Art UnBlock #2

This is the next picture done in my New Game In Town series (until I come up with a better name I guess. See July 2, 2010 for the first one).

At those times where I want to shoot something, but I have no idea in mind I turn to my bag of word tiles. There are 3 bags - Place (or Verb), Story Title (could be a book, play, movie, song, etc.) and Noun. I pick one from each bag and shoot an image based on those three tiles. The ones I picked last night were Beach, "The Shining" and Jewelry. I knew I would be very near a beach today (for reasons other than taking photos or actually going to the beach) so I knew I could set this shot up fairly easily.

Deciding where was the tricky part. I wanted it close enough to the water line that I was going to get a wave in the shot. When I got to the beach I also decided I wanted seaweed in the image. I found a likely clump in just about the right place. The waves washed it partly away twice before I got the shot I wanted (and I left some of the jewelry I wanted to use in my car), but I got a shot I liked and one that fit the criteria of the game. I had my sister standing watch for me in case a larger rogue wave was coming in - I didn't want to get wet, have EVERYTHING washed away, or get my camera wet.

This is a good thing to remember if you are shooting at the beach (very close to or in the water), near a road with traffic on it, near a cliff edge or anywhere where you might get hurt if you're paying more attention to your viewfinder than your surroundings. I almost got washed off a rock outcrop at the beach once a long time ago, but that scare was enough to make me always remember to bring a spotter along with me if I'm going to be shooting somewhere where I have to pay close attention to what is going on around me.
If you decide to play your own version of the game I would love to see the images you come up with and the criteria associated with them. Send me a link.

A Fountain And A Very Full Day

I went to a Dreamweaver seminar in Culver City today. It was on the University Of Phoenix campus. This fountain was in the courtyard. Very pretty!

It was a very long day! It took me over an hour to drive 26 miles this morning. The seminar was great! Very informative. Very inspiring. I learned a lot of things about Dreamweaver that I didn't know it could do. I also learned something about Adobe Fireworks, which I knew nothing about before today. It has some very useful stuff in it. I learned how to do things in Photoshop I didn't know how to do and how to use some features I've seen before but didn't know how to use them. Now I REALLY have to build my own website again. I've had two in the past but nothing in the last few years. There are so many new things I can try.

After the seminar I had to drive back to work (again, it took me over an hour to drive only 26 miles) to attend a CPR/First Aid class for 4 hours.  I needed to update my CPR training certification. It was a good refresher, but I'm REALLY tired now.

Bark or...

I love this. It reminds me of wind blowing ripples across the ocean or a bird's eye view of sand dunes, or an extra terrestrial landscape. The leaves kind of give it away, but still...

It's almost like looking for shapes in the clouds.

BTW - I saw another dragon in the clouds on my way to school tonight. The clouds were really beautiful.

Faux Magazine Cover

I shot this as a drawing reference for an assignment in my Illustration class. It was for a magazine cover. I love having a digital camera. I can see immediately if I have the look I want. This was a very quick, down and dirty shoot for such a nice outcome. I threw a velvet cape over my desk chair, put a clipboard on the seat so the glass and the candle didn't tip over then shot the image.

This one was difficult to get in focus because I was shooting in very low light and not on a tripod. I finally ended up standing it up on the coffee table to make sure it was steady. I didn't want to use the blade in it but I couldn't find a wand and I needed that straight, strong line to balance the curves of the glass and the crystal.

I think I took about 5 shots at different levels. There was one other angle I liked as much as this one - the camera was a little bit lower. I like the way it turned out.

Childlike Delights

Strawberries and marshmallows arranged below a chocolate fountain. How could anyone resist this childlike delight? Playing with your food. Drenching the large, luscious strawberry or soft sweet marshmallow under a flowing fountain of chocolate. I'll bet most of the people partaking of this sweet feat have visions of just sticking their tongue in that chocolate waterfall and drinking it in. Don't tell me you don't think about it and secretly wish you could!

Ice Fish

This was another one of those images that came out better than I expected. I was more or less just documenting a party when I shot this one. The reflected colors that showed up are really beautiful. I saw a program on How's It Made on how they make the very clear ice for ice sculptures.

Ice sculptures are an interesting art form. Necessarily, they are temporary at best. Some day I would love to go to one of those ice festivals in the North East or to one of the snow hotels that are erected in the Wintertime.

It's About Where You Look

I don't have to go very far to find beautiful and/or interesting things to shoot. I have to shoot used cars for my job and while walking over to do that this week I stopped to shoot the lilies in the landscaping in front of a building on my way. I like photographing the flowers, plants and trees around where I work. Different time of the day or the year yield different results, even if it's the same object.

Of course, in that same planter with the lily is a plant called Society Garlic. You've probably seen them - long thin leaves, long thin green stems with purple flowers. They're used quite a lot in landscaping, but for the life of me, I can't understand why. They smell awful!!! I had one in my garden a few years ago, thinking I was growing garlic. When I discover that all I was growing was a stinky plant (it does not produce garlic cloves) I got rid of it.

Someone in my office told me about the Spider Pavilion next to the Natural History Museum. I'm going to have to go over there and take photos! That could be some really good shots.