1. My colors are strong, saturated, many times primary, and I nearly always use the contrast tool. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we have dreary winters. I like to show that, because I think it is beautiful, if sometimes depressing. So much of my winter work is pretty neutral. Our home is very neutral to go with our environment. But I crave color.
2. I find my subjects either in the beautiful countryside that I live, or in a love of produce or flowers in the summer. I like domestic scenes. I love to drive the fields in all times of the year and I take many photos of the bay outside my window. I take many pictures of old building and barns. Produce and the kitchen provides endless subjects for me. I photograph where I am: Costco, in a Foreign country, a restaurant. I try to remember that it is not so much what you photograph, but how you do it.
3. I am embarrassed to say that I shoot lots of photos from a car as my husband drives. There are many times we can not pull over to the side. I like to fill a frame. And I do it one way or another. I can not tell you what my two lenses are. But I like to shoot in both the lower and upper f. stops
4. I notice that many of my pictures have circles, and the rest are straight lines. All my life I have liked stripes and I sometimes make of composition of stripes in the landscape. I like texture, but only under certain conditions. As I child I did not like crayons because I could not make them smooth. I shoot head on. I know this is a no-no, and maybe someone can change my mind. For me it is part of honesty, which I can not verbalize.
5. I shoot simple subjects, not much fancy. I am forcing myself to look at a subject and say, "what is important here." My word for the year is HEART and I chose it for many reasons, one of which in my photography;I want to capture the heart of the matter or subject.
What deep insights you've shared here! I need to start digging even deeper into myself. I love color, but why? Maybe it is also because of the gray PNW.
ReplyDeleteI also love shots from the car! We call it "renegade photography" - we always feel like we're stealing something in our getaway car!! I love the identification of "domestic" scenes - sounds for you home might be where the heart is!
ReplyDeleteYay! You have really done a great job of defining and owning your style, I love the way you have written this. And I want to comment - there are no "no-no's" in photography, and there is nothing wrong with shooting from a car. You get to define the rules that define your photography! In the next class in the series we'll explore this a bit more. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you have come away from this exercise with so much knowledge that will guide you going forward. And I completely agree with Kat - we don't need to apologize for the whys or whats or hows of our photographic loves.
ReplyDeleteVery well written and reasoned. Sounds like you got some real insights into your style. I love bright colors too. They just make me happy! Your tomato still life is lovely!
ReplyDeletegreat comments & food for thought!
ReplyDeleteI love taking pictures of items in the markets when we travel... I got a nasty comment once ~ at the Portobello Market in Nottinghill (London). AND, I was even going to buy something from that vendor. It's made me a bit camera-shy!
I like the subtleness of the light playing in the background of this photo!
You have put some thought into what and why you shoot your photographs...I love the way you have analyzed your own work. And I love the picture as I, also, LOVE intense color. You are doing all the right things...Smiles: Sharon
ReplyDeleteWow, you seemed to have analyzed your photos so well! Love the picture you posted, love the color and the light!
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