Sams Lake Sanctuary

In the past I have written about Sams Lake Bird Sanctuary.  It is so close to my home -- it is easy to scoot over there to spend a little time walking around and taking photos.  A couple weeks ago Southern Conservation Trust; the entity that owns and manages this preserve, contacted me to see if I would be available for a shoot time.  I agreed and they notified anyone interested that I would be there.  Well, it was cold, dark, and early -- and we did not have the turn out that we had last year for a similar event.  One of my core photo group members was there -- he and I stayed a while shooting and trying to keep our feet warm!  

The very chilly morning was excellent for the vapor off of the water.  I believe this was the first frost -- scattered in the yard at home and on the roof in the shade when I got back home from shooting.  The night before I wondered if I would need my gloves -- I dug them out, not used since last winter.  I shoot in winter golf gloves.  They don't keep your hands the warmest -- but they allow me to adjust all the dials and buttons on the camera without having to remove one.

This is a great time of year to catch wildflowers at the end of their season -- the seeds are popping and foliage is dying.  The photo above is using depth of field, available light, and the color in the background to set off the few stalks I chose to keep in focus.

The path was littered with leaves and bits of gold are in the trees.  Walking through the woods on such a crisp fall day is a nice thing -- a great way to start a Saturday.  As I neared the end of this path -- I heard the water rushing.  We have had a lot of rain lately to keep the water moving.  The creek area at the end of the lake had a nice little layer of fog rising.  As the sun came up over the treeline it was shining through the fog.  This last photo is a favorite of mine from yesterday.  I walked by and looked at the tree, saw the sunlight through the branches lighting up the fog.

This was about the time I realized my toes were frozen -- and I headed home to look at my photos.  Sams Lake is part of the site specific category for Nature Undisturbed.  Please check out the website for information and the call for entries.  If you have any questions about the show, feel free to send me an email.

Why Show Your Work?

It was not that long ago that I seriously sat there thinking why?  Why do I do this?  Why be so busy?  Why have a calendar with times and places all over it?  Why do I tell my husband, "we need to go to blah blah blah this weekend?"  Why agree to teach classes and attend meetings?  Why not just take pictures that I like, print them and hang them on my walls without all the other stuff?

I don't know why. 

Well....that is not completely true.  I do think I know why.  

I love it as much as I love taking photos.  It is fun to show work -- get feedback -- see others' work -- meet people -- the whole thing.

As I mentioned in the last blog I am having a time issue.  It is becoming evident that I have things going on in many directions.  I need to decide what I like to do best -- go in that direction and perhaps skip others.  The past few weeks I have skipped having a 'From the Barefoot Files' post to the blog.  In fact the blog is not getting the attention (from me) that I feel it deserves.  I love blogging -- so I am going to work hard to get more up in the coming weeks.  There are many blogs in my head -- things have happened, experiences, events, etc. that needs to be blogged about.

So to catch up on a couple things -- this Saturday night there is an anniversary party at Dogwood Gallery and Framer.  I love Greg and Jennifer -- they are fun people and have an excellent gallery.  Can't wait for the party!  And yes, I delivered a few new things to the gallery this morning.  November 6, at A Novel Experience in Zebulon is the reception for Picture Purr-fect, a juried photography exhibit showcasing cat photos.  I have two photos in this event and so does my son!   

My mother's cat Rora, this photo will be in Picture Purr-fect

I promise coming in the next few blogs I will write about working with John Bennette on the Southern Memories show last month -- what an experience!  (all good)  Of course, there was the portfolio review during SlowExposures -- a nice blog topic.   Not to forget -- we brought another dog into the house late in summer -- and this is a bit of a job.  Iris was an adult dog from a shelter -- beautiful dog -- but she does have her challenges.  She needs a little extra care -- in getting the housebreaking habit (which I think she has!) and learning to trust all the people around her.  Iris definitely shows signs of abuse.  But she and Sadie get along like long lost sisters -- that is a good thing!

So back to the questions -- why show your work?        Because you can!

Catching up....

It seems like all I do lately is work at catching up.  I suppose it is a good thing to remain so busy.  Helping out with SlowExposures and working with John Bennette on his show have been excellent adventures and provided me with plenty of blog material.  One of these days I will get around to writing them.  I am also working with the Serenbe Photography Center.  This is a great resource that not that many people know about --- yet.

Something that does take some time -- daily -- is the 365 project.  I am sticking with it and closing in on the home stretch.  The project has taught me a lot.  I find my better photos are those that I find and do not over think.  Currently I have three 365 photos in the Arts Clayton photography show.  One received first place and another received honorable mention.  

Days like yesterday are wonderful -- I have a handful of good images to pick from for the photo of the day.  A couple of my favorites that are not 284:365 are on this blog post.

From the Barefoot Files...

OK -- I meant to post this yesterday -- but I have had blog issues.  Finally this morning I think I have things back in good working order...

The old photo today is a not-so-old photo.  This is my son.  With the exception of the photo actually have a date stamp on it -- you really would not be able to date this photo (without also knowing the subject).  This shows how black and white can keep a photo timeless.  Also clothing choice in a photo adds to the timeless quality.  At some point I am sure the classic Izod will be very dated -- but not yet.  This photo is close to 20 years old.  The shirt he is wearing is white -- but had it been a color -- the use of black and white would keep the color trend of the day from dating the photo.

The background is not distracting -- just simple pattern of daylily plants.  This, too, even in color would not be an issue.  Sometimes your background would give away more than the subject matter.  Many times when people are taking photographs of people they are so busy setting up the subject and making sure the person (or people) look good that they forget to check the background.  When I took this photo of my son, I put him in front of these plants in order to have a simple, pleasing, non competing background.  The only other thing here I think I could have done -- but was not necessary -- would be to make my depth of field more shallow to blur out the plants.  If you have a background that is less than ideal -- that is your option -- open the aperture (f stop) to a wider setting -- lower number -- and keep sharp focus on your subject while the background fades by being blurred.

And just to show how old the photo above is -- here is a photo from last year.....