11 from '11

I have many photographs that mean a lot to me because of places I have been or people whom I know but the eleven photographs that I have chosen are ones that evoke something inside of me, they have stirred up emotions or feelings; they represent an up or a down or a contemplative aspect for me and represent how I interact with my world and the special meaning that is derived from interacting with it.

Foreverland

Waiting for the Wind

The Definition of Beautiful Wishes

Translucent Happiness

Simply Pink

Reaching the Dream

Sakura Delight

Revealing All But the Secret Parts

Inner Beauty

Embracing the Fall

 Just Like Magic

I am looking forward to 2012 and raise my hopes for a more prosperous and forward looking year.  I am starting my year in a new part of the country and believe it will bring new inspiration along with its challenges.  My wish for you is a happy and prosperous year filled with clear vision and blessings.

Shoot from the Heart #photogs #togs

I grew up in a world where the current day “rules of photography” were an unknown, probably did not exist (at least not in art circles.) We learned to look, feel and produce from the heart; to see in our mind's eye first, then to move out in our specific medium to produce what our creative eye has seen.  We explored our inner souls and sought a way to express ourselves through the medium of our choosing.  We looked intently at our world; we framed things, watched light and color and saw shapes and forms.  We looked at how our world was put together and we studied the passing of our world around us. We learned how to see, how what we saw affected us and what we wanted to convey to others or produce for ourselves. We were taught freedom of expression.  Nothing was too outrageous and we learned to deal with our limitations by expanding our horizons or knowledge or we threw caution to the wind and stepped outside our comfort zones.  We learned to put our soul into what we did.  It is never an easy choice to do this; after all we bare ourselves for the world to see and leave ourselves open to rejection.  But there is also something to gain.  We gain respect.  We gain a freedom that only our souls can touch.  We gain a truth and loyalty to our soul.  We gain a unique expression.   

People may think we are a bit crazy; we have to be willing to let them.  Thankfully we are each a unique being with a unique expression.  Some of us love art, some do not.  Some see this kind of exploration as a waste of time when there are rules that exist.  Those who do not explore their soul take a risk that they will be producing just one more landscape that will be one that looks like every other one just with a different sunset, different water and different set of rocks instead of something that speaks to your own soul.  Or risk that they will produce one more portrait that doesn’t reach into the soul of their subject.  The elements or principles of art are not rules.  They are found everywhere in our world.  How we put them within the frame should reflect how we see and feel about that world.  Knowing our own response to these aspects of art helps us to create work that speaks not only from the heart but to the heart. It should evoke a response.  It could be as simple as wow or a joy at a treasure found or a unique perspective to a known world or as complex as a provocation to action.   If you try to live within rules or your perception that the only way to compose a frame is by someone whose decision that this is what makes a "nice" work you risk losing the elements that evoke a reaction and tie your own hands of creativity.  It is up to you to reach into the depth of yourself or your subject to show your perspective.  Be courageous.

In the Shadow of the Master

Remember art is completely subjective.  If we think that what we like or for that matter, may not like, and someone else will feel the same...it is time to think again.  The most wonderful thing about art is that there are people who will love what you do.   Be fearless.  Look at yourself.  Look at your world.  Breathe.  Then breathe again.  Take it in.  Then, create from the heart. 

As a photographer, it is time to shoot from the heart.  I think it will open a whole new realm for you as an artist.

In the Balance-a principle of art

In the Balance

Balance is a fairly simple principle of art concept.  We all try to balance and juggle all sorts of things in life; we even have a “center of balance.”   Balance is having elements in your photograph or work of art feeling “even” and not giving you a feeling of being lopsided or heavy on one side or the other.  Quite applicably you can consider the thought of the picture of justice and the balance that figure holds.  The photograph does not have to be symmetrical or have the same elements, just the same weight. 

Curious Uncertainty :shape symmetry

The Stone Bridge :symmetry

Introductions :size symmetry

 

 

There are always multiple elements involved in art and the principle of balance can be achieved by using several.  It can involve the elements of value or color or shapes or lines or several of them.  

A few considerations would be to think about a natural way your eye reads something: strong color offset by strong value, size, shape, a large object off-set by multiple objects or the use of negative space to off-set your subject.  There are a multitude of ways to achieve balance in your work. 

Anticipation :negative space

 

 

The Lonely Wood :values balance

The Steeple :shape balance

Floating Fall :value and color balance

 


              






                                   

 

 <---Multiple small elements balanced with  a larger element

 

 

 

 

 

Making Balloon Animals

Consider what this means in terms of what you want to convey in your work.  What feelings do you want to invoke? What mood do you want to set?  What are you trying to achieve?  There may be times when you want your work to invoke in someone’s response a sense of imbalance or inequity, other times you need to be certain balance is accomplished in order to transcend the feeling of imbalance or stress. Once you know what you want to evoke with your work, it can serve to help bring about the sense of you and evoke a response.  Use it to your advantage to allow the participation of a viewer’s feelings into the subject matter and presentation of your work.