Saturday, January 26, 2013

Finding My Eye: The Blue Door

In lesson two of Kat's Find Your Eye class I was challenged to photograph a familiar subject. I was suppose to look back over my images from the past few months and find something or someplace that appears often. Well, looking back at my images the only thing that appears regularly is me, thanks to my self-portrait class. I am sorry but I am not taking 50 more pictures of myself, 5-10 per week is my limit.

So I looked a little deeper and saw the Blue Door from my recent Windmill Island exploration. I remembered thinking at the time that I wanted to go back and take more photos of it. There, subject chosen.

There was one shot in particular that I wanted to have a do over on. This is the photo...


I knew exactly what I wanted to change, make the background and the red barn more blurred and use my 50mm lens instead of my 18mm-135mm. I am happy with the result I achieved...


Now for the rest of the story...

How did I find the experience of photographing a familiar subject with intention? To be honest after I got the shot I wanted I was ready to go home. Of course the snow and the 21 degree temp. that felt like 10 degrees didn't make me want to stay and explore more angles.

What did I not like about this experience? I can't say I am a big fan of returning and trying to hone a shot. My photographs are all of different places and things for a reason. Even though I need a purpose to go out and shoot, I enjoy the discovery of new things when I am there. The surprise of loading the photos and getting some great shots that weren't intended is where the joy comes from for me. So shooting a subject with intention is not the way I enjoy photography.

What would I change next time to suit me? First of all it would need to be warmer so my thumbs didn't feel like blocks of ice. Second, pick a place to revisit instead of a particular subject. I wouldn't get the same shots as the first time, but there would be variety instead of a single subject, which is what I enjoy.

One last favorite from the shoot on Friday...



*Photojournal entry #4 for Kat Sloma's class Find Your Eye.

12 comments:

Sherri B. said...

The blue door is beautiful! That particular shade of blue is gorgeous...

I'm like you in that revisiting a place to take the same photo again wouldn't appeal to me...I'm always on the lookout for something new to capture!

Mary said...

Beautiful Sarah. You know how much I love color these photos really capture it.

Unknown said...

You take such wonderful pictures and I love your presentation. That blue is just beautiful and I also like the textures in the photo. I want to go inside to look around.

Unknown said...

Sarah, really love the blue door. It was fun to read about your experience. And so funny - your comment about the selfies! :) I admire that you are doing them.

Viv@Thoughts from the Desktop said...


Really lovely Sarah I love the bottom shot,
I so love doors in fact I might go and revisit some of my door shots lol I must admit I do like to revisit I often see something in my shot and think I could do that better...

http://vivhalliwell.com

Unknown said...

I like the softness of the red barn in the do-over! You are brave to go out in such cold weather. I'd probably be taking the pictures from my car window!

Anonymous said...

I love your door shots. I agree, the bottom one is my favorite. Love the shallow DoF!

Ahayes1225 said...

I took that class last year, it starting me blogging. Great door, I love the blue.

Kat Sloma said...

LOL, 50 self-portraits, I'm with you there on the "no!" I'm glad that you got out and tried this exercise, and learned a little bit more about yourself and how you like to photograph. This is all important stuff! The re-do image you captured is fantastic. I'm glad you stuck around to try and push through the resistance, but with frozen fingers and no inspiration, I don't think anyone could do that! Thanks for sharing your experience with this exercise!

Anonymous said...

Using the capabilities of our cameras to either blur out or bring into focus the fore and back grounds at the same time to guide the eye of our viewers is something I forget sometimes. Love this blue door and your thoughtful shot... even if you were cold. I'm your newest follower and rss subscriber...

Denise Fabian said...

Wow...50 self-portraits of me in a decade is asking a lot for me! :) Your post really resonated with me. I love your honesty...always have. That blue door would pull me in, as well. This purple one drew me in two years ago (before KK) http://flic.kr/p/9m3w2e. I am so on your frequency about photography...while I would love to do more with intention, I find the surprises from random shots when uploaded are truly the joy. I photographed the same areas in WV time and time again...and yet they are never the same! Much to think about...this class may be in my future in the next year or so.

Barbara said...

Oh yeah that last image is awesome, love the angle, the color, the DOF.