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I am not much good at answering questions – but I can ponder.  Read of my pondering at the bottom of the page after you enjoy these photos by Bob and Bill!

Spains and Hazletts at the original  “Cheers” in Boston, MA

Old North Bridge, Concord, MA

Old Union Oyster House established 1826 in Boston, MA. Had to eat here!

Concord, MA

“embattled farmer stood … fired the shot heard round the world.”

Concord, MA

“embattled farmer stood … fired the shot heard round the world.”

Thought you might appreciate these that I just took today.

Bill White

Abraham Lincoln is quoted to having said something like this:  “I could not sleep when I got on the hunt for an understanding, I focused until I had caught it. This was a passion with me.”

NOW, MY PONDERING!

Someone ask me “How can I teach myself to become a better photographer and have fun doing it?”

So, I studied. Passion and niche are two terms that kept cropping up. 

Author Maria Brophy says “It’s okay to photograph a lot of different things. But if you want to create photos that are applauded by others, you have to focus on just one area at a time.  When you focus in one area that you have a passion for and consistently work on it, you get better and better at it. Eventually, you become the go-to person in that area.”

These three people did that – look them up on the web:

Anne Geddes: Photographs tiny babies placed in flowers and plants.

Thomas Kinkaide: Painter of little cottages in bucolic settings.

Clark Little: Photographs the shore-break of waves in Hawaii.

Ask yourself:

What do I really feel passionate about? (People, places, things) 

What is one thing that sets my photos apart from others? (Style, theme) 

What photo project did I do in the past that I really, really enjoyed, and that easily flowed out of me and my camera?

Why was it so easy for me? (The people, medium, project, or what?) Where do I WANT to focus my time and efforts? (Not “should” but “want”) 

EXAMPLE: If you wrote that you love photographing island flowers against a uniform color background and your live on Drummond Island.  Your niche would be that of a Drummond Island flower photographer. Soon, you would be ask publish photos of Island flowers in local news papers and tourist brochures. Soon you could be the go-to person for flower photography on the Island  –  you followed your passion and found your photographic niche.

Oh well, you can see I really pondered the question: “How can I teach myself to become a better photographer and have fun doing it?”

You may want to ponder what I wrote. Then ponder the photos that Club members post here. Do you think any of them focus on a passion for a specific niche?  Do you know who most likely took the photo before you look at the name?

Hey, I have been thinking about how to make the TGO Photo Club fun for more TGO’ers. – I want to invite, into the club, people who never think of themselves as photographers or artists! “Birds-of-a-Feather” is one idea that may make the club inviting for many.

Digital cameras – especially the cell phone camera – made each of us a photographer and artist. We now transform our very own unique vision of the world into digital art every day – without a lot of expertise in equipment, processes, or knowledge of the elements of art.  Mobile devices bring new possibilities to the table.

Mobile devices are discrete.  Moments are not disrupted by balky equipment.

Mobile devices are ever-present. We capture fleeting moments unavailable to bulky equipment and artists pallets.

Mobile devices are immediate.  You can review your shot on the spot and redo it to be sure to capture your own unique vision of the moment. 

Mobile devices are collaborative.  The social networks allow us to share and get feedback in an instant.

Hey, I want to diverge and tell you a story about a cell phone – just for laughs:

My daughter Heather taught me, or did I teach her, to stay busy and enjoy each day and each moment.  We share a lot of moments via social media – in our case,  e-mail and text. 

She earns a living by thinking – but her schedule is so busy that some things must get done without thinking – she prioritizes – thinks about the new challenges and does the routine things automatically.  

This morning, she was in the kitchen on the phone talking to a prospective buyer, sorting papers, thinking about how to make the sale, preparing a cup of coffee to put in the micro-wave and take with her as she drove to meet a prospective buyer. Phone conversation over, she opened the micro-wave and popped the phone into the micro-wave, gathered up the papers and ran for the car. Oops, said she, I forgot my coffee, back into the kitchen – opened the micro-wave to get the coffee and was met by a cloud of stinky black smoke and a smoldering cell phone!

