One of the accounts I follow is for Phottix Journal, which is a pretty cool site with a lot of good photography related stuff. Every Friday, they highlight a different photographer.  This week, it is me!  The photos they used with the post are ones that I would have not thought about choosing, but I really do like them together.  (One reason I am following and reading so many different sources is to expand my artistic talent, so I learned something from their selection).

Go check it out at http://journal.phottix.com/photog-friday/photog-friday-texas-sunflowers-don-harper/ and check the site out, it is pretty cool!

After college when I started shooting for the company I worked for, they did not want `artsy’ black and whites, they wanted event photos they could use for marketing, and I switched to shooting only color film, and then digital, and there I stayed.  I enjoy doing color a lot, and have tuned my eye to color, but I have found a few posts over the last few days which got me playing with black and white again, and I think I like it.  One site which had me spellbound for a while was the site of the famous portrait photographer Yousuf Karsh.  I think I will be playing with light and tones and shooting in black and white for a while.

Triumph

Snifter

Today, I noticed this:

Scott's tweet

Which pointed me over to Tasara Dawson’s Project 365 blog. In her first post, she talks about three things to do to improve your photography skills:

1. Take a picture every day for a year
2. Read a page from your camera manual every day for a year
3. Look at other peoples photos every day

The thought is to do every day, and you will be come better.  I am going to pull the manuals (I am thinking about keeping the e510 as well as theXsi) and start reading every day.  Want to join me?

Sitting Pretty

Filed under accidents lead to awesomeness sometimes.

The daughter woke me up early, and I noticed the sunrise, so I grabbed my camera, and we went outside. We talked a bit about what makes a sunrise so colorful.

This is straight out of the camera, only resized and the makers mark put on.

After work, I went to try to get some new pictures of one of my favorite churches in Downtown Houston (Christ Cathedral), but it was closed. While I was taking pictures of a bee in some flowers, two other photographers came up.  We got to talking a bit, and I described the church to them, as they were up from Corpus Christi.  One of them had decided that she wanted to be a professional photographer, and sat down, learned a bit, bought some gear, and opened shop up last year.  She says she is doing quite well with it now and is having the time of her life.

I think that today further illustrates the point I was trying to get across in my last post.

Some photos from today:

Day at the Beach

I have been doing a lot of reading recently.  Some books, and a lot of blogs.  Now, not all of the blogs I read are on the same subject, but I have been reading more photographers’ blogs recently.  I have meet a few local photographers, and follow some more on-line.

I have been trying to improve my craft by focusing on composition. From the feed back I have been getting, I think I am doing okay.

There has been a trend in some of the blog posts I have read which as gotten me thinking pretty hard. Not all of the posts are recent.  I recently was turned on to an Austin based photographer by the name of Kirk Tuck. His thoughts and insights on the method of photography has really struck a cord with me.

Some of the articles which have really gotten me to do some deep thinking about what I am as a photographer, and where I want to go include:

• Short Term Bleak. Long term unknowable. by Kirk Tuck
• How Many Of You Are Standing On The Dock? by Atlanta, GA based Zack Arias (a music photographer)
• Momentum :: What are you going to do with it? also by Zack Arias
• Raising Gatejumpers by Boston, MA based CC Chapman

I know the last one is about child rearing, but not really.  It also applies to me as an adult.

As another push in this direction, I am helping teach a class to a bunch of junior and high school students on how to make decisions.  The class this week revolved around goals and if the choices in any given decision supported your goals.  The homework from the class was to come up with a goal hierarchy.  The teacher (someone else who I respect his views a lot) was very surprised when I told him I did not have my goals mapped out.

What is the thread that is tying all of these things together?  Discovering your goals, recognizing them, mapping a path, and then follow your path to your goals.  This year, I have already starting working on some goals (getting in better shape, getting out of debt [car loans, credit cards, etc], simplifying my life, getting back to school), it is clear to me now that I need to stop and map it out.

My homework is due this weekend.  I have half a week to set it down, at least the first draft.  I know photography will be in there, but I am not sure how big of a part it will be.  I suspect it will be very large.

So, I needed to run to the store to get some sugar for coffee for our house guests.  I grab my camera as I walk out the door.  Doing my Project 365 has gotten me into the habit of alway trying to carry my camera.  And, it paid off.  As I went to my car, I was greeted by this view:

Balloon Over Garage

As I went to the store, I was able to get a few more shots:

Balloon in Air

Balloon in Flight

Balloon Riders

Up, Up, Up in the Balloon