More Learning

Well, I have to say that doing the tutorial lessons with Jason Horejs is working well, somewhat.  The assignments do require that I buy his book which I have not done yet.  But otherwise I am learning at least a few things.  One of those things is about branding and all that goes with that topic.  So far, I am learning that people need to be able to look at my work and recognize that it is mine.  So what sets me apart from others?  Right off hand I would say that it is my abstracts.  Especially the kaleidoscopes.  That has me thinking that maybe I need to totally remake this blog and the page two section of this blog which is all graphics.  I am just not sure yet how to do that so that it is better, easier to use, and more organized.  It will take a whole lot of time and work because I have very few of the photos on my computer anymore.  They are all on flash drives and CD's.  In the meantime, I am still at work creating new abstracts and taking more and more photos.  I am learning more and more about my Canon EOS Rebel T3i also.  I think I finally know how to change the shutter speed AND the aperture.  That really had me baffled for awhile.

Also, now that I am on Flickr I have been doing some interesting searching using town names of places where I have lived throughout my life.  In doing this, so far, I have met a new friend who went to the same high school as I graduated from, only several years apart so we did not know each other back then.  How interesting!  And how interesting to find photographs from the places I have lived on Flickr!  

Last week, we got a bunch of fresh produce and as I was cooking some fresh from the garden cabbage, I took these photos.  Tonight I also did a few abstracts as well of both the cabbage and some clover that I photographed last month.  Also in the photos this time are some other fresh veggies.

These colorful designs below are from the clover, which, by the way, is actually lavender.  But somehow with the extension tubes on my camera, this is the color they turned out.

On these two below I tried something I had never done before.  I took the original pattern design and then used the color fill in color changer mode, clicked on one small area and this is how it turned out.  Then I added a new color for the final design.

Obviously this must be the cucumber kaleidoscope.  What fascinates me here is how deep this looks.  It is almost 3D.

These below are the green beans in kaleidoscope and patterns.  Very unique, I think.

The World of Abstract Photography

My work has a name and I didn't even know it!!!

Click HERE for more information about abstract photography.

I feel invigorated today because what I enjoy most in photography and can do easiest from home finally has a name.  While I enjoy abstract painting, it never even occurred to me that there is an art form called abstract photography until today!  A friend mentioned something I did a few weeks ago as being abstract, but even then it just did not click.  That is until today.  So this has been my focus all morning.

Previously I have battled in my mind about what to call my work.  I have been calling it graphic design, although, I suppose that technically it does not belong in that category since it isn't done like what most people consider to be graphic design.  That name just did not even "feel" right when I used it.  While this all makes me feel quite stupid, realizing that I do have a legitimate niche in the photography world makes up for that.  In addition to this, having a name for what I do opens the door to finding out how to actually maybe making a real living with what I do.  Or at least to be able to provide for more gear.

As I have been searching online for more and more information and examples of abstract photography, I came across this tutorial series for creating abstract photographs.  Although I have already blogged about this topic, (the link at the beginning of this post has several good articles I found earlier today) when I found this tutorial, I had to share.

Playing With My Camera!

Can you believe that after having my camera for about 4 years or so, I am finally getting around to checking how to use all the settings?  I've found out my nice little Kodak Easy Share camera can do a lot more than I thought it could, including take close-up shots of flowers and other things I used to only do with my 35mm Canon AE1 with zoom/macro lens attached.  No it's not getting shots as nice as that camera does but it's better than what I was doing with it.  Anyway, I've been experimenting a lot the past week.  My daughter is planning another vacation and I fully intend to know how this camera works and make the best of it this year.  Below are some of the photos I've been taking this spring both before and after I found out how to use the settings.