Fat & Happy
I also shot a short video clip of some of the ducks and geese...
Powered by ScribeFire.
The Swimmer
I don't get to cover swimming events too often, so I wanted to try to find something to add to my "Art of the Game" series at last night's event. I was watching the swimmers on the starting blocks and decided to try that approach for something artistic in the sporting event for this series. I'll be back in the basketball gym tonight and I will be looking for something else there as well.
I had a wrestling event on Wednesday and didn't see anything of particular interest. I'll have more opportunities at that sport before winter's end though...
Looking Deeper
I'm starting to get back into the groove of the photo-a-day project for 2008. When I first considered a project like this, I wasn't sure how to realize the benefit of doing it, but after I completed my first one, I found the benefits. Why would anyone want to force themselves to make a photo at least once a day for an entire year?
Most photographers aren't interested in raising the camera unless they see an immediate reward or great image resulting from the effort. It's almost as if we need to be able to visualize the finished image before we even make it. We often don't spend time exploring the harder-to-see ideas and themes that surround us. This is where a project like the photo-a-day idea can help us learn to see.
On a day where we have plenty of time to think about the image of the day, it's not as difficult. On other days where we are too busy to be bothered with making a photo, we have to work a little harder to get an image. There is one guarantee in this project theme. There will be days where you simply take some mundane photo for the sole purpose of meeting your commitment. Fortunately, there is nothing wrong with this. Those days can also be the most rewarding in the end. You may not produce a photo that you consider worthy of anything, but the simple fact is that you thought about it that day, as you will every day for the entire year. You will occasionally find yourself looking at the clock at 10 or 11pm and wondering what to do with your camera. Even if you don't make a photo that you are happy with in the end, you did spend time thinking about what to do. This is one of the main learning experiences in this type of project. It's not always about the images you produce. It's often about exercising the thought process instead. Learning to think about photography in a creative way every day is one of the long-term benefits of this project.
Cold Morning
I believe we have experienced our coldest morning of the winter season so far. It was 24 degrees this morning in Hickory, North Carolina. The water in the bird bath was frozen solid. According to the forecast, it's going to be down to 17 degrees tonight and tomorrow night. The highs won't get out of the 40s today or tomorrow, but Friday is supposed to see mid-40s during the day. I thought the above photo would be a good choice for my "Project 366" photo-a-day series. I shot this with my Olympus point and shoot camera.
I do shoot a lot of sports, and I have sports assignments for the next three nights, but I'm hoping to avoid sports as much as possible for the Project 366 photos. I'm sure there will be some days where I have no choice due to time constraints, but until then, I'm looking for inspiration outside of the sports arenas.
Don't forget to stop by my new photography discussion forum. It's free and open to the public!
The New Year
Greetings to everyone and Happy New Year! I hope everyone survived the holidays without eating too much and spending too much of that hard-earned cash. Personally, I did eat too much, but that's not so uncommon. Since I'm a poor student again, I didn't have much money to spend, so that wasn't a problem either. I didn't make any significant resolutions for the new year either. My ongoing resolution over the last few years is simply to have a good time whenever possible. I do the things I enjoy and don't let stress through the door too often.
I do have a few photography projects on tap for 2008. The image above is the first photo in my "Project 366" photo-a-day project for 2008. I did a photo-a-day project a while back, but it didn't start on January 1st and it wasn't on a leap year. I actually have an interesting idea as to what I'll do with these 366 photos at the end of the year also, so tune back in here on January 1st, 2009 to see that :)
My "Art of the Game" project for 2008 should also be fun. I don't know how many images I'll produce for that over the course of the year, but I'm hoping that I can get 25-30 nice shots for it. I need to look at sports in a different light, and I think this will help me do that.
My ongoing "1000 Faces" project hasn't received the proper attention lately either. I have 188 photos in that collection as of this post, but I plan to make an attempt to get that number up to at least 300 by the end of 2008.
The "My Town" project hasn't seen a lot of action recently either. This project becomes more difficult as time goes by, but it's designed to be an ongoing project with no particular end. Hopefully those images will be of more interest to someone long after I'm gone anyway.
Gordon McGregor has a project for 2008 that I'm excited about. He's thinking about publishing a book, or maybe even two. I enjoy reading Gordon's post and looking at his images. If he completes his book, I'll definitely get one. Gordon's insight is always interesting and very worthwhile.
Oh well... 2008 is here. It's Tuesday, and I don't have to go back to school until next Monday. I'm going to enjoy the rest of my time off and I'll see you around....
Happy 2008 :)