Comments for half a dream away

Comment on suit yersel by Paul

Paul — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 00:20:09 +0000

If you’re looking to make money out of it though, or even just make a name for yourself, you have to figure out who your audience is and pander to their tastes. Of course the trick is to match up that work that is authentic to you with an audience who appreciates it, and then I suppose you’ve found the holy grail…

I think that this is the very reason that a number of professional photographers have their own projects that they work on. Their private stock, if you will. It’s probably not something that anyone might be interested in buying, but perhaps something that is fulfilling to their creativity.

I used to play the game, too. Leave good comments, get good comments. Sit, wait, and hope to receive those same comments. Morph my work into whatever would garner those comments. Now, I just keep shooting and following whatever it is that I like right now.

Comment on shoot what you love by Vlastik

Vlastik — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:33:31 +0000

This made me think a lot. And the sad reality is that I like shooting. The process of being out with the camera, looking into the viewfinder and hoping that I’ll be able to create the pictures I’ve seen in my mind. The reality of uploading pictures and attepmts to process them is something different, but if I get one good pictures from a hundred, after processing, I am happy. And that motivates me to get the camera and shoot even more.
There are, of course, subjects I like to shoot more, but every discipline or subject has its own challenges and learning how to approach something new is very stimulating.
Thank you for such interesting post.

Comment on the travelling scarf by Paul

Paul — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 18:38:42 +0000

That’s very cool! I’ll look forward to seeing your Irish Skies Scarf when it is complete.

Comment on powerscourt colour by Undermeoxter

Undermeoxter — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:38:12 +0000

Acers / japanese maples are my all-time favourite tree. We planted four in the front garden of our last house but don’t have any here… yet. You’ve reminded me I need to get on that!
Beautiful colours.

Comment on the travelling scarf by Shane Murphy

Shane Murphy — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 14:09:37 +0000

Knitting & bike riding – what an interesting mixture. Great idea.

Comment on never work with… by Peter Blaise

Peter Blaise — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:56:13 +0000

I LOVE the third picture — NUTHIN’ wrong here!

The story is perfect — the dynamic LIVING spirit in on otherwise DEAD graveyard, perhaps one spirit chasing another.

Technically:

1/90 seconds exposure won’t freeze movement; try daylight fill flash with rear curtain sync, and or push the ISO sensitivity rating from 500 to at least 3 stops more sensitive, perhaps ISO 3000 or more, and hope for a resulting faster shutter speed of at least 1/500 seconds.

f/2 won’t have much depth of field focus especially if the camera thinks the leaves on the ground are your subject; try manual zone focus and or a narrower lens aperture, along with that higher ISO sensitivity rating.

If the Fujifilm FinePix FX100 camera doesn’t offer those controls, perhaps it will let you set it on continuous focus and exposure to permit a series of “hopefuls”, or take a movie and later pull one frame … or move on to another camera!

Regardless, Jools, your photographs each tell a story, perhaps many stories, and they work terrifically for me — thanks for sharing.

Click!
Love and hugs,
Peter Blaise

Comment on shoot what you love by Paul

Paul — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:15:38 +0000

I can’t agree more. I think that if you have something that you are fascinated with, very much interested in, have a love for, then it is no chore to point your camera that way and become more and more intimate with that thing as time goes on. You provided a great example when talking about the various parts of crocheting, none of which I have a clue, but so what. I love the presentations of your shots, the limited depth of field, the carefully thought out photos, and of course the cute little things. It’s obvious, at least to me, that you love both arts, photography and crocheting. More power to you, my friend!

Comment on shoot what you love by Ann

Ann — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:23:17 +0000

Maybe not ‘shoot what you love,’ but ‘shoot what you feel you have something original about which to say’?

I say this because I read Jamie’s comment about him loving his family, but nobody wanting to see a seven hundredth photo of them. And I love trees, but I haven’t been able to produce photos of trees that I feel are interesting or new. I also love knitting, but here I feel that, through photos, I have something to say about texture and craft and the beauty of handmade things. Go figure.

Just a thought. Happy Valentine’s Day – I love seeing your photos, of knits or otherwise!

Comment on shoot what you love by Siobhán

Siobhán — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:52:53 +0000

The yarn seems to love you right back, you know.

Comment on shoot what you love by Cedric Canard

Cedric Canard — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:43:43 +0000

The advice to “shoot what you love” is often given to photographers who feel stuck in a rut. The idea being that if you are lacking inspiration start by shooting what you love to get yourself out of a rut and into a groove. In other words start shooting what you love and end up loving what you shoot.

I’d say it’s a good thing to question why we do what we do, why we shoot what we shoot. The answer can be enlightening. It can offer creative freedom if we stay true to ourselves. I’d also say it is best to not care what others will think. As you’ve discovered for yourself, there’s no pleasing everyone and when you lose one audience chances are you gain another.

I have no interest in knitting and such–though I do enjoy the finished products on occasion–but I still enjoy your photography. What I’ve always liked about it, whether it’s pretty flowers or knitted (crocheted?) heart is that it feels sincere and makes me believe that while we have never met you are not a stranger to me.