So I was out and about this fine day after a rash of rain and wind storms that left some great clouds all over the valley.  Me being me I couldn’t resist, grabbed the cameras and was out the door for some fun and relaxation.

First on the drive today was a boat that I am pretty sure hasn’t seen water in a very long time.  Funny thing as I was shooting the theme from Gilligan’s Island started going through my head.  As you can see Spring is almost here (which sucks) but the flowers really are starting to look nice.  Not too many varieties have blossomed yet, but give it a week and I bet you there will be flowers on this blog.

This shot I have to say is one that I have been wanting for  a while but never went and shot it.  A couple of reason for that but after reading Mark’s posting the other day about Turning a Miss into a Make.  I didn’t want to miss the opportunity this time so I got out the big glass so i could take the shot, fearing that if I didn’t do it, sooner or later that truck would be going.

The Sun started to go behind more clouds giving the appearance of almost being sunset.  On my way back to the house I was looking in my Side view mirror (since that got me my shot for the Life at 50 project for this past week)  as saw this big backlit windmill spinning.  Finished in Silver Efex Pro for more dramatic look.

Good Times

Windmill and Boat Captured with 1D Mark IIN 70-200f2.8 on Lexar digital film

Truck Captured with 70-200f2.8 with 1.4X extender on Lexar digital film

So Ray, Jeff, and Mark have been posting some amazing portraits over the past couple of weeks, and I just couldn’t help but take Ray’s advice and hop on the bandwagon with a quick image I shot the other day.  As well from Ray’s post I got to check out Sabrina Henry’s site, amazing work, go check it out.

This could almost fall into the Life at 50 project since it was taken with my 20D and the 50f1.8, but I thought it looked better over here.

So it has been an interesting week to say the least (Starting since last Saturday Night).  So far I found a guy in Brazil stealing my images and claiming them as his own on a Flickr account (Thanks to my good friend Ray Ketcham for the advice on how to deal with that) and I have been having a stream of comment spammers hit my site hard this week which has been causing some issues, along with a slew of trolls that for some reason have started a hate Josh movement.  Thank goodness for comment monitoring

So like the title says this is going to be a Soapbox standing post that I hope will help others and try to shine some rays of hope on Dick and Jane photog who are questioning continuing with this amazing art because they were given harsh news. 

Figured out what this post is about yet???  Well to sum it up, it is about critics.  There is a saying out there that “Everyone is a critic”, and that is a true statement.  In the world of photography it is no different.  You have people that love your work, people who think it’s OK, and others who may want to use it as toilet paper once printed.  You have to understand that once you put your art out there in the public eye it is open to review by anyone, so be prepared for what comes. 

When I was starting out in photography one thing I had to learn (and it took a long time) is that there is always going to be someone out there who may not like your stuff.  Your work can be raved about in articles, galleries, etc.  but there is always that chance that there may be a comment made that is not favorable and may make you question your own work. 

So what do you do about it ???  Simple answer, Nothing.  You just need to roll with it and let it go.  If you don’t your art will suffer for it.  And that is why I wanted to post this. 

A lot of folks have emailed me saying that so and so said that my image is horrible and it lacks this or that, and now they are questioning photography and staying with it.  My response to this is “who cares what they say”  if your photograph makes you happy then to heck with what others say, every person you talk to will have a different opinion of your image.  You have to have a thick skin when it comes to this, and it is because of emotional bonds.    I have blogged in the past how photography is about emotion.  The whole art of photography revolves around it.  There’s the emotion you have when you take a photo, seeing it printed the first time, having the joy when someone wants to buy the image because you captured them on some emotional level that makes them want to have it as well.  It is those emotional bonds that can make it hard to swallow when you hear someone say something that you perceive as negative.  The thing is you can’t let this get to you.  If you do then it will effect your art, and your love for photography. 

I am not going to lie this had happened to me a few times and it is not easy to shake, you question your photographic eye, the way you take your images, and the way you finish them.   However, you have to find a way to push through it.  It is different for everyone, and you have to find your niche, but keep shooting and enjoy this art.  Don’t let what one person said on a comment posting, review, or just even on the street sway you from your passion.  It is your love of photography that drives you to make images and nothing and no one should ever take that away from you. 

So in closing:   Eat, Shoot, and Be merry for tomorrow is another day and another opportunity to make amazing images. 

[Stepping off Soapbox now]

So, I had a lot going on today and was slammed for time for the entire day, and while I type this I should be getting ready for a dinner party.  It is not a black tie affair so it will take me a few minutes to get ready (Jeans, they’re good thing).  This week I was downtown for a few things and got some shots in for my Life at 50mm Project in while I was there.  But I wanted to go back because there were some shots I saw that I couldn’t grab earlier in the week.  So I adjusted my schedule and gave myself 45 minutes of shooting today.

So while I couldn’t get in a whole lot of time in shooting I did come away with some fun stuff.  The main goal was to focus on shapes and lines for this quick project.  Here a few of what I captured…

For 45 minutes it was a good time…

So following with the theme of the last post about taking the time to stop and take a look at the world around you.  This post is more about, don’t think to yourself that just because you have only a few minutes to shoot that you can’t get some great and fun images.  If you don’t get to shoot you will never know what you are capable of…

If you went to Photoshop World in Vegas at the end of last year and made it to the Art of Digital Photography Panel you would have got to have seen the Master of Self Projects Joe Glyda do an amazing photo slide show based on just “looking up.”  Seeing what is above you because sometimes you are so busy looking straight ahead that you miss the world going on around you.

So while I was in New Mexico, I decided to take a bit of time and look down.  While I didn’t find as much as I would have liked I did find a few things that were fun to shoot.

First up with this old water meter cover that while it didn’t do anything for me in color worked created with a bit of Silver Efex Pro’s Holga filter added, with a few modifications of my own thrown in.

The 2nd, and slightly more odd is this old set of can opener keys from (at least what I can figure) is the remnants of an old sardine can that was laying on the porch floor boards of an old house.

So while I didn’t find much on my little self project in New Mexico I leave you with this thought.  Make sure you take time to really see what is going on around you in the world.  You may pass by the photo of a life time if you don’t stop and take a look around.  With our busy lives these days it isn’t always an easy thing to do, but I encourage you to try…

Images Captured with 1D Mark IIN 16-35f2.8 on Lexar digital film