Photography

August break, Day 21

/ Sherry Galey / 8 Comments

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My mother, circa 1958, in Singapore by Norman Galey

My mother, circa 1958, in Singapore

The prompt for Day 21 is “Treasure” and this is one of my most cherished treasures — my father’s first “serious” camera — a Rollieflex, twin lens reflex — given to him by my mother in the late 1950’s. He used it to take some of his best images — and there were many of those. I particularly prize his black and whites.

He was passionate about photography and he passed that on to me and my sister, Elena. I know we both feel very connected to him when we’re out with our cameras making images — a connection that transcends this dimension of space and time.

August break, Day 10

/ Sherry Galey / 7 Comments

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Drink in the cool stillness and refresh your soul…

I have to say that I’m thrilled with some of the new features of Adobe Camera Raw in Photoshop CC.  Straightening lines and removing distortion has become so incredibly fast and easy. Problems in perspective and converging verticals used to plague me. I would stay away from photographing buildings and architecture because of that. But no more. 

Here’s a great little video about five features to love. Julieanne Kost, Adobe’s Principal Digital Imaging Evangelist, is one of my favorite teachers — direct, to-the-point and easy to follow. Whether you use PS or Lightroom, she knows all, and teaches all, so well.

You may already be familiar with Julieanne and her tutorials. But did you know that she is also a fabulous photographer? Because she travels so much for her work, she found herself taking lots of pictures out of airplane windows. This resulted in one of the most beautiful and astonishing collections of “window seat” images I’ve ever seen.   Why not take a trip with Julianne?

 

August Break, Day 9

/ Sherry Galey / 9 Comments

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For anybody wondering if they have a recognizable photographic style or worrying that they don’t, have a look at this great article by Guy Tal. He has a very different view of the issue than you find on mainstream photography blogs.

“A word of advice: stop searching. Forget vision; forget personal style; forget unique voice. These are not goals, they are by-products. The most meaningful art you can make should not be about visual effects but about the way you respond to and interpret the world.”

A few years ago I took a course from Kat Sloma on Finding Your Style. I didn’t find my style but what I did find out about my own preferences and leanings was quite eye-opening and worth the effort.

Both Tal and Sloma agree that a style is actually a moving target.

Guy Tal, whose landscape work is quite magnificent, points to the fact that some of the greatest artists in history did not begin and end their careers with one style that never changed. In fact they are known for distinct periods in their work. He says that what many photographers have these days is a “trademark” look designed for saleability, not a unique personal style.

“The only way to find a style, once and for all, is to stop evolving as a person. When you change, your style should change with you. Allow yourself to explore, to follow your inklings, to experiment, to adapt with new knowledge, skills and experiences.”

If your goal is truly developing yourself, Kat Sloma offers some direction:

“Create more opportunities to explore the parts of photography with which you truly resonate. When you find those interests, follow them but never stop testing them. Explore new things in your photography, both variations on what you already enjoy and completely new directions.
Continue to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. And as you do, ask yourself – is this still where I want to be? Does this direction resonate with me? When you answer yes or no, you refine your path. You hone the edge of your style by continually challenging it. You either gain clarity on your current path or you change your direction, forging an even deeper connection with your images.”

The way I see it, if we follow this advice, we can quit worrying. We can relax, enjoy the process of exploration and our images will reflect who we are and then who we are becoming.

August break, Day 7

/ Sherry Galey / 12 Comments

everything better

“Today is…” a kick-back-and-appreciate-life kinda day on my August Break…

And a cuppa tea or coffee (take your pick!) always makes everything better, don’t you think?

And another thing that makes everything better is spending a little quality online time with Dotti Rinehart and Terri Porter and the rest of the remarkable women behind the Focusing on Life blog: Judy, Kim, Carol, Leigh, Linda, Kelly, Susan, Cathy and Deanna.

I always find something to delight me — or inform me — or challenge me — or sometimes even comfort me — on this collective blog. And oh the visual treats! They just keep on coming.

And while each contributing photographer/writer has her own aesthetic and voice, they all blend and complement each other beautifully on the blog.

This past winter Dotti invited me to contribute a guest post. It was quite a thrill to be included in such an accomplished group.

If I were ever to meet Dotti (and you never know, maybe some day I will!), I’m sure she would serve me tea in one of her huge assortment of mugs and we would have a grand old chat about books and granddaughters — and photography, of course. We would sit on her porch and then she would show me her garden. I would be in heaven. I am such a fan of the magic Dotti makes with her phone and her DSLR.

I also feel very fortunate to own an actual piece of FOL herstory. Last year I entered their giveaway and emerged the lucky winner of one of Terri’s collage posters — a striking collection of colourful barrio doors. It is now mounted and hangs on my wall for my ongoing viewing pleasure. (I do so love pictures of doors and windows!)

Here are some recent FOL posts I’ve particularly enjoyed and admired, both for their insights and their imagery.

I want to mention Carol Hart here too because she is a former member of the group whose photography chops are also impressive. As is her garden!

So if you’re inspired by women who talk about the joys and frustrations of their creative lives — and all the rest of their lives — with candor and courage and compassion, and take splendid pictures to boot — then stop in at Focusing on Life for a wee while. You can also join in by adding your photos to their flickr pool and participating in their monthly themes.

 

 

 

August Break, Day 6

/ Sherry Galey / 11 Comments
green pepper

August Break, Day 6, Gift from the Garden

Today is Day 6 of the August Break and we’ve been out in the garden cutting peppers and pulling beets.

So my image for today is a “gift from the garden”.

Another gift from the garden is captured in this impressionistic — almost abstract — image by Barbara Hurst, who is a supremely talented American photographer I’ve been following for some time now. Would that not look dramatic framed in large format on a wall?

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Image by Barbara Hurst Photography. Used with permission.

It seems to me that Barbara’s creativity has been on fire lately. Every time I’ve looked at her blog in recent days, I’ve marvelled at the sheer number of exceptional images she manages to take, process and post in even a very short time. This woman is prolific!

Barbara calls her new site a “visual journal” because she prefers pictures to words when telling the stories of her days — and of her passions. But she doesn’t need a lot of words because she is such a gifted visual story teller.

She is also a master of the perfectly composed collage.

Be prepared to swoon at her nature shots, her still lifes and don’t miss her lensbaby images.

 

August Break, Day 5

/ Sherry Galey / 6 Comments

This month I’m joining Susannah Conway and many others around the world in the August Break project.

The idea is to post a photo a day, inspired either by the daily prompt or by something else.

I’ve also been sharing links to the work of photographers who inspire me.

K-Senior-Presentation

Lisa attended the senior project of her son recently. He found math “torture” when he was younger. Just look at him now! I love that Lisa captured this in her image. Thanks to Lisa Gordon Photography for permission to use this image.

Today I want to share my enthusiasm for the images of Lisa Gordon, who first caught my attention with her delicate, dreamy and perfectly composed homages to flowers.

I was drawn to her restrained use of colour and texture, which gives the flower’s form centre stage.

But that’s not the only subject Lisa turns her camera toward. I love that she is a versatile and experimental photographer who stretches herself on a regular basis, making images that range from landscapes to street photography to environmental portraits. What shines through all of them is a keen perception, a palpable warmth, and a real love and respect for her subject.

I very much enjoy her black and white photography too.

Lisa is a generous soul, regularly sharing kind and encouraging comments with her photo buddies; she also shares her photography itself through the Creative Commons.

Why not delight yourself with a visit to her photoblog at Lisa Gordon Photography or to her flickr photostream?