Saturday, January 30, 2010

My Own Photographic Bucket List


I enjoy many various online photographic communities, and one article in particular caught my eye the other day over at the DPS (Digital Photography School )website. The author had been inspired during the arrival of the new year to create his own personal bucket list.... of shots and images he`s always wanted to capture as a photographer. And he challenged his readers to do the same. I thought, `what a brilliant idea!!!`


Now a valid point was made that these may not all be attainable right now, or even in a lifetime but that in making the list, you discover something new about your photography, and obviously something about yourself as well. So I figured I would post mine here... and perhaps I`ll even be able to tick a few off the list during the coming year and post some examples, or explain my trials and errors.


So here they are, in no particular order. If you love photography, and love a challenge, or love to dream, then I encourage you to make your own list of shots you`d love to conquer before you (ahem) kick the ol`bucket.

1) Macro shot of a rain-soaked spider`s web. (I realize this has been seen many a time, but every time I see an image of one, I realize just how intricate and beautiful nature can be)

2) Street photography in New York City. (This one is certainly attainable, and I`ve been dying to do this for some time)

3) Capture a Hot Air Balloon Festival on a clear day.

4) Snow falling on an old dark lamp lit street... preferably one lined with cafes and pubs... almost impressionistic perhaps.

5) A time exposure of a breezy wildflower field and old ruins.

6) Dump or wrecking yard series (inspired by photographic genius Ed Burtynsky).

7) Fog rising over a pond at sunrise. This would imply that I need to actually get out of bed before 10:00 am. HA. Hey... it could happen!

8) A Festival in Rome or Venice. The color and energy in a photograph like that would be brilliant I think.

9) A killer harvest moon shot! ..... Enough said!

10) A sunset over a Scottish Moore. No special gear required per se, except perhaps an excellent tinted filter to make the color pop.

11) One fabulous still life composition. I have yet to decide on the perfect lighting and subject matter without it looking like your typical still life shot. Gotta keep thinking about this!


So there you have it! I hope this inspires you to create your own list, and then to strive for it heartily. Chow for now folks!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010


Just when you think it's foolish to press on, the answer always arrives. This was my own life lesson over the last few days.

Even the most confident person has days or seasons where they begin to doubt themselves, questioning whether they should change direction, persevere, or admit defeat. Call it what you will, the "dry spell", the "rough patch", or "hitting rock bottom"... it all serves to make us question our visions, and goals, and dreams unfortunately. The key is often to simply keep going. And no, it's not as easy as it sounds. Trust me.

I've been very critical of my own work over the last little while, and was beginning to wonder if my photography was ever going to do anything more than look pretty on a website. So much so that I wasn't sure some days if I should continue! I felt restless and doubtful.

I'm glad I listened to the small still voice within that reminded me that results aren't the focus, (pardon the photog humour) but the journey my photography and I will make.

So I changed my attitude, ignored the doubts..... and got out there with my camera! Subject matter, locations, perfect images were not my priority. Instead, it was enjoying learning, gaining wisdom from mistakes, and not letting the experience go to waste! Then passionately sharing it with everyone I came in contact with.... you included :-)

And low and behold, not only did I thoroughly enjoy shooting whatever subject came my way, but was suddenly approached by two separate businesses to showcase my images, and was commissioned to work for 6 months producing images of our great city as well! An answer to all my hard work.

This lesson has TRULY humbled me. I was reminded that I've come too far to just give up on something I so enjoy. And that really, even if my photography was just for me, I'd still do it! Because big results are really just the icing on the cake!

What ever it is you love.... art, woodworking, writing, sports, music... do it for you. Eventually the rest will follow.

Thanks for letting me ramble on,

Have a good one!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010



Good morning readers and welcome to my new stomping grounds in blog land! For those of you who don't know me, I'm just your average blogger who is very passionate about photography. So I've decided to make public all my journaling on the subject and the photographic process, and hope that you'll follow along with me.
For those of you that DO know me, let's just say I hope I'm far more eloquent in cyberspace than I am in real life! (how am I doin' so far???) Ha.

2010 promises to be an exciting year, I can tell you that! You'll hear everything from how well my first exhibit proposal and showing went, to how in the world I managed to drop my Nikon "in the john" or something equally embarrassing I'm sure.

I know there will be days I'll blather on about a new photographer I've discovered, lighting experiments that bombed, or times I'll vent about virtually nothing in particular.... but rest assured it will be photography related somehow.

In fact, I read a quote the other day that said, "We make the mistake of thinking the act of taking a photograph comes down to a single instant or click of the shutter! But truly, a single successful instant caught in the lens is always the culmination of thousands of skill-honing moments, hundreds of internal debates, and the overwhelming influences of every photographer that blazed the trail before that moment. The photographer that knows this, packs everything they can into that instant." - Anonymous

So I hope you'll stay tuned to see me post some of my favorite "photog instances", and at the end of the year I hope to not only have a fun and interesting blog, but a collection of new photographs and insights shaped by so much more than luck or coincidence!

And if this sort of dialogue & photography isn't your cup of tea, you can always just turn me off and finish that pile of laundry we all know you find soooo riveting, or head outside to rotate your tires... again :-)




Have a good one!