Blue Skies

Blue skies, puffy clouds, and a tree -- I have taken this photo more than once.  This is a view from my deck.  I am sure I will take this photo again and again.  I like the clean look of the photo.  

My favorite photos to take are those that you see and see again and enjoy the view.  It is a happy view.  I don't print as many photos as I used to.  But this one is asking me to print it and have it framed.  Looking at it I can see it matted in white and framed with my usual small, simple black frame.

Tomorrow I think I need to print a photo.

More Sadie

It is hot and humid outside.  Right now Sadie is sleeping in the house -- in the air conditioning and completely relaxed.  She is far from the county shelter.  She has been living with us for a little over two years now.  And she is an awesome photography subject.  I took this photo a few days ago.  This old green quilt has become the 'dog quilt.'  Sadie and Iris snooze on it during the day.  There is another photo of Sadie that is in a show opening Friday -- the Atlanta Photography Group show.  It is like this one -- now showing her head.  I kind of like it.  

Since Sadie came to live with us and I have been taking photos of her -- she has been in 7 photography shows, 4 newspapers, 3 magazines, and 1 book.  Not too bad for a little pound puppy.  I started thinking about this when I saw a tweet this afternoon about another actor from Drop Dead Diva adopting a dog at the Atlanta Humane Society.  

There are so many wonderful dogs out there in shelters and rescue groups that need a home.  This summer if you are thinking about a new dog (or cat) -- check the shelters.  We brought Sadie home at about 6 months -- so no real having to deal with a puppy.  When we brought Iris home we think she was about 2 -- so again no puppy issues and she was about the same age as Sadie.  They get along well and have fun together.

Searching Images on Google

Just when I think the world cannot get any more Jetson's -- it happens.  Google searching now by images!  Open Google for a search -- click on "image" at the top of the screen and then look for the camera icon in the search bar.  Click it and you will get an option of uploading a photo or using a URL to search.

When I heard about this the other day -- I had to try it.  Guess what, I found a couple of my images being used without permission or payment.  Interesting...

It always amazes me when I find someone who holds himself out there as an artist stealing the work of an artist.  How would he like it if I used his music without credit being given, permission, or payment?  The photo I am talking about here was of particular concern to me since it was taken with the agreement that it would never be used in a commercial way.  This musician lifted it from Flickr and plopped it on his website -- who knows how long it had been there.

I always put low resolution images on the internet -- and this was good for that photo because it was so small on that webpage -- it could not be any larger and I know he simply right clicked on the photo and then pasted it.  It makes me wonder if he has this photo on his computer and uses it in any other way?

Of course I thought for a couple days of what to do.  I consulted legal advice and then simply sent an email requesting that the photo be removed.  You would think I would at least get an apology -- but nope -- nothing -- not a peep.  I did check the website this morning and noticed that the photo is gone.  My feeling of being violated remains.

An artist who does not respect the intellectual property of another is pretty low on my list.  I run into it often with the trademark.  I had not had much of a problem with images being lifted -- but now thanks to Google I found this site.  This guy seems to live in an area of the country that I used to live in -- and I hope at some time someone would ask me if I have ever heard of him.  And yes, I saved a screen shot of that webpage.  Since he removed the image -- I am not going to out him by posting the website -- but I will keep an eye on him and occasionally Google search my images.

Scavenger Hunt

Last Saturday I (along with 7 photo club friends) participated in a photography scavenger hunt at the Serenbe Photography Center.  It was a fun!  We have monthly themes at our group -- and this hunt was the equivalent of receiving 6 themes at once and having 4 hours to shoot and edit your entries.  Each of our teams from our club had 4 members -- so we were going to have to look through photos from 4 people and pick one for each category to submit.

It was a lot to do.  We split up -- shot and as we finished the list -- returned to the start stop to edit.  

This concept is something I have thought about as a club activity -- say around your home in one day shoot a list of things, or on a field trip have a list of objects/themes to look for as you shoot.

The photo on the blog today is not one for a theme -- just one I shot for fun that day.  I like the shape of these chairs.  They are in a courtyard filled with pea gravel.  In the bright sun; it is easy to get very contrasty with these shots.

June

It is June -- it is hot -- so I thought a little crushed ice would be good today.  Lately even walking the dogs before 7am it is steamy outside.  I am not much for cold weather -- but the constant heat with no rain for days gets old, quickly.

Some times I get into a rut with photos.  I am not interested in shooting much and the ones I did shoot stay on the camera.  I am like that right now.  Thinking back on 2010 and the 365 Project -- I marvel at how I stuck it out to complete the task -- taking a photo everyday was a job.  It was a good thing and I think I improved because of it.  Then I wonder if the burnout I have now comes from that?  Who knows?  Maybe it is the heat.

Thursday night I am attending the opening reception of Simple Pleasures in Newnan, GA.  I have a couple photos in this show.  The snake (Serendipity) received third place in the second edition of the Julia Margaret Cameron awards.  It is also on display at The Center for Fine Art Photography; Center Forward, in Colorado and soon to move on to the Denver Airport.  And this photo will be in the Atlanta Photography Group In Your Dreams show opening June 24.  There is another photo in the Dreams show -- a Sadie photo.  The little dog (I say little even if she does tip the scale at 50 lbs.) is in yet another show!  You can see her in Simple Pleasures too.  The one in the Dreams show is a little different -- I kind of like it.    It was part of the 365 Project -- 149:365.  Just thinking off the top of my head -- she has been in 7 exhibits in the past 2 years.