during playtime...

So shoot outside your vision... Shoot askance and askew... You might just discover you see a little deeper.

Recharge

I just got off the phone with my brother and he (very diplomatically) reminded me that I have been falling down on my blogging duties. So this post is for him.... and anyone else who needs it.

It's been a tough week. I've been teaching a weeklong Intro to DSLR bootcamp at the Light Factory in Uptown Charlotte plus getting my schedule back to normal after the onslaught of dance recitals at Queens University plus the air conditioner in my house conked out plus... Yes, it's a horrible run-on sentence but it's been a run-on kind of week.

Sometimes I let myself get so caught up in the act of making sure I get it all done that I forget what it truly takes to accomplish that --- Recharging. Sometimes you have to just say no. No foot planting necessary as that act can require an expenditure of energy that you're lacking. You just make a choice and accept it.

Yes, I've had several people in my life remind me of that this week. So to my mother, my best friend Sara and my brother... Thank you. I am recharging myself for the rest of the weekend.

Blur!

Today's word image is blur... Photographically, it's something that most people try to avoid.

Not me. I love the abstract patterns I get when I purposefully slow down the shutter or spin the camera as I hit the shutter release. Of course that's kind of how I like looking at life...
From a technical aspect, though, sometimes a blurred image tells the story better than a tack sharp image... Sometimes you just can't convey how frenetic a situation is unless you show it to your audience through purposeful motion.

Sometimes life is just moving faster than you are...

Strong

Today's Photo/Word of the Day is Strong... As in coffee... The kind of coffee you make when you are legally too sleepy to be making coffee.

If it looks like I lost count of the number of scoops I added to the pot this morning... it's because that's exactly what happened.

Oh well... This is one way to get the creative "juices" flowing... See you at 3am...