“Photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”
– Elliott Erwitt
2023 in Pictures
2021 in Color
“Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” — Wassily Kandinsky
January Blues • February’s lovely, rosy hues • The wearing o’ the green in March • Sunny yellow to offset April showers • May’s lilacs and violets • Pure whites befitting a June bride • Every heart beats true for the red, white, and blue in patriotic July • Favorite things in August • Down to earth in September • Orange you glad it’s October? • November in black and white • The colors of the season in December
10 Years of Blogging
Today is my 10th “Blogiversary.” I published my first post, Digital Native vs. Digital Immigrant on April 7, 2011 and today, I am publishing my 2,706th post [13 in 2011, 33 in 2012, 384 in 2013, 419 in 2014, 380 in 2015, 380 in 2016, 379 in 2017, 384 in 2018, 190 in 2019, 125 in 2020, and 19 in 2021 — so far…].
In 2011, I posted about education, music, movies, fashion, and of course, a trip to Paris.
In 2012, I focused on my francophila and participated in blogging challenges like Things I’m Afraid to Tell You.
In 2013, I began my six-year Project 365. I took a photo everyday and posted it along with a quote or my own musings. Those early photos are now rather cringeworthy, but they illustrate how much I had to learn. The quality is inferior since I took them all with my iPhone 5. The colors are over-saturated and the compositions are predictable. But Project 365 taught me to slow down, to be present, to pay attention, to rejoice in the unexpected. By repeating the process everyday for six years, I did begin to improve my technique. As my iPhone cameras got progressively more sophisticated and I learned to use a DSLR, I improved my angles, focus, composition, and lighting. I taught myself to use Photoshop to further enhance my images and to develop my own aesthetic. I also began to write again, to express my creativity in both words and images. I felt inspired, dedicated, and so very blessed by the encouragement of those who followed my progress. Although I repeated this project for six years, I also added additional challenges. In 2016, I dedicated the month of November to black and white photography, and by 2019, I had a designated color palette for every month.
What began with quick iPhone snapshots of whatever I found interesting, beautiful, or indicative of my current situation progressed as I learned the rules and eventually felt comfortable enough to break them. I loved the Project, but I often struggled to maintain the pace or to find new inspiration. Every year, I tried to shift my focus from quantity to quality while recognizing that it is actually the quantity of photos that lead to the quality I strive to achieve. In 2018, I also started participating in weekly photo projects to try new things and learn from other photographers. I did the Dogwood 52 Challenge in 2018 and 2019 and Capture 52 in 2020. When I lacked inspiration, I found that capturing familiar subjects helped me to experiment with camera settings, lighting, angles, and editing techniques, ultimately allowing me to grow as a photographer. Yes, my photos did get better, but let’s face it, you had seen a lot of flowers, trees, books, pastries, cups of tea and coffee, glasses of wine, critters with wings or fur, and one particularly photogenic beagle! And if I’m being entirely honest, it wasn’t always fun. There had been days when nothing captured my attention and nights when I was too tired to be creative or clever. In six years, I posted content while in five time zones, six states, and three countries. Above all, I sometimes wondered if I missed out on truly experiencing a moment by always trying to capture it in words and images. And, at the end of each year, I wondered whether I should reduce or even abandon my Project. I hadn’t miss a single day in six years — that’s 2,191 days (365 day/year + 1 Leap Year)!
Although it was time for a change, I knew that if I were to stop entirely, I would disappoint a lot of people — especially myself. I would miss the challenge, the careful observation, the creativity, and the learning. So in 2019, I decided to afford myself the flexibility to enjoy the process rather than hold myself accountable to strict guidelines. I continued to challenge myself with photo stories, themes, and colors. I created recurring series including French Fridays (to satisfy my wanderlust between trips), Links I Love (to share inspiration and to honor other writers, bloggers, and photographers), Currently (to serve as a mini-journal where I can reference what I’ve read, watched, listened to, planned for, felt, and enjoyed), and this year, since we have all be grounded due to a global pandemic, I started compiling Travel Bucket Lists.
