Challenge of Color #2

We start the new color challenge March 1, 2011.  For the next 15 days you are invited to challenge yourself with the color YELLOW.

Yellow is not one of my favorite colors although a wide variety of flowers are found in this range. I seem to fight with myself when snapping photos of flowers because they show up so strongly plus it seems to me they dominate gardens.  Some of my best photos are of yellow flowers.

So for me this challenge is going to be difficult in the fact I must find items that bring me out of my comfort zone.  And isn’t that what Challenges are all about?  Taking one out of their comfort zones and inspiring them into a whole another realm!  

Thank goodness it is winter time making this challenge a tad bit more interesting since the gardens of Anchorage are under a foot of snow.

                                                     Child's Carnival Ride @ Fur Rondy 

                                                              Anchorage Alaska

                                                                    2-26-2011

Digital Photography

As a photographer I dearly enjoy taking a photo.  My passion is playing within my Photoshop Elements and turning an  ordinary photo into a new something I feel is fun, exciting or totally different.

I just discovered a whole world of additional Plug-in's for my Elements program. 

It is so much fun to discover new ways of making a photo 'sing' to me.

 

this filter gives an old world look to the photo

If you haven't been to the your local book store lately and visited the magazine aisle - my advise is: Do It As Soon As Possible.  A new photographers rag is out!  C'T Digital Photography.  It's printed in the UK cost $14.99us

Since Borders Books is closing over 200 stores across the United States, I took advantage of the 40% off and got the launch issue (first issue) for this new rag!  Love it!  If you can find it at your local book store get it.  Has free CD crock full of fun things for one to play with in various photo programs!

Flying the Coup

 

Are you one of those compulsive folks who worry ‘How many views’ one gets on their shops, individual item, blogs, etc –etc?

I admit I went in cycles wondering who were looking, how many looked that day – week - month, and the total looks and where the lookers are coming from. 

I'm changing  my compulsions.  I am flying out of the coup!

Each of my venues has their own accounting system for my stats, plus I have Google Analytic, and my own page counters on two of my venues; not one of them ever have a realistic count that I relate to: even when I list the same item in each of the 3 locations. As you can see I was a bit obsessive with ‘How many views’ when I started out.  

 

I can’t complain my items receive views from across the United States, Canada, many European countries, Russia, China and a couple from South America, plus those big islands Australia and New Zealand.  That was the most interesting fact for the stats for me is where folks came from to look at something I had created.

On my social network -> Facebook I value those who comment on one of my photos more than any stats in a shop who view the creation.  With comments I’m able to gauge the reaction by what a person writes and how they connect to that particular photo.  It helps with my creative progress; so that I can expand a method or scrap that avenue of usage.

I’m still in the early stages of my artist career.  I’m still learning, developing my style of art.  I’m having a ton of fun.  Most importantly I am expanding my horizons in the art communities here in Anchorage and throughout Alaska and those are the stats that I count for my continued growth as an artist working in the photography field.

Take a break to my personal website - where you can explore my different concepts: AS2Designs

Or see the very latest of my photos just hop over to Facebook where various photo folders await your comments: Work & Fun 

Three Faces of Eve

I’m a sucker for color.  The bold, bright colors fill my thoughts.  When I see an item I envision it in different colors.  Taming colors is not what one should do.  One needs to celebrate the colors within their world.

Modern marvels from my computer:

Digital Enhanced Photo’s altered by Photoshop

‘Three Faces of Eve’

or

‘Baby Face’ 

as I am calling the final one in all purples which is listed at my Artfire shop.

Count Down with Self-Portraits

I'm running late today with posting so now Wednesday post will be showing up on Thursday.  This makes one frantic.

As a certain date approaches one's anxiety gets a tad higher.

Holidays and birthdays are low keyed happenings in our life for about the last 15 years.  But this year my birthday hits a mile stone.  A new decade gets added on.

As I make this journey I decided a self portrait per day.  Being one who has never been comfortable in front of a camera - only behind it; this is a whole new experience.

All my fishlips have to say is "It is much easier taking photos of things through my lens, than my lens pointing at me".

I can count on one hand the photos of me over the years on this planet that I liked.  My favorite is the one I had done when I turned 21 years old. Another was at age 40 sitting next to my dearest friend from high school with a fountain in the background.  At age 51 my father died; my mom and I had our photo taken together at a studio; that is another photo I really like.  The night before my open heart surgery sitting on the hospital bed my guy took a picture of me that belongs in the favorites list.  So maybe after my count down with self-portraits to birthday, I might even get a favorite out of one of the days.

27 days and counting...