creative pursuits
I took this back in April of 2013. While we lived in this house this was one of my favorite subjects. It is a window on the outside of our barn and had this moss on the outside and some kind of green weed growing just on the inside. The glass panes were grungy, the frame was chipped and peeling and I just found it so incredibly photogenic.
I was playing in Lightroom today and going through some of my older photos to see if I could make them better now that I have a little more editing experience under my belt (and since Lightroom has improved).
In the process, I realized that I have a lot of photos that I really like! Not only that, but the majority of images on this site are from my practice month and don’t necessarily represent my better work.
So I’m going to upload some of my better images, even though they are older, so I can populate my site with work I like!
I had considered post-dating them to when I actually took them, but I’ve decided against that. I’ll just post them as I go and write what date I took them.
So, to start (and in no particular order) here is one I took in July of 2016. It is the back window in a barn where some little opportunistic plant had taken hold inside and grew happily throughout the winter. I liked the combination of the darkness, texture and reflections from the glass and the color and texture of the moss in front, all framed by the grungy, peeling window frame. I edited it to enhance the contrast and textures.
…and I rather like the color, actually. No need to paint it black.
Photographing subjects we don’t normally photograph is a great way to train the eye to see differently in order to improve our art.
I am naturally drawn pretty things (like flowers, and butterflies and plants) which tend to be easy to make nice images from. But there are so many other subjects out there that make interesting photos.
It doesn’t always have to be pretty to make a compelling image.
This is why the photograph-a-day challenge I did a few years ago was so valuable to me. Because I was disciplining myself to take and upload one photo a day I was forced to overcome my “photographer’s block”. I learned to see things differently and wound up with photos I never would have taken before–some of which I really liked!
Photos like the one above are a good example of something I wouldn’t normally think to capture. It’s not pretty. It’s not a subject I’m particularly interested in (it’s a door. And a wall. And a… thing.). But it is still a compelling image because of the lines, the texture and, of course, the color.
It may not be something people are going to come in droves to admire for hours, but it’s useful for training my eye to see the world around me differently so that I can learn to make more compelling images overall.
What kinds of images can you make that you wouldn’t have considered before?
This is the mirror up against the brick chimney in my office. I liked the lines and textures and the grunge feel of this image. It was a last-minute shoot but I really like what I got from it!
One of a line of 3 neglected toy Matchbox cars on the outdoor sill of our pantry. I like these as a subject.
Found this little plant growing on the wrong side of the window in our barn. It seems to be looking wistfully out the window at the outdoors where it should be growing. I edited it to accentuate the textures, contrast, bokeh and desatureted it to add a that feeling.
Didn’t feel like going out for a photograph today. This was taken in my window. I like the grungy textures and the shadows.
Detail of an old iron gate behind the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem.
These little cars have been sitting on the outside windowsill of our pantry since before we moved here. I’ve never touched them, they make a great subject. Lots of texture and DOF possibilities. Also that red one in the middle is a nice burst of color in a desaturated image.