Author: jeannehoadley

Day 56 – Weed

Weed

And now for something completely different. I was feeling like I wasn’t being very creative, falling back on my usual flowers and macro photos. So, I went out with an eye toward black and white. This led me over to the grounds of the Good Night Inn which has still not been cleaned up after the Almeda Fire and which is directly behind my house. It turned out to be a rich environment for black and white and I was so pleased with the results that I’m going to do a week long series. The images were all taken with the Lensbaby Sweet 50 mounted on the Canon M3 handheld. They were all processed using Nik Silver Efex Pro software, a plugin to Photoshop. Today’s image is an intrepid little weed growing up in the cracks in the parking lot.

Today’s quote is from Annie Dillard:

The thing is to stalk your calling in a certain skilled and supple way. To locate the most tender and live spot and plug into that pulse.

 

Day 55 – Calla Lily

Calla-Lily

I went to the nursery yesterday to get some flowers for my pots. I couldn’t resist this Calla Lily. You’ll probably be seeing it again. This one was shot with the Sweet 50 on the M3 but I may have to invoke the 180 mm macro lens. But for now I must get back to my watercolor homework.

Today’s quote is from Charles Horton Cooley, and no, I have no idea who he is:

An artist cannot fail; It is a success to be one.

Day 54 – Rhododendron

Rhody

It must be May, the Rodies are a bloomin’. I went out yesterday to see how the Irises were progressing.  Very well, thank you. But I was sidetracked by my Rhododendron which was nearing peak bloom. I find it very hard to photograph Rhody blossoms so that they look good so I was very happy with the way this one turned out.

Our quote for today is from French film director Robert Bresson:

Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.

Day 53 – Pansy

Pansy

This Pansy was covered in pollen and what I think were bird droppings so I had passed it by. I also wasn’t very fond of the dirt in the background. But, two textures and a trip through Topaz Impressions for a Cezanne treatment, not to mention a lot of spot healing brush action, and I rather like it now.

Today’s quote is from Ansel Adams:

There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.

Day 52 McKee Bridge

McKeeBridge

I don’t know about you but I am getting bored with flowers. I almost went off the rails today and dredged up something from France or Japan to treat artistically. I may yet. This one is from my early April trip to the Applegate Valley. When I was a child we used to take a picnic to McKee Bridge and swim in the river. The bridge was painted white then and had only recently been closed to traffic so my Dad loved to tell stories of driving over it. The light was very harsh this day and it took quite a bit of work in Photoshop and a trip through Topaz Impression to make this somewhat presentable.

Today’s quote is from Mary Oliver:

In every heart there is a coward and a procrastinator.
In every hear there is a god of flowers just waiting
to come out of its cud and lift its wings.

Day 51 – Lupine

Lupine

I wanted to get ahead of the curve today so against my better judgement I grabbed the M3 with Sweet 50 mounted before taking Cody out for his mid-morning walk. I was able to get off a few shots before he decided we needed to be elsewhere. I’ve been walking by this patch of lupine for a few days now and glad I finally had a camera in my hands today.

Today’s quote is from Jack London:

Your can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.

Day 50 – Sunflower

Sunflower2

Another day for the archives. This one from my sunflower shoot in March. The good thing about being half done is there is always something to fall back on in a pinch. 

Today I start a new source for quotes. This one is a second book from Roderick McIver and Heron Dance Press called Simplicity is Profound: Meditations on Creativity Daybook. It’s out of print so I had to pay a pretty penny and wait some time for it to be delivered but the title seemed to perfect for this project so I hope it proves worth it. Today’s quote is from Pablo Picasso:

I paint objects as I think them, not as I see them.

Day 49 – Iris Impression

Iris

I had big plans for going out to photograph this morning but got preempted by rain. After an epic fail with my watercolor homework I turned to the ancestors for awhile and the next thing I knew it was 4pm and too windy to photograph flowers so I turned back to the archives for this photo of my variegated leaf Iris which is just coming into bloom. I wanted an impressionistic look and it was already a little light around the edges so I took it further in that direction with a light vignette and a texture which I masked out over the center.

And for our last day with Julia Cameron (at least for now):

Allowing art to move through us without impediment means resigning as its author. The work must be allowed to author itself, to take on the shapes and colors that it prefers.

Day 47 – Azalea

Azalea

Today and tomorrow are the North American Nature Photography Association’s virtual Summit.  That means two days of inspiration and eye candy for me, but also a challenge to get my post done. Today I decided to just go out in the backyard with the Sweet 50 on the M3 and see what I could find. I was studying my Iris which is still coming along when I turned around and was surprised to see that my Azalea was almost in full bloom. I had to go back in and get some extension tubes in order to get close enough to get this shot. I love how the texture I chose together with the Lensbaby effect gives it almost a watercolor look. I need to get started making cards to take down to the Artisan’s Emporium and I think this one will be high on my list.

And again from Julia Cameron:

If you think of the universe as a vast electrical sea in which you are immersed and from which you are formed, opening to your creativity changes you from something bobbing in that sea to a more fully functioning, more conscious, more cooperative part of that ecosystem.