Tilted Horizons

Chapter One: Horizons

Section One: Approach

This chapter of Expressive Photography is tough for me because landscapes are not one of my favorite things to shoot. Its hard for me to get depth and interest in the frame. I'm using mostly archived images for this chapter because I just haven't had much time to shoot anything new. Its been nice, however, to take a second (or third) look at some of my older images and see what I can do with them and try to see something in them that I didn't see before. There is always that little something special about each image...that little something that made you decide to capture the image in the first place. Maybe it didn't come out looking exactly how you expected it to...maybe it was just the wrong approach.

I have to admit I haven't tried a lot of different approaches to landscapes. I love a little tilt and I also love fog. In the second picture, I was really focused looking at the tree and its reflection. Only later did I notice that the edge of the shore kinda looks like a cliff.

One of my favorite approaches....none...just point and click!!  The picture below is all blurry and chaotic, taken right after Hurricane Ike hit Houston. After the threat of being impaled by flying debris had ended, we drove into town to check on our business. Houston was a ghost town. It was flooded and still raining a bit and no one had power. It was a very chaotic time. I spotted the lady with the umbrella and didn't have have time to adjust anything as we drove by. I'd like experiment with little more processing but still love the picture. I guess its the emotional factor and the story behind it.

What is your approach to landscapes? This section of Expressive Photography mentions using a wide angle or fish eye lens or a Lensbaby. Please share your thoughts and links to your photos. Also, feel free to add suggestions for the book club.

Hellooooo......is anybody out there?!

After 20 months, I am feeling settled and ready to resume the photo book club. I have been busy growing a baby who will be turning 1 in October! What a wild and wonderful adventure motherhood is! No one can really prepare you for this journey....I'm learning as I go.  I am blessed to have such great friends and family who have been so so helpful, giving me lots of encouragement and support.

We will resume chapter one beginning in October. You might want review the first 2 posts - that was info about the book and the introduction to chapter one. I'm so looking forward to seeing what we all create and how we each interpret the chapters. I will be posting my vision of how we will work through the book. I figure I will post something from each section of the book and then you all can add your comments with links to your photos from a Flickr account, blog, or some other method. I am going to invite some of my favorite photographers to serve as guests from time to time and who knows, maybe we will be lucky and a Shutter Sister or two would be willing to pop in and say hello! Please let me know if you have any questions. This is my first photo book club so I'm not sure what to expect. Hmmmm....kinda like a first child, I'll learn as I go! I'm hoping to create a "family" of photographers here so we can encourage and support each other on a photographic journey.

Looking forward to getting started....again! :)

Postponed

Just wanted to let you all know that I am having to postpone the book club while I take some time to rearrange some things and get others in order. I'll be back soon - until then....I encourage you to work through the chapters until we can meet up again!

Broaden Your Horizons

As I opened to chapter one and saw Tracey Clark's photo, I immediately thought of a picture in my archives. A photo that I had never edited or posted because it didn't really look interesting to me. As I read through the chapter, a couple of statements moved me. Tracey states, "There is an intangible quality that comes with expansive space and breathing room. A view itself is not emotional on its own - it's our mind's eye that translates a landscape into something that can stir our soul." I began to look at my photo a little differently and think about why I had not deleted it. It was the emotional factor. I took it during a time of great change and uncertainty in my life. I was going off on my own, trying new things, and reconnecting with old friends. Not sure of my place in the world or where my path would lead me.....I  was broadening my horizons.


When you look at pictures in your archives with your heart and not just your eyes are there any that speak to you??

Welcome!!

Welcome to my first photography book club!  


I bought this book not long after it came out and spent several days just looking at the pictures before I started reading it. I have yet to venture out and try the recommended assignments. I was thinking how fun it would be to go through each chapter with a group and came up with the idea to start a photography book club on my blog. So....here we begin!


I am hoping this will be a fun place to gather, get inspired, and share ideas and photos while reviewing each chapter of "Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sister's Guide to Shooting from the Heart."  If you have not had a chance to get the book don't worry, there is still plenty of time. Since the Shutter Sisters have filled each chapter with loads of information and assignments, I am going to spend a month on each chapter! I'll be back tomorrow to start on Chapter One. Hope to see you there!