Week 20: Magnoia blooms
So interesting week. Our magnolia trees in the front yard are blooming. I have had something on my bucket list for a while and that is the blooms on the magnolia's. Most, however, are higher so you would need some height to get a good shot. Last year I almost got on top of my truck to take a picture of one. Little did I realize all I had to do was look out my front window....
So we have what we call the Sophie window. It is by the couch and she has her little (okay big) Sophie pillow she perches on and looks out. When Ginger or I are out she will wait by the window at times to watch for us then run to the back door to greet us.
So we had some painters doing the exterior here. They left all the screens off and hadn't come back to do them (or pick up their ladders or trash). So I dumped most of their trash (still some in the courtyard and ladders and paint still here) and put my own screens up (they eventually came and put up rest of screens or what was left of them). Well, I was looking out yesterday with Sophie and saw all these wonderful blooms. And the light bulb went off. Now I can shoot through a screen and you not see the screen but to get a tack sharp image it can be difficult. So what did I do? I moved the screen. Sophie was looking at me like "Dad, you okay there, don't jump!" Then she moved back when she saw me with my massive 150-600mm lens on my camera. It's a monster. Propped up on the window ledge I began taking shots and started scratching off an item on my bucket list.....
By FAR this is the favorite of my shots (can someone say East Texas State Fair?) And it was actually taken this morning because I had another go at it and we had beautiful sunshine lighting them up. Now this one had a little surprise. This tells you how powerful my lens is. Underneath the flower I captured this (blown up so you can see it):
Yes, some kind of bug climbing around. Reminds me of when I took the picture of the Giant Leopard Moth and found it was laying eggs later when I edited the photo.
Here are some more shots.
This is the lens that did all the work:
My family and friends, this is just plain fun. Sometimes it takes a long time to get a shot in your head onto a print, like these for this week for my 52 week challenge I am part of with Practical Photography:
I got these in Georgetown I believe, or Gatlinburg, I am not sure. But the theme was angular. Both are lit up with a black light. And believe it or not these were tricky. But with a little patience and using a couple of different lights I was able to get the right combo. I was actually going to use some dice but then I remembered I had these and as they say, the rest is history.
So as I said I would update everyone on what was going with my pictures getting published. I received an email this week (we actually communicated back and forth a bit) and he said the article is coming along nicely. They asked me how I took the pictures and what were the challenges in taking the pictures. It was fun to look back at the pictures (I have all the originals) and remember the thought process in them all, how I planned, what unexpected problems I came across and how I overcame them. So it will actually be an article (not just printing my pics), which is going to be pretty neat. Again when I see it I will make sure everyone knows it is out there. Ironically, if it comes out in the next issue it will be released around May 26th, a very important date indeed.
So photography has become a big part of my life. Not on the popularity front (I think 14 people read my blog this week) though that has never been important to me. Photography is therapy for me. You see, I have an art medium in which I can express my inner feelings or interpret what I see out in the world. I can take pictures of the beauty of God's creation or I can take pictures of the madness I feel within. It is technically challenging which tickles a part of my brain that loves to learn and figure things out. I am self taught. If I don't know how to take a picture, I study and learn, practice and fail until one day I succeed. And I love the process. I have gone from a novice Photoshopper to a not so bad one. I share my pictures not for popularity or monetary reasons, I share to let people see the world as I see it and to give a message of hope. I have always said I am a strange artist indeed. My creativity goes in cycles. Stress and depression can affect those cycles but I am learning to use the photography to express that stress, depression and anxiety. If you have a loved one who is an artist and they are not creating, trying to pressure them to create is not going to help, in fact, it will only cause more stress. It takes patience to love an artist. When life is crazy, and busy, and hectic, creativity tends to wane. Patience my friends. The time will come. When we are creating we can tune out the world. I am blessed. I have a wonderful wife who not only encourages my creativity but helps guide it. And she can pull me out when I get too deep into the darkness. She knows to let me create, she respects my process, and then, when we get to the editing table, her gifts, and believe me, she has such gifts, come shining through to help refine. As artists that is what we need.
So to all my artistic friends out their, keep on creating, on your own terms. Others may think they know what is best for you, but only you know what is inside and needs to come out. Only you can see the world you see through your eyes. Interpret in your own way and above all enjoy creating. And if someone wants to pressure you to create, hand them the camera, or pencil, or art brush and tell them if they know what they think needs to be done so badly, get to creating. Once again, my own opinion and if you have another opinion I am always willing to discuss it with civility.
