Why do I love photography?

What if you took pictures of what you did each day, how would you photograph it? What angle? How would you compose it? How would you make it 'interesting'?
I usually feel comfortable photographing people. And I never stopped to think that photographing something i'm NOT good at or NOT familiar with, could also help me and make me better at photographing people (something i'm already comfortable with and fairly good at).
So making breakfast this morning, I decided to take a few pics of what I was doing. And ya know what? It made me stop and think..."ok, i'm making french toast. How would I make that an interesting photo? What part of making french toast could I photograph to capture the viewers attention?" Stopping and thinking is good. So after taking pics this morning, I now have the experience of doing it and that proves that I can successfully capture a seemingly blah moment and make it interesting.
I love photography. Plain and simple. It makes me want to be a kid again; to play, have fun, be creative. It opens up a world of possibilities where anything can happen and your in control of it all! Thats pretty cool! And THATS why I love photography!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit."

Do you wait for people to comment on your Flickr photos?

What makes a photo interesting? The subject? The lighting? The composition? Well, if it inspires you, photograph it. Shoot what you love. Post it! And if nobody looks at it(flickr shows you how many 'views' you have), so what? Get your stuff out there! I'm constantly trying to keep myself positively charged. Today I was watching Chase Jarvis on youtube and it inspired yet again, to keep moving forward. Look at everything, and then look at it again! Never stop feeding your creativity!

Usually I get an impulse and it always leads to discovery. I see a photo or think of a cool lighting idea. The more you expose yourself to different ideas, and different photographers, the more versatile your thinking becomes, IMO.
So flowers and a radio? Whats so cool about that? Because any one of those shots could be an amazing photo! And then it could spawn a great idea and that could lead to ...who knows where? Ideas are possibilities and if you want something bad enough and work toward it and think about it all the time, pretty soon, I believe, opportunities appear seemingly out of nowhere. Ideas =Possibilities=Opportunities=LIVING YOUR DREAMS? Sure, why not!

Keep pushing yourself, try new things even if they dont work out. Keep going.

Long title, I know. What I learned today? Thing one is that I still cant get my background white without blowing it out. I did learn a different way of setting up my lights in spite of that. I have 2 AB800's and one 430exII. So I used the 2 Bee's to apparently , blow out the background and the 43o to shoot into a silver umbrella for a key light. I had a white reflector as fill. After it didnt work, I turned the 2 Bee's back at me for rim lights. Better. Even better was when I used one B800 as rim light w/barn door and the other in a large softbox as key. I put my 430 to work w/snoot as fill for subject right side. There are so many lighting combinations. I think the blown out white background was due to the subject being too close to the background.(2-3 ft-not to mention its just a 5ft seemless roll. I got frustrated, but I kept moving my lights around. I wanted to make the background black,but again, not enough room. I could have used 2 more Bee's w/grids and a strip box and a boom. Sure. But I can still get good photos from what I have. Its all about placement and knowing how to get the look your going for. Also, I search for blogs that interest me and that I can learn by. http://mola-light.com/blog/
http://www.squeezethelime.com/. So I keep searching and learning and trying new things. When I feel like its too much or i just can't seem to get it right(blown out white background), I put my head down and forge ahead. I'll get better. Its what I love to do and you dont get better by trying once or twice. When I get down, I get online and read about other people who were down, but kept on going. http://www.growthink.com/content/7-entrepreneurs-whose-perseverance-will-inspire-you

Out of Ideas? Just play!

I usually dont have a lot of time to spend photographing just anything, so I try and make a point to have something in mind before I take my camera out of the bag. Disciplined? Well, maybe not. Today I just wanted to photograph something. I knew I didn't have a lot of time and I'd probably end up taking more pictures of myself(which I did). But I wanted to be creative! And I wanted it to happen RIGHT NOW! When I get like this, I dont like to sit and think about what to do, I like to jump in and start shooting! Whatever comes to mind. So thats what I did. You can set yourself up for failure if you dont prepare yourself ahead of time by allowing yourself "time to play". Just try things you normally wouldnt. Just out of curiosity and "I wonder what it would look like" kinda thing. Its how you had fun as a kid. The thing to remember is, its not the result, its the 'playing', that is the key. Learn to PLAY. Thats where ideas come from. And dont worry about if you got any good pictures while you were playing. Heck, you were playing! You had fun! That was the whole point!

Your work DESERVES a " Second Look"

In an effort to constantly improve my photography, I'm always looking at other photographers work to get ideas. The more I photograph, the more I find out what I like and dont like. But I find that when I first go through my shots, I'm very particular. Very picky. I just want to get "the best ones" of that shoot. So I'm kinda in a hurry to filter out what I dont like, whats not 'eye catching' at the moment and move on to ones that are. Whats left? Hidden beneath the "eye catchers", are always photographs that deserve a 'Second Look'.

Moments

My favorite time to photograph someone is when their totally immersed in something they love. Today, my Mum was playing a Casio. She plays the piano and has for years. She has been unable to sit up at the piano, so our neighbor kindly let us use her Casio. Mum started playing today. The moment I saw her strike the first key, my feet headed toward my room to grab my camera. Call it instinct. I shot quite a few frames. Trying to tell a story. To express what I saw. To translate or communicate to others through my photography what was happening. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words, so might as well let it do the talking. It would take me forever to try and explain what a photograph can say in ' a moment'.

Inanimate Objects

I get bored and nobody is around so I do it. Nobodys looking. So I pull out an inanimate object and take a picture. And yes,it teaches you about photography. How do I light a light bulb? Whats interesting about it? Can I make it interesting? Who am I talking to?
When I photograph a person, you get to know certain lighting set ups and you typically fall back on them. Not that its bad. They work and you can make slight adjustments and create amazing work. Key light, fill, hair, rim,etc. However, photographing something that is 'not' what you usually photograph, again, causes you to think. Not 'how should I' light it, but 'how CAN I' light it. Your creative muscle is like any other muscle. You dont use it, it will atrophy. Our comfort zone doesnt teach us anything. We're not meant to get too comfortable. When you do, its a signal. GET UP! Its not so much about choosing a certain path, its about not standing still.
"Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. "