Looking Upward and Onward

Happy Thursday to you all out there in cyberland. I hope you are doing well and are finding some fun and creative things to do with yourselves. I have been immersed in a photography class in the later half of the summer. It has been fun and very challenging thus far. But, well worth the time and effort. One thing I like about these classes is I am challenged to think and find new ways of looking at the world around me. As a budding photographer/artist I am still trying to find my voice or vision so to speak. It is in moments of sheer exhaustion that I realize some nice little insights. Since I started down this rabbit hole of photography, I have been in a big rush. To where you might ask? Well, it is one of those strange things I seem to get myself into. In the back of my mind I hear this voice saying,"Hurry up and develop your style. You need to get noticed and start that career of yours". So, I put a lot of pressure on myself to make everything count as if my artistic career depended upon it. Ultimately this creates many stumbling blocks, procrastination's and feelings of defeat.

Now that I am aware of this self sabotaging process I can better manage it. Looking at each class, each lesson and each day I am out shooting images I am creating myself. The thing is I am now telling this voice relax. It's OK we will find our voice. Perhaps the best part is the learning of new things, processes and techniques. I feel as if I just opened this great big toy box filled with all sorts of possibilities. I am not too old to start over or to reinvent myself. That in and of itself is a big challenge.

About this set of images. This weeks class was about looking up and how we can interpret that idea. I literally looked up in most cases. So, I chose a few examples to give you the idea. The first image is one I took on one of my walks home from my studio. It was a nice cool day with a bit of sun. There are a few interesting landmarks along the way and this sign really struck me as odd and fun at the same time. I chose to treat it as a black and white image to give it more of a fine art feeling.

The next image above is one I took while our class walked to a local gallery/coffee shop to see the current show. I loved how warm the light was falling on this little church. Though I am not particularly religious oriented, I love old churches for some reason.

Finally, we have a shot of a Ferris wheel that I took at the Circleville pumpkin show. I like how the vignette gives this shot a vintage cinema feel.

The bit of good news I hinted at some weeks ago is that I have been invited to show in a local photographers studio gallery. His name is Kent Krugh and his work is amazing. Click on his name to go and see some of his work. I was so honored to be asked. He shares a space with two other photographers whose work is also quite good. But, I felt a kinship with Kent's work right from the start. Dates have not been set yet. It is my job to come up with enough pieces for a show. I want them to all be related thematically. So, I am using this summer to try and get that accomplished. In other news I have entered a photo in the Cincinnati Public Library's current photo show and will hear in mid August if I am one of the lucky artists. Lastly, to round out the number of shows I promised myself I would tackle this year, I am entering yet another show at the Manifest Gallery. It is a part of their participation in the national Fotofocus series of exhibitions. This is the fourth of the four I promised myself I would enter. It is my way of showing the Universe I am trying.

That's it for now. Hope you have an awesome weekend ahead and keep doing what you love and love what your doing.