A lot has happened in ten years. In 2011, I started working in Blogger, but in 2019, I built this more robust platform to share curated photo collections, to archive of all my work, and to continue creating new material. I still struggle to find a focus for this blog, so I have included a contact page for you to offer suggestions and ideas. Although, my primary motivation for continuing this work is personal, I really do appreciate your feedback. Perhaps my favorite thing about blogging “back in the day” was the active interaction between myself and my readers. I looked forward to and replied to every comment. I still do if you’re so inclined to let me know what you think.
In the meantime, cheers to 10 years of inspiration, learning, and creativity!
2020 FOCUS: Capture 52
“Always remember, your focus determines your reality.” — George Lucas
I have never been one for making New Year’s resolutions, yet 2020 seems to be the perfect year to hone my focus. While it may not be possible to achieve perfect 20/20 vision, I resolve to focus on my work, my relationships, my interests, and my creative endeavors. I will strive to listen intently, to slow down, to notice the beauty and inspiration that surrounds us if we just take the time to notice, to be fully present. In 2020, I resolve to focus.
For the past two years, I have participated in the Dogwood 52 Photo Challenge. The site was retired at the end of 2019, but several members have agreed to participate in the new Capture 52 project. Here are the prompts for 2020:
Post updated with images 12/20/20
Week 1 - New Years Resolution
Week 2 - Landscape or cityscape.
Week 3 - Architecture
Week 4 -The Color Green
Week 5 - Portrait converted to monochrome
Week 6 - Texture
Week 7 - Love: Share the Love for Valentine’s Day.
Week 8 - Photography Bucket List, something you’ve always wanted to try — a technique, a location, a style...anything.
Week 9 - Pets
Week 10 - Eggs
Week 11 - Not Quite Right.
Week 12 - Macro or focus stacking
Week 13 - Your Best Shot
Week 14 - Industrial
Week 15 - Tell a Story
Week 16 - Easter
Week 17 - Red
Week 18 - Femininity
Week 19 - Fire
Week 20 - Minimalism
Week 21 - All creatures great or small.
Week 22 - Phobias
Week 23 - Opposites
Week 24 - Bokeh
Week 25 - Sunrise/Sunset
Week 26 - Toy Story
Week 27 - Masculinity
Week 28 - Black and White
Week 29 - Food
Week 30 - Street Photography (candid/no posed images)
Week 31 - In Your Backyard
Week 32 - Moody Atmosphere
Week 33 - Abstract
Week 34 - Mask
Week 35 - Rainbow
Week 36 - Break the Rules
Week 37 - From Dusk to Dawn
Week 38 - Still Life
Week 39 - Rule of Thirds
Week 40 - Upside Down
Week 41 - Trees
Week 42 - Graffiti
Week 43 - Silhouettes
Week 44 - Creepy
Week 45 - Square Crop
Week 46 - Birds Eye
Week 47 - Combination: Combine any 2 (or more!) prompts
Week 48 - Multiple Exposure: Stitched panorama, double exposure, focus stacking, HDR
Week 49 - Glass
Week 50 - Kitchen Close-ups
Week 51 - Frozen
Week 52 - Christmas: ‘Tis the season...
Week 44 - Perspective: Viewpoint
“To me, photography is an art of observation… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.” — Elliott Erwitt #dogwoodweek44 #dogwood52 #2019dogwood52
#dogwood52
November • Colors of the Month
“Colour is everything, black and white is more.” – Dominic Rouse, photographer
November naturally represents an absence of color as the world turns brown and gray and the days get shorter and darker. Natural light becomes a precious commodity while artificial light distorts color and clarity. In the past, I struggled with my November photographs as my work day begins and ends in darkness. So, for the fourth year, rather than bemoan these limitations, I will embrace the lack of color and post only black and white images to focus on light, shadow, texture and composition.
As Elliott Erwitt said, “Color is descriptive. Black and white is interpretive.”
La vie en noir et blanc | Life in Black + White
