Another attempt at the corners assignment.

Shooting corners

An after-sun-has-set daily view.

A nightly scene.

As I mention every chance I get, Carol Leigh is my online photography teacher and mentor. Today I got to talk to her and feel so much better about my day.
Two pearls of wisdom from Carol:
1. What is important is becoming, not being.
2. Look for the effect, not the technique.

I got lucky yesterday. Carol left an instructional comment regarding a photo I posted yesterday. Here is what she said: Linda, regarding your “Tranquil Morning” photo, what if you were to crop in from the left until just before you reach the first tree? But there’s more: What if you were to crop DOWN from the top so that we don’t see the top “horizon line?” NOW your photo is all about a small strip of truncated trees up top and their elongated reflections below. Forget the bird — he looks a tad overexposed anyway. Do I sound harsh? You know I don’t mean to. To me, the artistry in your photo lies in the trees and their reflections, nothing more is necessary. — Carol “feeling overly simplistic this morning” Leigh

Hopefully, I cropped this photo below per her suggestions. I like the photo so much better. Thank you Carol. And, thank you for making time to talk.

Cropped version per Carol Leigh's suggestion.

This week’s Photomotivation assignment is Corners, paying attention to light and color.
Here are 3 photos I took today and posted in Carol’s Photomotivation online class Yahoo group.

Assignment: Corners 1

Assignment: Corners 2

Assignment: Corners 3

This week our Photomotivation assignment is Art for Art. We are asked to find a mural, someone else’s photo, a photo from our archives, etc., and look for and select out a special area to create our own art from a previously rendered work. Our teacher, Carol, emails out a 3 page pdf explaining what she wants us to do.

Hopefully these examples explain a lot better than I did, what I mean. Can you see where, in the original photo, I took my crop from?

Original photo of door.

Cropped photo of door.

Original llama photo.

Cropped llama.

Original sign.

Cropped sign. (Wish I'd seen this for the Faces in Unlikely places assignment.)

This week’s subject for the Photomotivation Class is Circles. I haven’t really been into shooting this assignment, but what I feel anymore is no longer a driving force.

So after the 1pm massage, and only one block away from El Paseo Dr in Palm Desert, I drove over to art filled El Paseo, parked, and walked about looking for some Circles.

Spotted this car next to me when I parked outside where I was going to get the massage. I took a couple of minutes before going in to Jessie’s and shot the next three photos.

First day shooting circles.

Same car.

Cloudy day gas cap shot.

Paseo Art.

A little complementary color.

This week’s Photomotivation assignment is Faces in Unlikely Places. I was having trouble seeing any faces. Mary Kay came over yesterday. I’d previously asked her to look out for Faces. Before MK left yesterday, she said that she’d seen eyes and a nose on the Museum a mile and a half away on Gerald Ford.

I decided to kill two birds with one stone and went for a different neighborhood exercise walk, outside our MHCC complex, on Gerald Ford. There it was, eyes and a nose as clear as day. I can’t believe I pass this Museum every day, many times a day, and never notice the eyes and nose in the photo I took below. Mary Kay, you get the credit, but I still posted the photo assignment in my class online group.

Children's Art Museum, Rancho Mirage, CA

On the way home from the walk, just inside our Mission Hills CC gate, I stopped to photograph some ducks. I looked up before leaving this spot and noticed this great reflection in the Arnold Palmer 4th hole lake. The time was about 3pm. I want to remember to go back there around this time again as I haven’t seen better reflection possibilities in some of the other golf course lakes. The angle I was shooting was 90 degrees south to the west sun.

Arnold Palmer 4th hole lake and green.

Yesterday I attended a one day long intensive off camera lighting intensive with Syl Arena. I’ve followed Syl’s blog called Pixsylated for about a year. I jumped at the chance to drive so close by and attend this workshop as I REALLY want to learn more about light and lighting.

I’ve been secretly drooling over, but way too scared to take one of, Joe McNally’s lighting workshops which would require lot’s of $$ and more time away from home. When I saw Syl’s Speedliter’s Intensive – Canon Flash Seminar in Phoenix listed on his blog, I didn’t hesitate. I signed right up.

I arrived at the seminar/workshop a little early and noticed Syl parked outside beginning to empty his car getting ready for his 12 registered attendees. I’d parked at the far end of the parking lot. I watched him unpacking. I was a little nervous and didn’t want him to see me there so early. You know, I didn’t want to give away how excited I was. Silly, I know. But that old idea that I don’t want you to know how I’m really feeling dies hard. ‘Cause if you know what I’m thinking, what I’m really feeling, I don’t have the upper hand or you can hurt me or something like that.

I did what I was not comfortable doing, walked over to Syl and introduced myself. I knew from the first words out of his mouth, he was the real deal, meaning, he is humble, confident, engaging and easy to be around. Entering the amazing converted photography studio called Legend City made me feel the adrenaline rush I live for when I’m first learning something new. I had arrived. A photography studio that I was actually going to learn/do some photography work in rather than visit. Wow.

I had a great day. I highly recommend attending one of Sly’s 14 remaining 2010 Speedlighter’s Intensive Lighting Workshops. Learned enough that I now feel comfortable to jump in and experiment with lighting equipment and practice, practice, practice.

