Clarifying your craft...

Clarifying your Craft was exercise #2 in Chris Orwig's book, People Pictures. The exercise was to Celebrate, Collect, and Critique.
I wish I had more time to spend on this exercise because it was interesting.  To celebrate we were to do something we enjoy such as visiting a library to look at books, go to a museum to see the range of art, or something to enjoy your craft and be inspired.  Something I do on a regular basis is go to the book store and gather up a pile of books and magazines, grab a coffee and go into my "zone".  I become completely immersed in photographs and different forms of art.  I love that.
The next part of the exercise was to spend 45 minutes going through magazines and collect examples of the photographs that speak to you.  I have not joined the Pinterest craze yet but that's a great way to gather examples of inspiration.   I did it the old fashioned way with scissors and glue.  I have always been a still life photographer who also enjoys photographing people  so I am drawn to pictures that revolve around detail whether it a still or a person.
The last part of the exercise was critiquing photographs and deciding what makes a "people picture" good.  We were to come up with out own definition.  After giving this quite a bit of thought I've decided that my quote is...


A good people picture speaks to me... it says "pull up a chair, grab a coffee, and stay awhile".  I tend to linger over a great photograph.  This is an ever evolving process.  It can be frustrating as well as joyful.  The journey is the best part.
Please stop by and visit the other women who are joining me on this journey.  We love comments so please share your thoughts on the exercises.

Binkies and Noseprints Photography-- http://binkiesandnoseprints.blogspot.com/
Group -- http://dc2011women.blogspot.com/
Claudia Muir Photography-- http://claudiamuirphotography.com/
Greta S Garcia -- http://gsgphotography.wordpress.com/
Elaine Janet Photography– http://elainejanet.com/
The New Diplomats Wife-- http://thenewdiplomatswife.blogspot.com/ 
What Eyes See Daily -- http://whateyesseedaily.blogspot.com

Anyone in the group without blogs will post their results in the Group blog! 

Challenge....

I love all photography and have always felt comfortable with still shots.  I enjoy looking for small details, beauty in the ordinary, or setting something up.  I enjoy photographing people but I don't do it as often.  I decided to join a wonderful group of photographers in a project based on the 30 exercises from People Pictures by Chris Orwig.  It is a wonderful book with great ideas to challenge yourself.  We will post our pics on our blogs at the end of each week and I will put a list of the other blogs at the bottom of the post so if you are interested you can see the results from each week.  It should be fun so please follow along and do post comments as we are always looking for good feedback
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The first exercise was to take an authentic portrait using minimal gear, shooting in manual, manual focus, natural light, and just 10 mins. or so.
My husband and I were walking our dog in the woods and I had him stop and sit on this rock.  Anyone that knows him knows that he is the happiest hiking in the woods or freezing in snow.  The only processing I did was crop and change to black and white.
To see the other results of this weeks challenge check out the list below.

Leslie Chang -- http://binkiesandnoseprints.blogspot.com/
Group -- http://dc2011women.blogspot.com/
Claudia Muir -- http://claudiamuirphotography.com/
Greta Soechting Garcia -- http://gsgphotography.wordpress.com/
Elaine Janet – http://elainejanet.com/
Ania Krasniewska -- http://thenewdiplomatswife.blogspot.com/ 
Lizzy Slade (not on Facebook) -- http://whateyesseedaily.blogspot.com

Anyone in the group without blogs will post their results in the Group blog!


A little bit of love....

I would like to share a little bit of love with everyone for this month...the month of LOVE.  If you would like to purchase a print from my shop this month I would like to thank you with two of my cards.  One for yourself and one to give away. (or not!).  If this sounds like something you would like then leave me a message when checking out as to which photographs you would like on each card.  They can be two the same or different.