Picture Inspiration - Week 13

I have noticed a trend in my Picture Inspiration posts. I am starting to only post on the odd numbered weeks. The reasons for my oddly timed posted are either that I haven't been particularly inspired by the even week's assignment (that has happened) or that I am too busy during the even week to get a submission together. Whatever the reason, I hope I can at least keep up on these odd weeks.

So here we are for Week 13, "From the Ground Up". This week is again about perspective: what angle are you seeing things from? Ain't that what life's all about? If you change your perspective, issues and items look a bit differently than from your comfortable old standpoint. The assignment is to capture the world from way down low and see what it looks like from an ankle-high perspective.

I like to get down low for my images as you have seen before. Here are a few more where I asked myself, "How low can you go?"

This Foothills sunrise looks nice even for a snake in the grass.

I like the way the ladies (the flowers) seem to be thumbin' a ride down this East Tennessee mountain road.

Picture Inspiration - Week 11

Looking into the distance was the assignment this week. The prompt initially made me think of broad expanses and landscapes. I do some of that and you can see a few of them on my website. 

I looked in my recent archives for some newer shots that might qualify for this assignment. This shot was taken on a road I travel multiple times a day, shuttling the boys hither and yon. Late one February afternoon, I found the sun and clouds competing for bragging rights. I can't take credit for this beauty. While the image is SOOC (straight out of camera), nature was in full control of this one.

This next image is a fun shot I took while hiking the Grotto Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My hubby and sons hiked ahead while I was sidetracked by some interesting roots. As I looked up from the dirt, I spied them walking away. Perfection for me...close focus with some mystery in the background. My favorite.

The above image garnered a comment from my class instructor ("Fantastic perspective!"). This was a first for me. I don't know if she passes those out frequently as I haven't seen many of her comments on other assignments. But it could be like at my kids' schools where every child gets a "Character" award at some point during the year. Possibly, but I'll just continue to think that she just really likes this image.

And finally, I submitted this stunning yellow field that sits on the banks of the Shenandoah River near Luray, Virginia.

Gesundheit!

Picture Inspiration - Week 9

One of the fun things about photography is many times you actually get to be the proverbial fly on the wall. In documentary photography, your purpose is to capture scenes without impacting them. Take shots as the moments unfold. Week 9's assignment was to do just that. Conveniently for me, I had an event that week that would allow me to be a documentary photographer for a day. Here are my offerings from a live webcast recording on Knoxivi.com's Eleven O'Clock Rock daily web show featuring  Bo Weevil.

Of Course It's Pretty; It's a Flower

I love photography and I love looking at other's photographic work. Like most art forms, there are types of photography I like and types I do not like. But even for the ones I do not like, be it due to subject matter or style, I can usually find something positive about the work.

There is one subject matter however that I never fully appreciated. Florals. I have never been moved by photos of flowers. My response to an image of a flower was usually, "of course it's pretty. It's a flower." I did not take pictures of flowers for that same reason. You could say the same thing of course about landscapes or other naturally beautiful scenes. But flowers just seemed like too much of a "gimme" subject matter. Easy. Like taking a picture of a really photogenic person, you can always get a good shot.

But I must be changing. Over the past year, I have found increasing numbers of flower images in my work. This was not a conscious plan; it just happened. And I have found that it's not as easy as I thought to get a beautiful, dramatic image of something already perfect. It's difficult to capture that grace and poise digitally.

I see this as a challenge now and on a recent trip to the Great Smoky Mountains tried again and again to capture the dainty drama that is a mountain wildflower.

Crested Dwarf Iris

Canadian Violet

 Trillium

 

I'm not sure how much I succeeded in meeting the challenge, but all my trying made our hikes last longer.

 

Happy Earth Day

Good morning and Good Friday from these Smoky Mountain lovelies.

Picture Inspiration - Week 8

The assignment of the week was to look at the world through new eyes, new creative ones, and through that new view, make beauty or interest out of the seemingly nonsensical randomness that abounds in the world.  We humans leave our mark on the world wherever we go. I was not sure what I would find at the start of the week but felt sure someone would leave a mark for me that would fit well with this task.

Yesterday I was in a recording studio taking photos of a live internet broadcast session. I was taking a few shots from outside the booth when one of the employees at the studio said to me, "Sorry about the smudge on the glass. I never have any glass cleaner around when I think to clean it." On closer look, the "smudge" was actually lip prints, very heavily glossed lip prints, left by someone who clearly had affection for someone inside the booth. I snapped a shot of the random kiss and submitted it as my weekly assignment.

Mmmmwwwwwaaaaaah! Thank you Groupie Girl, whoever you are!

Picture Inspiration - Week 7

I'm cheating on my assignment this week. This is a crazy busy week so I have reached back into my archives for my submission rather than actually shooting something new. The assignment was a further study on capturing reflections but with the twist of not including the reflected object in the image composition. By excluding the reflected object, you can add a little mystery and surrealism to the shot. So here is what I found from 2009:

This is a reflection of a foot bridge and lamppost situated on our little hometown downtown water way. I inverted the image to make it work. I hope to create something new next week!