Author: Pegasene

bookmark_borderSelf-Portrait with Luna Moth

Posted on by Pegasene
Self portrait of the author photographing a luna moth

This one is actually recent (I just took it three or four days ago). This gorgeous luna moth was on the door in the morning when I got up so of course I couldn’t help but take a thousand pictures of it (I’ll probably put up one or two more later).

As I was trying to line up the perfect image I realized I was being reflected in the glass of the door. It made me think back to a photo I saw years ago by an acquaintance who snapped her own image in an antique mirror. Something about the way she set up that image always stuck with me; the focus was clearly the mirror frame and the wall behind it, but her reflection–even though it was incomplete–made it a self-portrait, and that is how she presented it.

I always loved that simple image and the concept of it has remained with me.

I’m not a selfie-taker. Never have been. But I think it is important for an artist to be reflected in their art occasionally. I liked the idea that I could be in my own photograph of this beautiful insect without overwhelming the photo. That I could be present, as me, but still remain kind of a secret unknown. I could show myself without being really seen (if you know me you could probably recognize me, but it you don’t you won’t be able to put me together very well from such an ambiguous image).

This is also the photo that prompted me to do this blog! I had posted it on a private Facebook group and a family friend–whose work I also admire–complemented me on my photography and suggested I start a photoblog. After years of playing with the idea it was the boost I needed, I guess, so here we are.

bookmark_borderA New Day

Posted on by Pegasene
Slanting morning sun on my bowl of food and chopsticks.

I’m going (to try) to make this as uncomplicated as possible. I figure if I don’t impose too many rules on myself about this blog from the beginning, I am more likely to keep up with it and let it grow organically into whatever it is going to be.

In case you’ve been looking around but hadn’t noticed the dates of my posts, they are pretty varied and pretty far apart. Way back in 2014 I had set myself on a picture-a-day photo challenge and uploaded my images to a private blog that nobody could see but me. Last summer I thought I wanted to make it public, and even wrote a few new posts, but it turned out I wasn’t ready so I abandoned the project.

But now I’m ready.

(…well, I’m not really, but it seems that it’s time to do it anyway so I’m making myself ready)

So I’m starting the project for real this time. I’m taking off any expectations I may have about what I want it to be or what it could turn into (though I’ll keep dreaming about it making me rich!) and make it public so that I can’t back out of it this time.

deep breath

For now, I will just upload photos as individual posts and write what I feel like writing. I will do this where and how I feel like it in the beginning, just to get the ball rolling, and we’ll see where this goes.

The idea is to make my images available for people to see. To keep me accountable to creating my art so I can get better and eventually be able to make the kinds of images I really want to make.

So here it is; my first uploaded image of my (newly redesigned and remade) photoblog.

This is an image of my breakfast I took some months ago. I like capturing images like this because it was something completely everyday and ordinary, yet, when seen from a certain perspective (and with a certain amount of editing in Lightroom), it became something beautiful.

This is how I see life–I tend to find beauty in completely normal, mundane things–so it pleases me to be able to capture that feeling so I can show it to others.

And that’s my first (REAL, public) photoblog post. Phew!

Thanks for reading!

bookmark_borderSearching for inspiration

Posted on by Pegasene
Taken with Nikon D5100, Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens

So I just spent all afternoon on 500px, uploading a few of my own images and browsing others in search of inspiration.

I love looking through 500px because the overall quality of the photographs is much higher than other sites and I don’t need to filter through so much rubbish.  Plus, if I find an image that really speaks to me and others have commented, I can hover over their user icons and see 3 examples of their work, which helps me to quickly find other photographers who’s work I can follow.

I’m a little overwhelmed!  Some of the work I’ve seen today was so beautiful it made me gasp.

I looked through a lot of portfolios with work similar to the kind I want to do, so in that way it was a very inspiring experience.  But that is a double edged sword.  Almost all of the images I loved and identified with were made using equipment I don’t have (like 50mm and 100mm prime lenses, and dedicated macro lenses–all costing more moolah than I have at the moment).  So, on the one hand, I have been inspired to create beautiful images.  But on the other hand, I don’t have everything I need to make those images look the way I want them to.

Sigh.

But I want to make images like those with that equipment!

This is a trap that’s easy to fall into (and one I, personally am very familiar with).  I don’t have what I need so that I can do what I want, so I’ll just wait until I can get it and then I’ll be happy.

Don’t fall for it!  It’s a cop-out and it will do nothing but stymie your creativity and stagnate you.  

I have learned over the years that, to remain happy, it is much better for me to focus on the things that I have than the things that I don’t.  I have a perfectly functional DSLR camera–a Nikon D5100–with a perfectly functional kit lens.  So what if don’t have the fancy-schmancy equipment I want to make that specific kind of image?  My camera works fine and has allowed me to take beautiful pictures.  I may not be able to make all the pictures I want to (yet!), but that doesn’t mean that I can’t figure out how do something else amazing with what I already have. 

But I won’t ever know that if I just stop everything and wait until I get what I want.  I need to use what I have.  In fact, I had originally asked for my current camera and it was given to me, so I did get what I wanted.  It is my duty to put it to learn to use it to the best of my ability.

Anyway, who’s to say that if I got my fancy lens right now that I will even be capable of utilizing it the way I want to?  If I don’t have the XP that comes from creatively using what I have now I’m not going to magically become a better photographer just because I have better gear.

