|
Thursday, June 26, 2008
 |
Self-Portraiture
Category: Art and Photography
Its strange how I love to take pictures of other people, especially the ones who are timid or shy about it or don't like pictures of themselves. And yet . . . I hate being in front of the camera! When I was younger, I could have argued that it was my shyness. (I really was then, painfully so.) But I am older now and that is not as honest an answer as it used to be. Whereas I feel like I can see the beauty in others, I find it harder to see it in the mirror. Age old story, right? Not exactly. I go back and forth. Sometimes what I see is rugged handsomeness and other times I just rugged trollness. Guess it depends on my mood. Anyways, it keeps me leery of being in front of the camera too often. Which makes it all the more surprising that I chose to do a series of shots using moi as the subject. It just struck me one day. I really like black and white images so I felt that to be a must for my shots. The old wheels starting turning. "I'll set up some shots and pose myself, yeah that's the ticket . . ." And before I knew it I was moving furniture, setting up shots, setting timers and capturing images. And you . . . you lucky people you, get to partake of my efforts. Enjoy. 
 
1:02 AM
-
4 Comments - 2 Kudos
- Add Comment
|
|
|
|
Thursday, May 29, 2008
|
Science Fiction anyone?
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities
I came across this item in a comic book forum I frequent called HeroTalk. A young film school graduate by the name of Donovan Vim Crony has drafted a concept for a new science fiction universe. There's drama, intrigue, aliens, futuristic gadgets, rock music, etc. One of the things that sets this story apart from so many of the rest is that the protagonists in this tale are all black. In my opinion, its not a politically or racially motivated decision. He, like so many of us, merely want to see a sci-fiction story on screen in which the heroine/hero reminds him of what he sees in the mirror. Someone who is seen not as the sidekick, not as some ancillary character, nor as comic relief but the one who drives the story and makes the story work. Below is a link to his webcast in which he gives you the breakdown of his concept and you get to see some of his conceptual images. He is also looking for collaborators so if you are interested, he gives you a multitude of ways to get in touch with him. Check it out.
STELLAR FATE: The Eyes of Yuen
http://www.stellarfate.com
10:32 AM
-
0 Comments - 0 Kudos
- Add Comment
|
|
|
|
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
|
The Difference Between Adequacy and True Creativity
Category: Art and Photography
First, from the outset, I must qualify everything I am about to say with "in my experience". This is MY blog, hence MY interpretations. Other people experiences and knowledge might lead them to different conclusions.
Taking photographs to me is a deliberate act of creativity. However, I don't think every shot taken is a creative masterpiece and they don't have to be. Some are taken for a specific purpose which is not to be creative but to capture a specific object or scene for informative or commercial purposes. That is not to say that images taken for those purposes can't be creative, just that they are not always are.
Case in point:
 
In my opinion, these images are technically adequate. Good lighting. Good contrast. Color is good. Composition adequate. Framing adequate. Overall, good images. However, I feel like they are merely means to an end. To me, they lack a certain emotional element that I feel is a necessity for to be considered creative. Is there a story being told? Does the image evoke feelings? Does it peak the viewer's curiosity? Or does it merely fulfill its intended purpose of chronicling a local event?
Do I like my images? Of course, I do. They serve their purpose as well as any image that I have taken in the name of creativity.
Thanks Rose for the subject idea.
7:57 AM
-
0 Comments - 0 Kudos
- Add Comment
|
|
|
|
Monday, January 28, 2008
|
MyCreative featuring: Nostalgic
Just about everything around us oftentimes stimulate old memory or another. The rusted bike reminds us of the one we had as a kid. The basketball court full of kids reminds of our own bygone court days. Its called nostalgia. If you are not old enough yet to feel nostalgic about anything then this blog probably won't mean anything to you other than maybe the quality in the shot. And that's cool. Nostalgia is fairly individualistic. Certain things mean certain things to you and you only.
This particular shot was taken for the simple fact that it made me remember. Not anything specific, just a general time and place. It made me remember a more innocent, naive time. The older you get, the more things change. Buildings are built, grow old and are torn down. Babies are born, grow up and move on. Appearances change. Styles change. Everything changes. And a lot of times the only thing left of what you knew are the memories that you keep. Once those are gone, its like it never existed. Lesson? Enjoy what you have while you have it.
I chose to do this one in black and white to emphasize the "in the past" theme. Neon was and is rampant but it was new then and a lot of businesses used it. They tried to out-neon each other. LOL! I chose a slightly angular pose and close cropping to put more emphasis on my subject. The clear sky behind it offered a great background without a lot of visual clutter. I took the time to find the right angle to get as much extraneous stuff out of the shot as possible. Not being a very cloudy day was just luck of the draw. Although I don't think a few clouds would have messed up the shot. Might have added a little interesting texture.
3:40 PM
-
2 Comments - 2 Kudos
- Add Comment
|
|
|
|
Thursday, January 24, 2008
|
Dusk
Category: Art and Photography
Sunsets make for some of the most beautiful imagery in the world. I didn't do too well in science class so I can't regale you with the scientific complexities of light refraction, color spectrums, and so forth that would explain the phenomenon known as dusk but suffice it to say whatever it is, it really works well.
This particular shot was a spontaneous one. Lucky for me I have taken to the habit of carrying my camera with me just about wherever I go. That's the thing about photography, sometimes opportunities just present themselves and either you are ready or you just miss it. I chose this particular section of sky because of the feather nature of the clouds and the gradient like color fade from blue to yellow. There is a soft texture also to the image which I find appealing. Since it is late in the evening, the majority of the visual clutter that would . . . clutter the image is mostly obscured by the dark, also giving the image a stark contrast between the dark of the hill area versus the colorful sky.
Given the opportunity to take the image again, the only thing I can see doing different is to have a telephoto lens so that I could get a better shot of the texture in the clouds. Que sera, sera . . .
7:39 PM
-
5 Comments - 4 Kudos
- Add Comment
|
|
