Seeing a Photograph

Spring is in the air and the urge to take photographs is awakened in all of us who have been bitten by the photography bug. Spring is the perfect time to spend the day roaming around with your camera looking for something to shoot.

People are always asking me...where do you find things to photograph? Do I have a secret location? The truth is that the world around us is filled with amazing sites large and small that are just waiting to be captured with your camera. I learned this lesson as a twelve year old when I was given my first 35mm camera, by my Dad. I was always looking for the perfect shot, and constantly being told by my father that if I could not get a great shot in my own backyard then...I didn't need to go anywhere else! A great photographer can create an image out of what is in front of him.

As much as I would never of admitted this to him at the time, he was right. And now I tend to travel to get a great image less and less. Because I have learned to "see" what is in front of me. To "see" the ice on the tree limb sparkling in the sun. Or the way light hits the leaves in the fall, or the way a lady bug sits on a window sill in the warmth. Or how that fire hydrant down the street is so great the way it stands out against the the stone wall behind it.

"Seeing" is what we do when we take a great picture. It's what we do when an image is in our head before it is has even been taken. It's that flash of a picture that shoots through our brains at a hundred miles an hour and comes from who-knows-where!

Next time you have a moment, take your camera out in the yard and just start shooting. Listen to your inner voice, pay attention to the flashes of inspiration you get!

Live, Laugh, Photograph!

Maryann

Photography Talk

As time goes on and our technology changes the world around us, the tendency is to shy away from things
that we no longer understand. While the cameras of today are vastly different than the ones of just ten years ago, the basics of photography remain the same. A great picture tells a story. The story can be that of a momentous occasion or of a split second of time that is captured forever. While both of these stories are important to our lives, it is the small things that fascinate me the most. How a baby's fingers grab on to their granddad's, or how you can tell by the way two people look at each other if they are in love. Those are the stories I love to capture. Those are the moments I live to capture, and share with you.

Take out your camera and look for the little things in your life, take photos of the moments of everyday life that we take for granted.

Those are the stories of our lives, those are the moments of our lives.

Live, Laugh, and Photograph!
Maryann