Baa
So we have what we call the Sophie window. It is by the couch and she has her little (okay big) Sophie pillow she perches on and looks out. When Ginger or I are out she will wait by the window at times to watch for us then run to the back door to greet us.
So we had some painters doing the exterior here. They left all the screens off and hadn't come back to do them (or pick up their ladders or trash). So I dumped most of their trash (still some in the courtyard and ladders and paint still here) and put my own screens up (they eventually came and put up rest of screens or what was left of them). Well, I was looking out yesterday with Sophie and saw all these wonderful blooms. And the light bulb went off. Now I can shoot through a screen and you not see the screen but to get a tack sharp image it can be difficult. So what did I do? I moved the screen. Sophie was looking at me like "Dad, you okay there, don't jump!" Then she moved back when she saw me with my massive 150-600mm lens on my camera. It's a monster. Propped up on the window ledge I began taking shots and started scratching off an item on my bucket list.....
By FAR this is the favorite of my shots (can someone say East Texas State Fair?) And it was actually taken this morning because I had another go at it and we had beautiful sunshine lighting them up. Now this one had a little surprise. This tells you how powerful my lens is. Underneath the flower I captured this (blown up so you can see it):
Yes, some kind of bug climbing around. Reminds me of when I took the picture of the Giant Leopard Moth and found it was laying eggs later when I edited the photo.
Here are some more shots.
This is the lens that did all the work:
My family and friends, this is just plain fun. Sometimes it takes a long time to get a shot in your head onto a print, like these for this week for my 52 week challenge I am part of with Practical Photography:
I got these in Georgetown I believe, or Gatlinburg, I am not sure. But the theme was angular. Both are lit up with a black light. And believe it or not these were tricky. But with a little patience and using a couple of different lights I was able to get the right combo. I was actually going to use some dice but then I remembered I had these and as they say, the rest is history.
So as I said I would update everyone on what was going with my pictures getting published. I received an email this week (we actually communicated back and forth a bit) and he said the article is coming along nicely. They asked me how I took the pictures and what were the challenges in taking the pictures. It was fun to look back at the pictures (I have all the originals) and remember the thought process in them all, how I planned, what unexpected problems I came across and how I overcame them. So it will actually be an article (not just printing my pics), which is going to be pretty neat. Again when I see it I will make sure everyone knows it is out there. Ironically, if it comes out in the next issue it will be released around May 26th, a very important date indeed.
So photography has become a big part of my life. Not on the popularity front (I think 14 people read my blog this week) though that has never been important to me. Photography is therapy for me. You see, I have an art medium in which I can express my inner feelings or interpret what I see out in the world. I can take pictures of the beauty of God's creation or I can take pictures of the madness I feel within. It is technically challenging which tickles a part of my brain that loves to learn and figure things out. I am self taught. If I don't know how to take a picture, I study and learn, practice and fail until one day I succeed. And I love the process. I have gone from a novice Photoshopper to a not so bad one. I share my pictures not for popularity or monetary reasons, I share to let people see the world as I see it and to give a message of hope. I have always said I am a strange artist indeed. My creativity goes in cycles. Stress and depression can affect those cycles but I am learning to use the photography to express that stress, depression and anxiety. If you have a loved one who is an artist and they are not creating, trying to pressure them to create is not going to help, in fact, it will only cause more stress. It takes patience to love an artist. When life is crazy, and busy, and hectic, creativity tends to wane. Patience my friends. The time will come. When we are creating we can tune out the world. I am blessed. I have a wonderful wife who not only encourages my creativity but helps guide it. And she can pull me out when I get too deep into the darkness. She knows to let me create, she respects my process, and then, when we get to the editing table, her gifts, and believe me, she has such gifts, come shining through to help refine. As artists that is what we need.
So to all my artistic friends out their, keep on creating, on your own terms. Others may think they know what is best for you, but only you know what is inside and needs to come out. Only you can see the world you see through your eyes. Interpret in your own way and above all enjoy creating. And if someone wants to pressure you to create, hand them the camera, or pencil, or art brush and tell them if they know what they think needs to be done so badly, get to creating. Once again, my own opinion and if you have another opinion I am always willing to discuss it with civility.
Baa
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