Today finds me in the midst of a two day portfolio challenge at the
photography club to which I belong. Each year, in the month of October,
members have
an opportunity to present a 10 or 12 print portfolio of their work to the
club in a scheduled meeting and then the next evening (which is tonight) to
present it individually to 3 different professionals, selected from a group of
6
or 8, for critique. Putting the portfolio together, from the standpoint of
conceptualizing it, capturing the images, printing them, matting them,
writing an artist's statement, and then presenting them both to the club and
then
to the professionals has been a both an interesting and valuable experience.
This is only my second year of participating in this activity. While
finalizing the presentation (read that as printing) this past weekend, I found
I
really needed a couple of more images, and found myself creating three more
images which were three of my favorites of the group. It is amazing what one
can
do with a little time pressure, a well defined goal and an e-1. I would
encourage others on the list to engage in activities which have you putting
you
and your gear in "where the rubber meets the road" situations.
My presentation is titled, "Painting with Light" and it had me stretch that
which I claim as my own in the realm of photography. Having been trained in
very traditional methods, I allowed myself outside that box and created a
body of work, which ignored many of the "cardinal rules" of photography. The
results of which, produced a group of images which to a large degree, paid
little attention to focus, lack of movement in the subject and of the camera,
grain and color correction. The images presented had color, emotion, mood,
movement, form and composition. Use of digital capture compressed the time
required to complete the project, reduced the expense of production and
expanded
the creative possibilities through immediate feedback and "no cost"
experimentation. Am I sold on digital? Yes. Will I get rid of my film based
equipment?
Not today. Although I shoot less film today, I do still use some film and
I still use my Zuiko/Tamron glass. I also take a heck of a lot more pictures.
Oh, on the meaning of life, just remember you have a choice, life is meant
to be good and most importantly this is your "real" life, rather than a dress
rehearsal. Live it! Today, I choose to experience joy and abundance in my
life. "Life is good" and as a reminder, that is what it says on my baseball
cap. What are your choices? What are your reminders? Create a great day for
yourself and for your universe.
Stepping off my soap box for a moment. Bill Barber
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