Taken with Nikon D5100, Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens     Taken with Nikon D5100, Nikkor 18-55mm kit lens

From this morning: little mushrooms in the yard and pretty weeds in the blue wheelbarrow after a rainy night.

If you haven’t already gotten there in your own head, this can be applied to many aspects of life.  I used to use the excuse of not having what I needed to wait and not do anything.  Then when (and if) I finally did get what I thought I needed, I still didn’t do anything with it because I didn’t know how to because I hadn’t worked up to it.

I’ve (mostly) learned that lesson and now I endeavor to always keep moving forward.  I use what I have available to me and let that drive my creativity to do things I hadn’t previously thought of.

Besides, sometimes simply taking action toward our goals opens up opportunities for us to get what we need/want.  

Learn to use what you have available to you; that’s creativity.  And appreciate what you have; that’s happiness.

bookmark_borderBack in the saddle

Posted on by Pegasene

It’s been awhile. 

A year or so ago (actually 18 months ago) my desktop workstation crapped out on me so I have been without Photoshop and Lightroom until just a couple of weeks ago when I was finally able to replace it. 

Because I had no access to my photo editing software (the laptop I was using was old and slow and couldn’t handle the work) I had pretty much put my camera away and was using only my phone for making photos.  Yesterday morning, as I was out walking in the yard, I suddenly realized that I had everything I needed to start my craft again!

I began daydreaming and planning all the things I wanted to do now that I have my computer, my software and my camera.  I was tumbling through fantasies of making a blog, taking all kinds of beautiful pictures and becoming rich (yeah, a little ahead of myself, but hey!  It’s good to have goals) when I suddenly realized:

None of that is going to happen if I don’t do something RIGHT NOW.  

How am I going to become better at my art if I don’t practice it?  We don’t just start out being great (well, most of us don’t, anyway).  In fact, much of the time we suck first.  Sometimes we super-suck!  But the only way to get where you want to go is to start moving.  So I decided to start moving.

I took out my Nikon D5100 and just started taking pictures.  Not my best work, for sure (not even good, really, so I’m not going to put any of it up here) but it was just to warm up anyway.  I decided that I need to start from scratch and drop all expectations so that I can have the freedom to try new things and make mistakes and learn from them.

Basically I gave myself permission to suck so that one day I can make the images I really want to make.

I also reflected on a project I did a few years ago that really helped me:

In June of 2014 I decided to put myself on a discipline to improve my photography skills.  I would use my camera every day for a month and upload one photo a day to a little private blog I had created for myself (the blog, even though it was visible only to me, worked to help keep me accountable).  I dutifully spent time every day photographing SOMETHING.  Sometimes I was inspired and made lots of pictures.  Sometimes I was on my way to bed when I realized “Crap!  I need to use my camera before I can sleep” and forced myself to find something to photograph.

The result? I leveled up!

Because I was forcing myself to stick with this discipline I wound up with a lot of images I never would have made–never would even have THOUGHT of making–otherwise.  Some of these, of course, were complete crap.  But there were others that were actually pretty cool (some  even wound up being favorites of mine!).  It was an eye-opening experience for me and it broadened my creativity and ability. 

Because I was taking pictures I wouldn’t normally take, at times and in places I wouldn’t normally photograph, I was sometimes forced to use camera settings I wasn’t used to (taking an image of a moth on my shelf at 1 am required a high ISO, for example).  Other times, I was just compelled to see things in my environment in a different way to make an interesting image.

I learned to focus on on something other than the actual subject, like texture:

     

Light:

    

Shadow:

 

Shape/form:

  

Color:

  

Impression/”feel”:

   

Unusual subjects:

   

(These ones I just really like!):

 

If you’re feeling stuck in your current mode of making pictures–or if you just want to create an opportunity of growth for yourself–I highly recommend embarking on a 30-day photography challenge.  

Just make the decision to use your camera every day.  Whether you are “feeling it” or not, just make some pictures. You might be surprised what you come up with!

bookmark_borderBy Appointment Only

Posted on by Pegasene

By Appointment Only

In continuing with photographing regularly, I went for something that caught my eye today. Someone must have picked up the fallen sign and placed it on the bench (the whole sign needs to be replaced, it fell and split in two with all the wind and snow we had midwinter). I have always liked the texture of that bench in black and white and I like the lines and perspective as well.  Not one of my best images (I rather like it though!) but good practice for rendering into black and white.

bookmark_borderBack at it

Posted on by Pegasene

Color Pallet with Flowers

I’m back at it.  Not sure if I’m going to be super-diligent about doing it every day as I did before, but I will do it as regularly as I am able (as it certainly helps me to get better at my craft!).  I am currently keeping a private photo journal, but I really like seeing all my images in one place as it enables me to see my progress (or the progress of my thoughts, or the progress of the seasons, etc).  So I will do both.

bookmark_borderNew Lens!

Posted on by Pegasene

New Lens!

I got a new toy!  I ordered a set of cheap-o macro filters and got a chance to really try them out today.  Here are some photos I took in the backyard using the 10x filter.  I love these things!  Now I can finally get really close and get those lovely smeary backgrounds I have been craving for so long…

bookmark_borderDragonfly

Posted on by Pegasene

Dragonfly

It was unseasonably cold today and I happened to find this little guy clinging to one of the dreamcatchers in the backyard.  I thought he was dead at first but he seemed to move a bit when I got closer so I think he was just cold.  Very glad to have the opportunity to photograph him so close, I love dragonflies!