Monday, May 16, 2011

Scattered and Striving


First of all, thank you to everyone who sent me healing thoughts for my recent kidney stone attack.  I'm still not 100%, but trust me, I am feeling much, much better!  And I'm so sorry to hear that so many of you have experienced this kind of pain firsthand, it's no picnic that's for sure!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm always finding new things to interest me, and always taking on new challenges.  Sometimes it's a wonderful thing, but sometimes I think I drive the people around me crazy!  I do complete things that need to get done, but I'm always searching and looking for new creative outlets and opportunities.
 
Recently, while visiting the beautiful blog Brabourne Farm, I was confronted with some beautiful floral imagery, by talented artist Kathrin Longhurst, that immediately jumped out at me and made me want to try and re-create the look with photography.  The photo above is my interpretation of Kathrin's work only with a photograph.

If you visit Kathrin's site, you'll see that I fell WAY short, but it's not so much the "getting it" as it is in the study and stretching yourself to try new things.




The same thing is true for the photo above.  After visiting Delores at Vignette Design and reading her wonderful post on still life photography (check out her personal examples, they are gorgeous!), I was off in a different direction.

The concept of still life photography has always intrigued me.  I absolutely love photo realistic images, but if you've been visiting my blog for any length of time, or have checked out my fine art website, then you know that I also love to create images that make you wonder if they are a photo or a painting.

Again, my still life fell flat, and if you look at this website by photographer Paulette Tavormina, you'll totally get what I mean when I say I say that I wasn't even close to creating what I was after.  But sometimes that frustration of not getting it right is what keeps me going, what motivates me to try and try again.

When I started getting serious about photography, I thought, like with my blog, that I needed to pick a technique and stick with it, perfecting it as I went along.  The truth is that with EVERY photo you gain experience.  You learn about light, composition, color, and what draws the eye in.  

For me, photography is like walking into the most beautiful market in the world and taking in all of the sights and smells.  You would never visit the most beautiful market in the world and only visit the flower stall, or the spice merchant.  No, you would go from stall to stall and drink it all in...that my friends is my theory on photography.  Try it all, succeed at some of it, but keep striving to see the beauty in everything!

13 comments:

  1. Love that heavily processed first shot!

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  2. Hi Kat,
    I'm just catching up on my blog reading - sorry to hear that you've had been ill. Thankfully I've no idea how painful they are but I've heard so hope you feel better soon.
    I love your words of wisdom at the end of this post - I'm certainly finding that blogging open you up to so many new ideas all the time.
    ~Sam

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  3. That first shot is beautiful. We would have so much fun shopping!

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  4. Since a few months I have a new camera and I had lessons to learn more about all the posibilities....photography makes me happy!!

    Hugs, Ingrid

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  5. I love all your photographs Kat-they are you!!

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  6. You are so talented my friend! I accidentally get some great shots and it's always a surprise! It makes taking lots of photos worth it though! ♥

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  7. Best Wishes on your recovery - thanks for posting the photos!
    Linda

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  8. Photography is such a wonderful artform...I'm so inspired watching what you do with it!

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  9. you are really talented! I am adding you to my stop in and read your blog list..hope your are fully on the mend!
    ox

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  10. Just discovered you ... speedy recovery. Love that second shot. Took up the photo bug several months ago and have lots to learn from folks like yourself. Glad I found you.

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  11. I am so glad that you are feeling better Kat. These pictures are beautiful and your photography has been so wonderful to see and it is so exciting to see the places that it is taking you. You know what a fan I am of your photos and I am so happy that you have found something that you love and continue to grow in every day. :)

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  12. Kat,

    Sadly, I've been away from your Blog for too long and I'm sorry to hear about your kidney stone attack. I'm so glad you're doing better.
    I LOVE your photo of the Peony above. It is just beautiful!

    You always make my day so much better by sharing what you've captured through your lens and through your writings! You have such a gift girlie!

    XO,
    Laura

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  13. Your still life is just luscious Kat! Love the pop of red with the green rind amidst all those gorgeous creamy dreamy whites. And I think your theory about photography is right on. I'm glad you shared that with us, makes sense! xo ~Lili

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