I remember getting up in time for sunrises on the river, or taking impromptu road trips and just stopping anywhere along the way to snap a photograph, it seems like a lifetime ago. When I went to college, my days were spent hiking trails to find the perfect lighting, hours upon hours in dark rooms or the studio, and waiting to see what I captured on film. My, how times and technology have changed.
Unfortunately, I became lazy with my photography long before I started my blog. Friends and family ask for photo shoots from time to time, which I enjoy, but I haven’t spent any time being creative in years. Now when I take photos, there is not usually a fancy camera involved, most are with my phone. Convenience dictates this most days. No transferring images from my camera to laptop. Mediocre pics from the phone have become the norm.
Over the past few months I made a commitment to myself to use my camera more often and actually take photos of something other than food. 🙂
Lorne, my almost 14 yr old has developed a love of photography recently as well, inspiring me to look at the technical side of it again. Maybe through teaching him about aperture and shutter speeds, I will stop using the automatic settings and be a little more creative again.
Earlier this month, I attended a flower arranging & photography workshop by Holly of Dean’s Flowers and Matt Corkum of Fade to White Photography. It was organized by ECM Media in Halifax and sponsored by Fuji Canada. Lorne, joined me for the day trip and enjoyed the workshop and took pics as well.
We spent the afternoon learning how to create a beautiful flower arrangement and then how to photograph it. I learned many tricks about how to hold the flowers in place, tips on arrangement and balance as well as how to perk up the flowers when they start to wilt. Holly was a fabulous teacher and her shop is beautiful.
The photography portion of the workshop covered all the basics. In that hour, Matt helped our group of bloggers think about composition and quality of the images we share on our blogs. He talked about light and composition, while giving us some tips for hacks on using light in various ways to enhance out photos.
We also had the opportunity to hear what Fuji Camera was recommended by Matt. It is the Fuji X-3A, which is a mirrorless camera that has wireless capabilities. This is the feature I LOVE most about this camera. Long gone are the days of patiently waiting to develop film, then printing and tweaking an exposure in the darkroom, I want to share it right away!! lol
All in all, this day has inspired me to be more aware when photographing for my own use, and on the blog. It has rekindled a spark in me that has been smoldering for years. Through this shared experience with Lorne, we are also starting to spend time together talking and taking photos. (Watch for a new Mother/Son section on the blog soon).
If you are like most people, we get busy with day to day life and rarely take time to do things that make us happy, perhaps it’s a creative outlet, maybe you enjoy running, or even playing a game. Take some time, even 15 minutes here and there, and do it. What is something you used to enjoy or be passionate about, that you want to do again?
Check out some of the other blogger’s experiences at this fabulous workshop!