Spring through Glass and Plastic

I went to Neillsville High School on Tuesday to talk with a photo class about being a photojournalist. It was pretty fun and I found a whole host of new websites while researching. On my way back I stopped along the street and the Black River to take some spring photos. The light was lush and I am not usually up and out with a camera that early to capture it. I took my Canon 40D and my Holga (now loaded with 120mm film). I never know which one to use, so I used them both!

I drove down by the Black River and took some photos on some island/backwaters where people fish a lot. It is nice that it wasn't buggy yet.

Glass

Plastic

Blossoms on the main street of Neillsville. I am not sure what street, but as you drive in the whole road is lined with flowering trees - it looks so pretty!

Glass

Plastic

Plastic

New leaves near the Black River

Glass

Plastic

This is a different day along a road near Withee. It was a gravel road and I kept the "Bulb" function open and slowly moved. I loved how the light just caught the white birch trees.

More and more blossoms on the main street of Neillsville. I hope folks weren't thinking I was 

weird.... probably :)

Glass

Plastic

Conclusion: Spring is pretty and fun to shoot no matter what camera or lens I use. I don't think you can take a bad picture when there are flowers and the light is out. I do think I have been shooting a bit too many spring shots, I should break out of the "pretty flower rut".... Or, I will wait until next week when the blossoms turn brown and keep shooting pretty pictures till then.

Here are some flickr groups with more spring shots:

The Colours of: Spring

Spring and Summer Around the World

Four Seasons

Oh! Here is an interesting NYT article that is unrelated to photography: All the Obama 20-Somethings

Yellow

This weekend I went to Chicago to run the Shamrock Shuffle. While there, I also had a chance to visit the Chicago Art Institute. I try to get there every time I am in Chicago. This time there was an exhibit of William Eggleston - a photographer that I have always liked. His use of obvious and subtle color is amazing. The colors are so pure and vibrant, and the use is always exactly.... just so. I can't image any other color, usage, or placement of color in the photos. Here is the Eggleston Trust website: /http://www.egglestontrust.com/.

I think I would like to incorporate more yellow into my photographs. Yellow is a happy color and I should have more yellow in my life.

Yellow mosaic of photos from my flickr site

1. Sunflowers, 2. Lemon, 3. Flowers, 4. Bumble Bee, 5. Guthrie Theater, 6. Morning, 7. Daisy, 8. Night Flight, 9. Wildflowers

Clouds

I found a really neat website the other day while browsing of the web for photo inspiration, which I do pretty frequently. It is called the Cloud 365 Project (http://www.clouds365.com). The project is by multimedia artist Kelly DeLay and he describes it as his commitment to be creative every day, by shooting videos or images of clouds every day for a year. There is also a interactive aspect that you can add your own cloud photos too, http://www.clouds365.com/community/.

On the artist's about me section, I found this quote:

"Clouds 365 is not intended to be separate from my everyday life. I want this practice of observation to be tied into the fabric of my life—the habit of looking up and noticing the patterns and beauty of the clouds that envelop us every single day."

This idea and practice is really important for me as a photographer. I used to carry around my camera in college nearly everyday, but since I started a career in photography, I moved away from that. I considered carrying a camera around for personal photos too much like work. This took a lot of the fun and spontaneity out photography for me, since the only photos I were taking were photos someone else told me to take.

After I realized that I am lucky enough to have a job doing something I love and care about, I realized that I wanted photos to be part of my life, not just my job. Because of this, I started taking photos of life outside of my "job" with my digital and holga cameras. It makes it fun for me again and is a different creative outlet. This January I also started a 365 project on flickr. I always wanted to start one, but never had enough motivation, so I joined the group Shutter Sisters 365 and try to add a photo everyday. I have only missed a couple days (yay for having a goal!) and have started carrying my camera everywhere I go. I find myself looking beyond what I normally would take photos of to find a photo for the day.

Here are a couple of my 365 photos that have to do with clouds, since that seems to be the theme of the day.

 March 16, 2010

Driving back from Stevens Point near Milladore, I stopped on a gravel road to take pictures

March 3, 2010

After work, the clouds reminded me of spring

January 12, 2010

Outside my work parking lot, I liked how the light matched the clouds

Flickr Friday

There was another great Flickr Friday selection at www.holgablog.com. The theme for the week of March 3 – March 10, 2010 was Play. 

My photo was featured as part of the selection. It is a Holga shot from ice fishing a few weeks ago.


To see the rest of the photos, check out the Holga Blog. Here is the link!

Seeing Red

Again it is gray in Central Wisconsin. I like the fog - to a point. Maybe tomorrow I will post some foggy photos, but for today I needed a bit more color. I'm thinking red today.

Another mosaic of photos from my Flickr site made by Mosaic Maker. Hopefully the sun will come out again soon!

1. Leaves, 2. Amaryllis, 3. color wash, 4. Chuch service, 5. Apple, 6. leaves, 7. 02, 8. Cheery Cherry 2, 9. Sunset in the beach grass, 10. Premium, 11. Scrabble, 12. Apple3, 13. Raspberries, 14. Night Flight, 15. Berry, 16. Plane

Holga Blog: Flickr Friday

My photo was featured on Holga Blog's Flickr Friday! The theme for the week of February 17 – 24, 2010 is Out in the Cold, where I frequently find myself.

This is the photo that was featured (I posted it last week too). It is of Dan looking out at Levis/Trow Mounds in Clark County after we went snowshoeing around on Valentine's Day. This was my first time going there in the winter and also my first time taking pictures. Usually we go there mountain biking and I am not a good enough biker to take pictures while I ride!

Here is the link on Holga Blog so you can check out all the other great Holga shots:
http://www.holgablog.com/2010/02/26/flickr-friday-2/