Summer 2021 is upon us. With pandemic restrictions being lifted across the country and more people getting out and living their lives again, we will experience more adventures, more memories, and of course… more pictures!!! There has never been a better time to get out and take some amazing images to document our life’s journey and of course, capture still shots of time.

Let’s start this week’s blog with a few questions. Have you ever wanted to take your photography or design interests further? Do you want to follow a different hobby or start a new career all together no matter what the subject? Have you thought to yourself, “I am too old to take a course or go back to school”? Well, I want to tell you that you are not alone. You, like millions of people, including myself, have thought this numerous times. Sometimes the thought instantly disappears as soon as the seed of doubt is planted in our psyche. There can be the struggle going back and forth in your mind of “should I, shouldn’t I”. There can also be the thought of “can I do this”? Now, let me tell you that you can. You can do anything that you put your mind too no matter how old you are. 

Last week I wrote about a few of the exercises that I use when getting out of a photography rut. The article I used for reference was from B&H rep David Flores and his list of “13 Creative Exercises for Photography”. I use this list often, even if I just want to challenge myself. In the last post I went over the “Two Dozen” exercise where I take 24 images in the same spot with my feet firmly planted. A great exercise to get the mind working. The next exercise I went over is called “Ten of One”. This is where you take 10 images of the same small object. Take these images from close or far. Once again, get creative. The third exercise I went over is “Four Corners”. For this exercise you will choose one subject and place it in each corner, or fourth, of the frame for four different images. Use a larger subject for this one. Now onto a few more that I like.

Over the next few weeks, I would like to go over some tips and tricks that help me get creative. Few things in photography annoy me as much as getting stuck in a rut while trying to take good images. Not every image will be “the one”, but every image will help you get better and closer to “the one”. The reason for contact sheets is to show the set up and delivery of the shot you want. Sometimes, getting to that shot can be frustrating to say the least when you are running out of ideas to be creative. I know there has been more than one time when I have a camera in my hand, and I am lost to take a picture. I can be in front of a beautiful beach or walking down a nature trail and feel like I don’t have anything to take an image of. This is where I need to kick in that little bit of creativity in my brain and make sure I break out of that rut.

Goodbye 2020. Welcome 2021. Last year brought lots of ups and downs. In my photography and design career 2020 was actually a rewarding year. In my previous blog entry, I discussed how my year had went and the projects I created. I built my website, made quality family time, created my social media pages for my photography, continued with my degree, and even closed the year out with selling my home and purchasing a new one. 2020 was a whirlwind for life and a whirlwind for my photography career. 

2020 was the year that I finally started to put my vision into reality. There were many years of should I, shouldn’t I thoughts swirling in my head. There were times when I had no time, times when I had no drive to do more, and even times when I thought that it was just a dream that would always be a dream. I decided a few years ago to go back to school and get a degree to pursue the passion that I had. Getting a higher education as an adult with a full-time job, family, household, and everything that goes along with life, is not the easiest. It is time consuming and, strenuous. But let me say this, it is all worth it.

Finding the time to take images is tough. Having a family with a toddler, a full-time job, co-managing a household, etc., means that I have to get creative when trying to find time to shoot. Of course, my phone and my memory cards are full of pictures of my baby daughter but when I want to really go out and shoot landscapes or nature, I have to make a plan. I carry a camera “go-bag” with me everywhere. Inside my go-bag, of course there are cameras, spare batteries, spare memory cards and of course my laptop.

Don’t let yourself get caught up with thinking that this is the way you have to shoot. Shoot what you love. Shoot what you see. If there is a scene you see with your eyes, and you like it, shoot it with your camera. If you want to try taking portraits of your family or friends, do it. There are pictures to be made everywhere we go in life. Pictures of people, pictures of mountains or beaches, pictures of nature, etc. Let your creativity run wild!

I remember my mother always having her 35mm Nikon film camera wherever we were. She would take photos of anything, landscapes, nature, and vacations or weekend trips. I would see her open the film door, take the roll out of the black canister, load the film, shut the door and turn the winder handle to get ready for the image. I know, such a process compared to now (pull out your phone and hit the screen). Then focus in the lens and hit the shutter button. I was too young to notice her making sure the exposure is good and adjusting her other settings. All I knew was that she used this camera a lot and one day the photos would show up at our house in an envelope or we would take a trip to the store where they were processed and pick them up. I could never understand how the beautiful pictures I was looking at came from the little black strips of film.