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It's now been One Thousand, One Hundred and Eleven days since I began the Photo a Day Challenge on January 1, 2010. A nice round number and a good time for some reflection. When I first began the challenge, I was not sure I could complete a single month without interruption, much less a year... or three. There have certainly been times where I struggled for inspiration, but never a day where I failed to meet my goal. Is it easy? Sometimes. The challenge is to make the work for each new day considered and significant in some way. Do I recommend it? YES! You may not need this challenge to open the doors to your creativity, but the discipline itse
Along the way, I learned to find inspiration in unexpected places.... in lines and shapes, light and shadow... even in the tools of photography themselves. My choice of camera, film, developer and paper influence the way I work with the scene in front of my camera. I am seldom without a camera close by, and often find myself scanning my surroundings near and far for a worthy challenge. I have also learned when to put the camera down and appreciate an experience for what it is and not only its photographic value. The day of my son's wedding, I carried only a small pocket camera, (well, an Olympus XA, which is no slouch of a camera) and took only a few pictures of family value. I am certain that I would have missed some of the experience of that day if I had been viewing it through the lens of a camera.
Over the next few weeks I want to share a lesson or two which have come to me from my experience and training as a musician and educator, but which have also guided me in my photographic journey as well. More and more, as I work and play in the Arts, I am discovering that all are connected, and that the lessons and insights discovered in one genre are signposts to new understandings in another.
It's now been One Thousand, One Hundred and Eleven days since I began the Photo a Day Challenge on January 1, 2010. A nice round number and a good time for some reflection. When I first began the challenge, I was not sure I could complete a single month without interruption, much less a year... or three. There have certainly been times where I struggled for inspiration, but never a day where I failed to meet my goal. Is it easy? Sometimes. The challenge is to make the work for each new day considered and significant in some way. Do I recommend it? YES! You may not need this challenge to open the doors to your creativity, but the discipline itse
Along the way, I learned to find inspiration in unexpected places.... in lines and shapes, light and shadow... even in the tools of photography themselves. My choice of camera, film, developer and paper influence the way I work with the scene in front of my camera. I am seldom without a camera close by, and often find myself scanning my surroundings near and far for a worthy challenge. I have also learned when to put the camera down and appreciate an experience for what it is and not only its photographic value. The day of my son's wedding, I carried only a small pocket camera, (well, an Olympus XA, which is no slouch of a camera) and took only a few pictures of family value. I am certain that I would have missed some of the experience of that day if I had been viewing it through the lens of a camera.
Over the next few weeks I want to share a lesson or two which have come to me from my experience and training as a musician and educator, but which have also guided me in my photographic journey as well. More and more, as I work and play in the Arts, I am discovering that all are connected, and that the lessons and insights discovered in one genre are signposts to new understandings in another.