Sometimes they present themselves.

One of the main benefits of photography I have found personally is the ability to see the world in a whole new manner. Before I was a photographer I rarely noticed the little things around me. I was focused on the task at hand, my energy set in obtaining a goal. Or rather if you ask my wife, my life focused on TV and video games. I never took the time to "smell the flowers."

Then one day, a couple years after starting my hobby as a photographer, while driving home from work I realized for the very first time that I was actually looking and more importantly, taking in my surroundings. For instance I would notice a barn or a rather old house and my mind would think about how to capture it. Now the main thing I want to stress here is I did not simply want to take a photo of the building, but rather I wanted to take a photo of the building that would capture its "soul" or perhaps "history." In essence my life had slowed down a bit and I was start to "smell the flowers." I started to look at the world in a different way. I took notice in the trees, the grass and the animals and insects that lived within them. I started to appreciate life. All of this thanks to me taking over a gift intended for the wife on Mother's Day.

Now why am I rambling on about this. Well it was supposed to be short bit on how I came to taking a photo today. I was asked to take a photo of a new building at the college where I work for some print material and while waiting in a window ledge I took notice of my shadow and how the window made a perfect frame. I liked what I saw and thought it would be a nice self-portrait photo for this blog. It reminded me of how I am always looking for new photo opportunities even when I am in the middle of another.

On Natural Light

Ask anyone who knows photography about the type of light they like the best and you will almost always find the answer to be soft natural light. Especially when taking portraits. And I have to agree. I have always found that of all the people shots I have taken over the years my favorites have always been those taken in soft / diffused natural light. Mostly light filtered through a large window.

This ties into the assignment I gave to myself yesterday on taking a natural light portrait. Well I managed to find some time today and took a few shots of the kids while they were watching Chicken Little on the tube. I have to confess that it certainly helps to have the kids entertained with a movie as they sit still and at times manage to display a very wide range of emotions. The shots are back-lite with reflected light off the walls filling in shadow areas. Here are a few of the shots:



I ended up being very pleased with the results. Although there is not a wide range in emotion here I find the shots are rather peaceful in nature. Showing a bit of the innocence of our young children.

Later......

The Beginning.....

I spent nearly an hour earlier this evening writing up the first post to my new blog and before publising it I broke my own rule when using the web to write long posts.....I did not save it. And lo and behold there was an error and I lost everything. So instead of the rather long winded beginning I had originally wrote, here is the coles notes version.

Rather by accident I started my hobby as a photographer by unintentionally taking over the digital camera I had bought for my wife as a Mother's Day gift. To this day I swear I can hear my wife muttering under her breath about the camera that was hers but was never able to use (sorry Lora). Still from that small beginning there awoke in me a passion for photography. A passion that is still strong to this day.

Which brings me to the purpose of this blog. I wanted to have a place that would allow me to write about my journey as a photographer. A place to share my passion for this world and of all things in it. A place to record my growth in learning to see the colors of light and how I have evoled in recording them.

I will end by showing a photo of my daughter while she watches TV. This is a style I use to shoot on a regular basis over the years, but for some strange reason I rarely shoot these days. I have often wondered why?

My personal assignment is to shot something of this same style over the next couple of days and share the results.