Tuesday, October 23, 2012

A Certain Texture

"Exploring Sleepy Cove"
*Newfoundland, Canada*

If it seems as if the blog has been in limbo lately, you'd be right. Life seems to go from one extreme to the other. One minute business is slow, the next, I have work piling up around me. But I'm not complaining.

I'm embracing the various textures that are making up my life lately. A little travel, adventures into newer job descriptions, a little expanding, facing some personal fears, approaching some personal weaknesses... and absorbing the things each item brings to the table of life.

And having life textured by so many different elements can only mean one thing. It's bound to show up in my photographs. Whether I want them to or not, the things being absorbed by me every day have the ability to pour out of my images too.

Why is this important enough to mention today? Cause I've realized in the past I've tried to shield those things from seeping into my work. And did myself a disservice each time I did. In an attempt to strive for a certain look, or expression, or ideal, or vision, I shucked my ability to use what was going on around me to take my photography to a new level.

Funny that the tag line on my website is "Show The World Who You Are"... and I was avoiding that very thing myself. Let's change that.


Monday, October 15, 2012

It's That Simple...

"This Way To Sleepy Cove"
*Sleepy Cove, Newfoundland, Canada*

Good afternoon my friends! The blog is BACK! I hope you've missed our little get-togethers! I know I've missed it. I've been working hard, and doing a little traveling, and working some more, and it's been rewarding. But I couldn't wait to get back to this. So here we are! Let's chat...

If you asked me right now what I most love about photography, what gets me really excited about the pursuit of this entire vocation called being a photographer, I'd have to say the act of picking up the camera is the best part for me. Sounds obvious I know. But as simple as it sounds, I get the impression from many in the industry that somehow that fundamental action is just their stepping stone to the other things they love. Creating new gear, new websites, new sales, new speaking opportunities, new trends, new apps, and new careers. Not that everyone is like that, or that those things are bad. But as someone striving to pursue photography, I've realized that my favorite thing is still just picking up the camera. And when I forget that, my love becomes a chore. It's that simple. 

My trip to Newfoundland two weeks ago made this very clear to me. I did nothing but carry my camera with me everywhere, and it meant 10 days of only photographing things I instantly connected with or impacted me visually and emotionally. And let's be clear, I can do that in my own backyard too... however I'd forgotten why I loved picking up my camera, the job aspect of all this meant other things had begun to distract. But on the trip it all came back... finding compositions out of chaos, choosing simple details, deciding what light was exciting, what scene was calming, what location was majestic, what elements were at play in the viewfinder, what story or emotion I could capture. I love the doing of it. It's that simple.

So here's an image from my trip where my host and good friend Dianne, and I,  climbed down a mountain trail to get to the ocean at Sleepy Cove. It's a simple shot but never underestimate the simple shot, it can represent so much for the photographer, and later the viewer. My intent was to explore, and let the camera record the things that spoke to me. An easy thing to forget in the mad surge of life. Easier to remember with the ocean roaring against the rocks!

I think I'll hang this near my work desk... to remind me that for everything I do with my photography, it's picking up my camera and putting it to my eye that affects me the most. It's that simple.