Creative Exchange March 5 - 9

A quick little post for Creative Exchange.  I missed last week and wanted to make sure to participate this time.  Plus it's always fun to see where these journeys with photoshop layers can take you.

Snowdrops? In February? REALLY??

For this week's Creative Exchange...


I photographed snowdrops on Friday here on Long Island.

A very welcome sign of spring but...just tooooo early.



Does that mean it will be 110 degrees in May?

From the Latest Tour...

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know I am a HUGE Bruce Hornsby fan and I see him perform whenever I get the opportunity.  Fortunately for me, he tours a lot and usually does several shows within easy driving distance for me whenever he's on the road.  For the past several years, I've taken photos for him at the shows I plan to attend.  His office arranges for a photographers credential and I usually can move freely about the house throughout the performance to shoot. My images have been used in the packaging of his last three albums, including as the cover image on his Sony Playlist release.

Bruce is touring solo this spring and just did a series of appearances here in the north east.  In the past couple of weeks I've seen him three times...here on Long Island, outside Philadelphia, and in Princeton, NJ.  I'll never tire of seeing him.  He is constantly engaging himself in new projects and expanding his boundaries.  And while he still plays his older hits, they are ever evolving and always fresh.

Katherine Fisher Photography Week1

About a week has passed since I said "aloud" in this blog that I'm seriously thinking about starting a photography business.  One week in, and I don't feel like I've quite taken the definitive step that turns intention into action.  I'm close...so close.  I'm stuck at that point that is still safe.  The commitment is not yet made so I can still duck back into the shadows and pretend I never considered it.  I'll loathe myself if I make that move.  Here's where it all stands today.

Over the past couple of days I've become somewhat entrenched in self doubt.   I'm very fixated on "doing this right" and then things get completely overwhelming. I took a bunch of books out of the library and each turn of the page results in a list of things to think about that don't involve photography. Long and short term goals, target audiences, evaluating "the competition", taking inventory of skills and equipment, wants vs. needs, training and education options, professional associations, insurance, licensing, bookkeeping, portfolio development....ARGHHHHHH!

And I'm afraid to ignore any of it! I have a pile of books plus three notebooks divided up into topic sections and don't know where to start. I sit and read awhile, take notes, write down ideas, write down things I need to think about or learn, get overwhelmed, think to myself that what I should REALLY be doing is taking pictures, get up, walk around, get distracted and second guess everything.

THEN....I think about what it's going to like when I say out loud to Aaron that this is what I want to do. I can't image that he will be able to stop himself....the "advice" will come flowing like a river and it will be more discouraging than encouraging. My husband is a very smart man with a lot of business experience.  But when he communicates with me, whether it's about the house, or the kids or most anything....it's with an air that he is an authority.  It makes me feel stupid.  It makes me feel like giving up.   It's the way he rolls...he's always full of advice and "constructive" criticism.  He truly believes he's being supportive but it usually has the opposite effect.  I'm hesitant to seek his advice because once he gives it he expects you to follow it or "I told you so".  But if I want to do this, I have to come out of the closet with it. I can't keep it a secret from him once he gets home (he's been away the last couple of weeks). This part scares me shitless.

Something I was reading just talked about 'the point of no return'. The point where you KNOW you're taking the plunge and there's no turning back. The point where everyone knows you're going for it....and will be watching you, and evaluating how you're doing (whether they have a clue or not). I'm on the precipice of that point. It's SOOOO scary.
 
I'd liken this to preparing to jump out of a plane (which is something I have NO desire to do).  I'm anticipating (and dreading) the free fall. I need to get this part behind me.

Photo Art Friday ~ Kings Park

This week, the suggested theme for photo art friday is to use an "ugly" image.

Working with the intention to expand on the "ugliness" of an image invites a different approach to creativity.  So, it was an interesting exercise to say the least.  I took this picture through a broken window at the abandoned Kings Park Veterans Mental Hospital here on Long Island.  There are numerous buildings on the property (which ironically, is now a state park), but all the buildings have welded doors and boarded windows.  In a few places, the boards have been torn away and you can peek in at the decaying interior.  I would LOVE to get inside and snoop around but not at the risk of my health or of being arrested.

The hospital buildings are scheduled to be torn down soon.  It makes me sad really.  When I'm there, I can't help but think of all the lives....all the stories (many most likely horrific) that were housed within those walls.  I understand the draw photographers have to abandoned places.  These places invite us to attempt to summon up spirits and offer a thread of connection to times/places and circumstances that we can never know.  Fascinating really.  And ripe for the imagination to run wild.

Words of Wisdom from Ira Glass

I stumbled on this short message from Ira Glass today and wanted to preserve it as a reminder....a kick in the behind...when I have second (or third, or fourth) thoughts about my talent and my business potential.  Of course, in his case he's talking about story telling but it applies to all creative endeavors...photography included.


Ira Glass on Storytelling from David Shiyang Liu on Vimeo.

Creative Exchange February 22

This piece for this week's Creative Exchange is created with variations on a photo I took at the New York Botanical Garden.  One texture was blended with layers of modified versions of the original. 

When viewing the work of others, I'm often curious about the original image.  So here, I want to share the original, a mid point, and my final piece.  Working this way is a lot of fun, but it's complete trial and error....and I question if I could reproduce the effect.


Original (with adjustments to brightness, contrasts and sharpness)



Modified version to be blended with original (I LOVED this version and was tempted to stop here...but curiosity got the better of me)


The Final!