I forgot to mention… I’m taking Spring Break away from the computer! I’ll be back here next week with new and interesting photographs. See you then!
Archives for March 2013
Radiating Beauty
I love it when a plan comes together! When I captured this photograph of lotus flowers*, I knew immediately I wanted to do a painterly edit. No doubt this desire was influenced by my love of Monet’s water lily paintings!
So I was thrilled yesterday morning when I played with the image and came up with this final result. Perfect timing to share with Paint Party Friday too!
I love the way everything seems to radiate out from the grouping of flowers. There is an energy I feel when I look at it, even though the edit softens things up. It’s dynamic and yet beautiful at the same time.
* What flower I actually photographed seems to be up for debate. There is a difference between lotus and water lilies, but I don’t know enough to tell. All I know is the native Singaporeans I was with called these lotus. Does anyone know the answer? Here’s the original photo for more clarity.
One more parting note: I will be doing a giveaway of a space in my upcoming A Sense of Place online class in my email newsletter coming out this weekend. Be sure to sign up for the newsletter if you aren’t already a subscriber, so you can enter.
The Envelope Please…
The envelopes for the Liberate Your Art postcard swap are arriving in spades! I picked up the mail at my box after my Singapore trip and had a bag of mail. Yay for liberated art!
I’m not organized enough yet to tell you how many envelopes have arrived or anything like that. I’ve just started to “check in” the envelopes. I can share a couple of pretty envelopes with you, as a tantalizing swap tidbit.
Pretty flowers…
…and swirls are in the bunch.
I thought I would share what swap “check in” entails for each and every envelope…
1. Record where the envelope came from on my tally sheet for stat tracking
2. Open the envelope and verify it includes all items – 5 printed postcards with message, 6 stamps, 6 labels
3. Remove any extra items (such as postcards for me, notes, etc.)
4. If it’s an international envelope, match it up with swap payment via Paypal and send an email to confirm receipt
5. Rectify any simple problems (ex. missing a stamp? Add one from someone who sent extra) or set envelope aside if there are larger problems I can’t quickly resolve
6. Photograph one postcard for my later use
7. Replace the items for the swap into the envelope and place in the “ready to swap” box
I do all of this in advance to make swap day go more quickly. I’ve learned if I don’t “check in” the envelopes as they arrive, trying to sort through all of them and their various idiosyncrasies when it’s time to swap just adds hours to the swap day proceedings. I need everything to be correct and ready to swap on the big day.
It’s an interesting process to go through. It’s fun to open each envelope see what little surprises might be in store for me: The art on the envelopes, the hand written notes included. And of course, it’s amazing to see the art on the postcards themselves!
As much as I love unwrapping packages, I have discovered that while I love the thought put into the envelopes with the postcards carefully wrapped in tissue paper and tied up with string, I don’t love having to unwrap them times ten… twenty… or more. 🙂 So think about my “check in” process if you haven’t sent your swap envelope in yet, and avoid extra wrapping or packaging inside the envelope if you can. (And don’t feel guilty if you’ve already sent your envelope! Everything you sent was with the purpose of liberating your art in the best way possible – which is perfect.)
The most important thing? The art is arriving and the swap is happening! A few more weeks and all this art will be liberated back into the world. Isn’t that exciting?
An Expanding View of Place
I always like to think of growth as a spiral. I may come back to revisit topics and lessons, but each time from a slightly different point of view. Each trip around the spiral, I’m a step higher or to the left or the right, and everything looks a little bit different.
With my recent trip to Singapore, I had the opportunity to revisit my Sense of Place from a new point of view. After the dramatic shift in my photography over the last few months, using the iPhone 5 and exploring creative edits, mainly of trees, I wondered what would catch my eye. I took my regular dSLR travel kit along with the iPhone. Which camera would I use most? What would I want to capture – silhouettes of trees or bicycles and scooters? Would my Sense of Place be the same?
The answer: Yes, and No.
I discovered that what caught my eye in visiting this new-to-me international destination was much the same as what captured me across much of Europe. The textures of history, signs of cultural differences and interesting two-wheeled transportation. The same Sense of Place I’ve come to rely on in my exploration of the world and my photography. It’s what grounds me, no matter where I find myself.
But I also discovered that I saw something new… the interesting textures and shapes of the trees against the sky. Different trees… palms and mangroves and rain trees. Trees with leaves instead of bare branches. The natural beauty of the place captured me as much as the interesting urban environment.
My Sense of Place has expanded. What a powerful and joyous thing to realize.
I recognize now that I had been worried that my Sense of Place would diminish, without traveling as much as I used to. But the opposite has turned out to be true. Not doing as much international travel over the last couple of years has pushed me in new ways. I’ve expanded what I see. This has in turn affected my photography as I travel. I see differently. I see more. My style has expanded to encompass more than one point of view. Growth, artistic or otherwise, only happens when we are pushed outside of our comfort zone.
This experience was a humbling reminder of the spiral of growth I can embrace as I walk through life. I can fear the changes and try (ineffectively) to stay in the same place on the spiral, or I can rejoice in the change that comes from new experiences.
How wonderful to realize I can revisit “place” with an ever-expanding point of view.
The timing for this revelation couldn’t be more perfect, with my upcoming A Sense of Place workshop and online course offerings in April. Would you like to discover your Sense of Place? There are two great opportunities available:
- Join me April 13 in Las Vegas at Selah for the one-day A Sense of Place workshop. Â Great news! Spaces are still available and the registration fee has been reduced. In addition, if you join us for this one-day workshop you can take the 8-week online course for 50% off, a perfect companion course. Details will be provided after you register through Selah.
Reduced hotel rates have also been negotiated at El Cortez Hotel, right near Selah. Tower Rooms (either one king or two queen beds) are $77+tax/night with code SEL41213 and Cabana Suites (one king) are $88+tax/night with code SELCS41213. Call  800-634-6703 to make reservations.
- Join the 8-week online course, A Sense of Place, starting April 7. This course dives into the Photography of Place, helping you to discover your own approach to photographing places, whether close to home or far away. Exploring “place” is fundamental to my photography practice and I love to help others explore this topic too.
Under the Weather
This was the scene as I descended toward PDX airport on Saturday morning. Back to the clouds, back under the weather.
I’ve been under the weather figuratively since returning home too. I developed a cold on my trip home and I’ve spent the last three days in bed sleeping or laying on the couch watching movies. That’s about all I could muster the energy for.
I’m trying to get back to a normal routine today. There are photos to edit, postcards to pick up at the post office, errands to run and work to be done.
But maybe a nap first wouldn’t hurt.
Botanic Beauty
On Saturday morning I was up and out early to meet up with some other photographers in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. I had mentioned I was interested in photography at work, and was introduced to Kok Hing (in white, below) who arranged for an outing with some of his photography friends. They go out every Saturday to photograph different things, and this day it was macro bugs in the gardens. It was great fun to meet them and learn more about their photography. It made my trip that much more interesting.
Of course, for me it was trees. Turns out I enjoy photographing trees with leaves too. And the leaves themselves. And the flowers. It was all good! I would like to get back over to the gardens again before I leave, if I can. Maybe an early morning excursion is in order.
Enjoy a bit of the beauty of the gardens with me today!
As a side note, the iPhone is really a wonderful tool for travel photography and sharing. All of the images I’ve shared of the trip so far, and the blog posts, were all created with my iPhone. It’s a powerful tool and I’m finding it a great companion for travel along with my dSLR. I wouldn’t want to be without either one!
