New Things, New Photos

 Happy Valentine's Day! Can you believe it's already February? 2010 is moving full speed ahead!

I started 2010 off doing something I had been planning to do for years. After living in Southern California for umpteen years (with some of those years living in the city of Pasadena), I finally attended the Tournament of Roses Parade for the first time. And I even went back the next day to see the floats on display. So I'll be sharing some of my images though out this post.

New year, new things, so what will be new with you this year? What are your goals to improve your photography this year?  What are you going to do different this year to make you a better image maker? Take a photography class? Study some new books? Make a goal to study and then master an unfamiliar technique each month? Employ a photography mentor?

Each year, I make plans to keep my skills honed and updated by making sure I tackle something new, or work on an area that I can improve my skills in. This summer I'm going to spend a week at West Coast School of Professional Photography, where I'll be taking a course on Creativity and Art in photography. I've also  made the commitment to reacquaint myself with artists whose work I enjoy--John Singer Sargent, Renoir, Mary Cassatt. I'm going to also get the hang of the beta version I have of PhotoShop Lightroom 3, and take some classes to tweak my Corel Painter skills.

What are some of the things you can do to enhance your photo skills?  What are the things you'd like to be better at?  How about developing your creative eye--your ability to "see?" Okay, I'm just going to throw out a couple of things that I've seen other photographers do that surely will stretch one's creativity. 

Take a photo every day. And how about taking a photo of the same subject everyday.  There's a multimedia artist who started last July with a commitment to photograph or video clouds each day. And on the day there are no clouds, he will stretch to find something creative to photograph that day. You can check his progression at  Clouds 365 Project.

You can start today with a project of your own and post them daily on your blog. If a year sounds a bit much for you, make your own  commitment to photograph something everyday for a month, two months,  a quarter...whatever works for you.

I also came across a 365 day project on the site of fellow Christian Women Affiliate member and webinar hostess, Amy Bayliss. She is participating in a “Mommytography” project where the rules are to take an image a day of anything and post it on your blog. This is suppose to be a fun and inspirational exercise to get you out shooting and using your camera to learn new things. It does help to do something like this with others where you can share your images and it also puts in a bit of accountability. You can find out more information about that project at The Work of the Heart and Soul..

What photography books have you studied lately? My husband, the resident amateur photographer, recommends a few books he has found particularly  enlightening and helpful in his quest to improve his skills. A couple of titles: Perfect Exposure-The Professional Guide to Capturing Perfect Digital Photographs by Michael Freeman; Digital Landscape Photography by John and Barbara Gerlach. These, and many others, can be found at Focal Press.

Here's a couple of magazines you might find interesting.Photo District News has a free online edition  of their popular magazine at Photo District News. Another little gem that's online and free is at Photography BB.

The Amateur Photographer Group  on Christian Women take Root has a new moderator with Deanie, aka "CharlesAngel", so be sure to get in on the discussions there and share your snapshots . So there’s an eclectic blend of offerings for your photographic enjoyment. 

Also, the new Christian Women Affiliate is in full swing with oodles of things to take advantage of--one being the monthly webinars. And yours truly is hosting a  photography webinar, Finding your Photographic Voice, the 4th  Monday of the month, at 9pm EST.

The webinar is designed to help you discover your own photographic "voice", so the images that you create "say" what you want them to.  A variety of topics are covered--a little bit of photography history, a featured woman photographer with her own special niche, a technique, a handy gadget, and a photo  assignment.  

Here's a question for you. Do you ever have need for a plamp while shooting? Plamp? Yes so you can attach it to your tripod and hold something like a flower in just the place you want it. It is a handy gadget if you are a macro or nature photographer. 

Happy shooting as you conquer new things and new photos!