An Idea to Break From a Creative Drought
It is no lie that I have been slacking lately in taking new photographs. While I have been spending a decent amount of time making some refinements to this site as well as placing a lot of focus on my Etsy shop, I have been at a creative standstill and I am not to sure why. It seems as if I go through cycles where I am either photographing a ton, or not at all.
Seeing as how I am in that “none at all” part of the cycle, it is time for some action. It it is my goal to take my camera everywhere I can with me this weekend and to take at least 1000 photographs by sunday night. For some of you, this may be a very easy task to accomplish. For others, like myself, this could be an opportunity to spend some long overdue quality time with your camera.
So, if you are in the same boat as me, sign on and take this little challenge. Dust off your camera, blow the dust of your sensor, and clean your favorite lenses. Take as many photographs as you can by Sunday night. Tomorrow evening I will share the favorites that I took this weekend here in a new post. I invite you to comment with a link to where we can see your galleries online.
Ok, no more typing. Time to grab my gear and to get to work!
Day 12 of Project 50
Earlier in the day @joshbobbitt on Twitter seemed perplexed as to what to shoot for his daily image. I suggested that he do some self portrait work, possibly working from different points of view.
I partially took my own advice. However, instead of working from different points of view, I got out my Nikon SB-600 and umbrella stand so that I could practice more with the Strobist lighting technique.
In doing take self portraits I have learned that you have to have a sense of humor about yourself. Clearly, I do. I may take a few barbs for this but I really like how it came out. Your feedback is always welcome.
Be sure to view other photographers’ progress in Project 50 over in the Flickr Group.
Day 11 of Project 50
I’l be honest, I was going to slack and not take an image for Project 50 tonight. That was, until I saw a tweet from @shutterbugcel on Twitter. She said, “… but better to take something than nothing at all”. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
With that in mind I took a look a walk around the house and noticed a collection of candles that I had pooled together from all over the house to facilitate the upcoming move (yes, some of them are a bit dusty but I like the texture). I like how this photograph came out. What do you think?
Be sure to view other photographers’ progress in Project 50 over in the Flickr Group.
Day 10 of Project 50
Ok, I know. It has been three days since my last Project 50 update.
I have a had a few irons in the fire over the weekend coordinating events to enable my wife and I to make a move in a few weeks so that we can adopt a puppy. Yes, there is a very good chance that this blog may be overrun with photographs of said puppy in the near future. I will do my best to control myself.
With several of the details sorted and items of furniture sold, I took a drive to Huntington Beach Pier this afternoon to spend some well overdue time with my D90. I took a bunch of great shots of a street performance group who call themselves the One Love Crew that I will posting tomorrow evening. But, for today, I was sure to not neglect my “nifty fifty” so that I could recommence with Project 50. Here is a shot of a wind vane that was for sale from a merchant on the pier.
Be sure to view other photographers’ progress in Project 50 over in the Flickr Group.
Day 9 of Project 50
I know, I know. This should be Day 10 of Project 50 and not Day 9. In all the excitement of last night, learning that I won the photo contest, I did not leave myself time to to work on the Project. I did, however, jump on the Project early this evening by clicking several shots of the agave plants that are in front of our house.
While skimming through the shots I felt like I wanted to do something a little different in my editing workflow. Once I selected the shot for Day 9, I desaturated the image and played around a bit with the contrast to transform the image to black and white. I really like the result. Hopefully you do as well.
Be sure to view other photographers’ progress in Project 50 over in the Flickr Group.
Day 8 of Project 50
I came home today after work to having the temperature 88 degrees in our house! 88 degrees at 5 p.m. on April 20th! After opening all the doors and windows I went for a seat on our front steps to cool off a bit and I was greeted by the community cat, C.C. C.C. isn’t ours, but she might as well be. Her days are spent on our front porch where she gets her meals, water, and affection. I felt particularly bad for her on such a hot day even offering her some fresh water with ice cubes. She didn’t seem that interested so I did the next logical thing. I grabbed my camera and took her photograph.
Be sure to view other photographers’ progress in Project 50 over in the Flickr Group.