Hopefully some of the many photos I took throughout the day shooting Sly and the other attendees will tell the tale of just how special the day was. I never know why I shoot people “doing” things, but I do. Shooting while the workshop was going on was no different. I do know one thing, I rarely get photos of me taken so maybe I project that other photographers rarely get photos of them taken. I also knew Legend City has a special meaning to Syl from childhood days, AND, this was Syl’s 1st of 15 Speedlite Intensives.

What I liked most about Syl and this seminar was how relaxed and available he was throughout the day. Being the least knowledgeable of the group, Syl’s ways helped me relax enough to hear and understand what he was teaching. He has a very fun and interesting, clear, and organized way of communicating. If a teacher is all over the place I tend to get lost.

I realized yesterday, that I am very comfortable shooting people; I actually like shooting people and, I also feel comfortable being shot. Maybe I’m onto something here. When I’m going through change, I never know where I’m headed until I’m more on the other side of the change. I wonder if this is one of those times.

Here is Syl.

Awww. Thanks so much Syl.

Everyone was interested, ALL day long.

Inside one area of the Legend City photography studio.

Ray and I decided to walk later in the day today around 4pm. I brought both cameras with me, the small Canon Powershot A650 and the Canon 40D fitted with a zoom 18-250. I really intended to stay with Ray on the walk. But I was looking for shots for this new 3 month Photomotivation Class that’s just started. It’s not really a class. Here’s what my teacher, Carol, says about this class: ” Every Monday for three months you’ll receive a different idea, with tips and suggestions and recommendations for shooting, as well as a bunch of photos to further explain the concept. It’s a mini-photo lesson, encouraging you to max out your seeing skills, with techniques and ideas that will stay with you the rest of your photographic life.”

Once I start looking for photos I lose track of everything, even where Ray is. I noticed Ray way up ahead on the street and almost caught up to him but just had to take another photo. In total I shot a little over a hundred today. Not far from home, while talking on the phone, my neighbor walked by in the opposite direction I was walking. I made a U turn, ended my call and joined her for a mile plus as I hadn’t really gotten any exercise in on my walk.

Ray called me while walking with my neighbor, (another Carol), and said he was worried about what had happened to me. When I got home he wasn’t happy and asked that when we say let’s go on a walk, we go on a walk…….together. Ooops.

I posted these and a few other photos from today’s walk on our Photomotivation class online yahoo group and thought I’d share a few with you here. Why don’t you think about signing up for this class? It’s only $39 for 3 months. Then we can compare what we shot.

This week’s subject to shoot is called the Pooch-Cam. We shoot photos from a dog’s eye perspective, holding or placing the camera near the ground while shooting.

Left Dennis Olgas Salon today and walked back in to take this photo.

Leaving the Salon this car caught my eye and I got down low for a Pooch-Cam shot.

Leaving our house for a walk, I tried to take this Pooch-Cam photo while Ray walked by.

On our walk tonight, before I got distracted taking photos and lagged behind Ray.

4:45ish and the sun is just about to drop below the mountains.

Shot taken with a flash, just before I met my neighbor Carol who was out walking. I joined her for another 1+miles.

I don’t know if other photographers feel like I do when I go back and look at older photos, but I have very few photos I like (not love) from this workshop I attended last Sept/Oct.

I didn’t get out to shoot today so I’m posting a few of the workshop photos.

I'd never seen a shaft of light like this before.

The Snake River.

A famous photo shoot barn area in Jackson I forgot the name of. I do know we got out to this photo location in the dark, early enough to beat the other photographers.

CRITIQUE: Linda Jeffers
GLASS ABSTRACTS

Abstract Glass

ABSTRACT GLASS
I like what you did here. You took (I’m assuming) a shot
of a piece of glass and, during the exposure, moved your
camera up and down. I’m also assuming that the
elements in your glass were vertical, and by moving
your camera up and down versus side to side you
emphasized that verticality.
This is akin to pointing your camera at a bunch of trees
and, during the exposure, moving your camera up,
down, or up and down. As a result, your photograph of
glass could easily be seen as a photograph of a grove of
trees. Either way, it’s very, very cool.

Although a lot of people don’t care for the look, this sort
of impressionistic photography is appealing to me, and
I’m looking forward to doing more of it this fall and
winter. I had not thought of applying the technique to glass, however, and so I thank you for the
inspiration.

I’m thinking that in your photo all the “good stuff” is over on the right 2/3 of the frame. When
we get over toward the left side, there’s not much there to hold our interest. So what if we were
to crop in a bit from the left? Here’s what I mean (right). See how
the line from front to back now looks cleaner? The composition is
tighter and simpler.

My teacher's, Carol Leigh, cropped example

It’s been great, Linda, having you as part of my classes (as well as
live and in person out in the field). You’ve jumped into
photography with all four feet and (despite what you may think)
you’ve come a long, long way. I love how you challenge yourself,
don’t like how you browbeat yourself, and love seeing you
continually improve. Wishing you much success with your
photography.
Carol Leigh
October 20, 2009