a vintage feel

(For sale in my Etsy shop!)

When I first started taking photos, I thought a black background was the be-all-end-all of good pictures.  I meticulously edited my photos until many of them looked like they were taken with a velvet backdrop.  Whatever.  Now I can hardly stand that look.

My personal art aesthetic (or taste, I guess) is always changing, and it always reflects my current taste in music, clothes, home decor, etc.  Right now, I'm all about old/vintage stuff.  I love antique stores and I want an old home. No black velvet or crystal chandeliers anywhere...just imperfect wood floors and character and history and sunshine.  Those don't come in new homes.   

discovering why i take pictures

I have a wonderful husband. Sometimes I think he knows me better than I know myself. (And sometimes he doesn't have a clue, but for that I can't blame him in the least...I confuse myself sometimes.)

He came in just now, after I wrote that first sentence. :)

Anyways, lately, I've been frustrated with where I am in my, I guess I can say, photographic journey. Or something like that. Basically, I've been taking my camera out, and don't see things to photograph. I feel really blank and uninspired. Does it have something to do with trying to sell my art? Probably. But the observation my insightful husband offered was this: My pictures are a kind of story of my life, in that I don't usually go out to take pictures, but I take my camera with me, and photograph what I see while I'm doing life. Most of my great photos have been taken while I was there doing something else.

branches vs. infrared - art photography

i have really loved tree photos lately...those dead branches, scraggly and sometimes menacing, make for dramatic art. But since spring has sprung, and the once-dead branches are clothing themselves with bright leaves and flowers, the high drama is no more to be seen. I probably drove by a particular lake 50 times, telling myself I HAD to photograph how those dead branches looked when reflected in the water, but now they are full and green trees.

a gallery and a philosophy

I've never had any of my photos for sale in any sort of "bricks-and-mortar" shop. My workplace is partly a gallery, and a while ago I was told I could hang some things there. But then it was decided that our store will no longer be a gallery and just concentrate on framing. This is a good decision for the store - but a teensy bit disappointing for me! :) It really made me nervous to think about hanging things up for the public to see (and potentially reject) though. I know art is different to everyone, and people are drawn to different things in art. But someone I don't know if I'm up for the possibility of no one liking it enough to buy it.

new photos?

I need to post more often. I constantly find new photographs on my computer that I can ready for online debut in a matter of minutes...which is handy when I don't have time to take any new pictures. Hopefully I can get motivated to create some new art - but this year I've hardly taken any new photos of the wintry loveliness (that I hate driving in). I have, though, found some great winter oldies from last year's photo stash that I can share with you now.

This year's family Christmas present-opening photos were, for the most part, just as bad as last year's - except this year I condescended to use my built-in flash for many of the photos. I hate using the flash, but I also hate using ISO 1600 and still having to manually lighten every single photo because my parents still don't have enough lamps in the living room. Well, that is a lesson for everyone: Have enough lamps in your living room - at least enough light to appease your live-in photographer.

Oh yes. Old winter pictures. Here are a few for your delight.

"Please Let It Rain"

This photo was taken during my recent vacation with Justin's family in North Carolina's Outer Banks. This is Jockeys Ridge, a park of sand dunes near Kitty Hawk. My imagination paints this photo as one of a thirsty, parched tree longing for an outpouring of rain.
This photo is available for purchase here.