by Kate
I have a confession to make:
I get bored. I mean, reeeeeally bored, reeeeeeally easily.
And I tend to get stir crazy (and irritated) when I'm forced to stay inside, either from illness or the weather.
Knock on wood, I've been pretty healthy so far this winter (although the last time we had a winter this horrible, I came down with a terrible case of pneumonia right when summer began, and I must admit that I sobbed on my husband's shoulder that evening after coming home from the emergency room. It just wasn't fair!), so why have I been so bored and "blech" feeling lately?
Because I've been taking photos of the same old things the same old way and photography wasn't exciting anymore. I needed to challenge myself, so I put on my Thinking Cap and made A List. This list consists of seven things that I want to achieve this year with my photography. Five of those are different techniques that I always thought were really, really cool, but never thought I'd be able to figure out, let alone make happen. I'll get to the last one in a minute.
The first technique I set out to learn was the "zoom effect". You can learn more about it here. I haven't even begun to master it, but it's a lot of fun. I plan on taking my son down to a near by trail this weekend (65 degrees and sunshine predicted! Glory be!!) and have him run towards me as I zoom the lens in and out. Should be quite the hysterical photo shoot.
Other things I want to learn and wrote down on The List are time lapse photography, light trails, mastering panning, photographing water droplets and getting more comfortable in front of the camera. The last thing on my list is volunteering my photography. I've signed up at our local animal shelter to photograph the animals that are up for adoption and those photos will be put in a nation wide adoption website called Pet Finder. I'm pretty excited to be joining the other volunteer photographers in doing this. The other volunteering I'll be doing will come in December, and it's the wonderful organization called Help Portrait. Both of these endeavours are totally out of my comfort zone, but I know that they will challenge me in the way that I need to be. I need a good kick in the pants sometimes to try something new.
So, on this Valentine's Day, ask yourself what you want to master, what is it that you want to sit back and say to yourself, "Yeah, I took that picture and it's a mighty damn fine one!" and then go do it. I guarantee you that the excitement and love will be re-kindled all over again.
Then go eat that box of chocolates, or better yet, take a self-portrait of you eating that box of chocolates! Come on, I dare ya!
Happy Valentines day, my sweethearts!
14 comments:
Great post, and yes to the chocolates!
Happy Valentines day to you! Trying new things is so much fun! It's part of the reason I love photography so much, there is always something new to learn! Yay for stepping out of your comfort zone AND helping others! I bet that will be the most rewarding part and I can't wait to hear and see it! Thanks for the inspiration! Now, let's all eat chocolate!
kuddos to you for trying something new! you've inspired me to look into a new technique! happy valentine's day. :)
Ok, now this is just the motivation I needed to hear! Thats great that you get to photograph the animals for pet finders! Great post and awesome photos, thanks for sharing!
Yes, I'm raising my hand here admitting that I tend to get stuck in a rut photographically but when I do break out of my comfort zone and try something new, it can be so much fun and so rewarding! Haven't tried that zoom technique but it's been something I've wanted to try. Thanks for the encouragement -- there's always something new to learn!
Love your self-portrait! I only wish I could jump that far! Making a list of things to explores is a wonderful idea. It does help to focus on something new and exciting like your zooming...that's amazing!
Yes, about this time of year, I tend to get weary of tulip photos and mug photo ... even though I love both. The zoom thing sounds so much fun. I'm going to check that out, it might be something I can experiment with next week when we're in Florida. And panning, yes, it sounds so easy but I've yet to get it nailed. Some great ideas and photos, Katie, thank you so much. And the self-portrait is awesome! Happy Valentine's Day!
I have definitely been stuck in a rut lately...this is some great motivation to make my own list!
So agree about the rut thing have a fun weekend.
Oh boy yes, to the photography rut....if it wasn't for my recent trip to Arizona I would be in the proverbial toilet right now. And I think that is just wonderful that you are volunteering your photography skills for such worthy causes. You have inspired me to look into these avenues. There are so many pet adopt places here that maybe I can find one that needs a photographer.
That's one of the things I love photography for - there is always something new to learn, or to improve upon. Photography rut - oh yes. And that's not good when I'm doing a 365 project. :/ But I'm trying to use this time to catch up on some of the many photography books I've got and have never read yet. Good luck with your new adventures!
I get really bored easily too. A list of goals is a great thing.
I'm just beginning my photography journey and need to learn so much. It's nice to have this blog for motivation. We're still deep in snow so I envy that you are able to get outdoors to try some shots.
Love it when we encourage each other to learn and grow!
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