I love to think of photos as tiny snippets of my life. Slices ... moments captured forever by me & my camera. I think a passionate observer of life documents everything. The beautiful, the mundane, the simple, the funny ... and over time a collection of these snippets becomes this wonderful visual tale of you. It shows you who you are & what you love. It shows you what you care about in a way that's not unlike a gratitude journal or a diary.
I would say my photographs* are easily my most cherished things (cats, dogs, Prince's & Mlou's exempt) because my stream of photographs tells the tale of my life ... what's not to cherish about that?
Two photographers that I swoon over & admire tremendously are Susannah Conway & Jenna Park from Sweet Fine Day - both of them fantastic at capturing the snippets of their own lives. You don't need to have a fancy-pants camera to be a passionate observer - Susannah's recent book tour incredibly gorgeous photo stream was taken with her iphone (I think) - apparently the new iphone camera is incredible. Jealous - I'm not a cell phone girl & it would be a bit crazy to buy a cell phone for the camera & the access to instagram - but just saying ... camera envy - big time.
& a strap - the most important accessory for you the passionate observer
Because you'll want to carry your camera everywhere & all the time a great, comfortable, wide, long over the shoulder so-your-camera-sits-on-your-hip-at-the-side is essential. Trust me - no more hanging around your neck thumping on your chest - this kind of strap allows you to take most shots without removing the camera from your body - gives you maximum flexibility - and it's subtle, not obvious for those of us. The strap is the workhouse, the great protector of your tool. So find yourself a good strap. The strap I use now (removed from my beloved Madam O) is the strap that came on a messenger bag - kind of like this or this
Week 1 challenge - check out Susannah & Jenna's blogs & over the next week take lots of photos and by next Wednesday post a series of 10 snippets from your life ... from your week. Think of how the 10 photos you post will work as a series of photos. It could be 10 different views of one thing, or a series of vastly different images strung together. Experiment with how close you get to your subject & always look for beautiful light.
Thanks to all of you. I'm really excited to be venturing on our passionate observer's journey.
Remember leave a comment on the welcome post with a link to your blog and I'll add you to the link list in the sidebar of members & I'll try and figure out how to get the html for the passionate observers badge if you'd like to add it to your blog.
* check back to the early days of my photo blog and you'll see that my photos were very ho-hum in the beginning - the more you take photos the better you'll get and the sooner you'll discover your own unique vision.
Hi Susan
ReplyDeleteThanks for the birthday wishes and for asking about which handle I want to use. For now I would be happy to just have the name of my blog as my reference. Thanks! Can't wait to start. Nice intro challenge BTW.
Hi Susan
ReplyDeletePlease count me in for this exciting challenge. Can't wait to get started.
Val
http://fotofanaticct.blogspot.com/
Hi Susan,
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to spread the word....I posted about your photo challenge here:
http://sharleystudio.blogspot.ca/2012/07/a-passionate-observer.html
and I put a link to A Passionate Observer on facebook
Well I'm kind of nervous trying this since most of the pictures i take come out a blurry mess. I have to admit it has been easier using my iphone than the camera (Canon) so do you think I can use both for this challenge? I'd love to give this a try...and so admire your photos Susan. Thank you for putting up one from your beginnings...
ReplyDeletehooray ! Dalyce, Val, Sara & Karen - the more the merrier, the more inspiring & fun this adventure will be. Thanks also Sara for spreading the word & by the way your last Paws for Charity - Animal Shelter fundraising book is amazing - just beautiful - well done you !
ReplyDeleteEvery picture on your blog is like a chocolate sundae for my eyes.
ReplyDelete