Yep, after a successful sales meeting – off to the Version store to spend much of her commission on a new cell phone.  Like the insurance advertisement says “We have seen a thing or two.”

Immediately, with her ever-present new cell, she sent me a photo of the smoldering old phone to ask me what I thought her daily pace did to her brain. – Together we laughed. (In this case the new phone camera made sharing the days happening immediate and collaborative.)

Hope you loved that true story – OK, back to the TGO Photo Club.  I want to make the TGO Photo Club a place for all of us to learn more, share, and collaborate according to each of our own  interest.  I want it to be a place for those who fully comprehend the power of the latest cameras and expensive lens, those who know the complexity of post processing software, those who have studied the elements of art, and those who love the ever-present aspects of mobile devises.  Some parts of the club will fit all of us.  But some of us must gather in smaller groups like Birds-of-a-Feather.

 More on that later. 

Here are some examples of digital sharing from Jim Dick, Bob Hazlett, and myself:

Bob Hazlett

Hey, this is a fun philosophical topic to think about.  Maybe someone would like to research it and make a presentation to the Photo Club this season.  Bring your ideas to the Education Group and see what they think.

Since Bob Hazlett sent some great photos of his travel this summer – in Cape Cod and Hyannis  – I wanted to introduce them in this blog – So, I started to think why I was so glad he sent them – I went to the internet and thought a little about it  – You know, I think our Club should learn more about why we enjoy seeing photos – I bet if we all think about why we photographers  photograph, we will become better photographers and enjoy our sport a little more.

From the Internet:

Didn’t have a camera by my side this time,
hoping I would see the world through both my eyes.

Today I finally overcame,
trying to fit the world inside a picture frame.

Maybe you should have seen that sunrise with your own eyes;
it brought me back to life.

—John Mayer, “3×5”

That does not sound right because here I am the leader of the Photo Club  I take photos every day – some times every hour – I could have ask “Why take photos?”  So I went to the internet and ask that question.  I found many articles and essays on the subject.

Here is a portion of just one essay I found:

“During my last vacation, I avoided reaching for my phone to take pictures. Though I was conscious about this choice, I slipped up a few times. Every beautiful sunset, every Wyoming sky, every rushing Montana river, brought with it the twitch, an urge to reach for my camera-phone and seize the picturesque setting. I resisted, though, and after an instant of hesitation, I was able to enjoy each event for all its worth—not attempting to put a piece of it in my pocket to save for later. I took it all in—right then, right there—enjoying the experience for what it was: a perfect moment.

Don’t get me wrong: I think photography is a beautiful art form. When well-executed, photos are breathtaking. Furthermore, we’re a visual culture, so pictures play a large role in the way we communicate. I’m not going to stop taking photos altogether, but I am going to remain more cognizant of my surroundings. I’m going to enjoy the experience first and embrace the impermanence of the moment. And if an unobtrusive opportunity arises to snap a photos, then I will. Maybe. Or maybe not. It’s okay to be on the mountain without proving to everyone else you were there to see it.”

I am not sure I like the tone of that essay – Here is where it sent my mind:

So, do you snap photos to prove you were there, to refresh you memory of the moment when alone six months later in the dead of winter, or in the dead of winter does your photo help you tell a story at that social cocktail party.

My thought is:  If you are on a photo shoot looking for birds, taking a walk around the TGO community/nature trail,  on a travel to Cape Cod, or enjoying life on my Great Lake called  Naadowewi-Gichigami (Lake Huron), enjoy the experience first and embrace the impermanence of the moment, them snap photos often.  You will have time to enjoy the moment and snap photos.  Then use your photographs – Share them to encourage others to enjoy photography, share them to let others simply stay in touch with you, share later over cocktails to serve as an aid to telling your story, in the dead of winter refresh your memory of the moment, and look at them anytime and marvel that your photograph is a piece of art that you and your friends love.  Why we humans love art is another whole topic but we do love to look at art.

So, say I, keep that shutter going on every trip – not just in your motor home, but on those trips through all the hours of your life! Where ever they may be.

Hey, if you missed it yesterday, go see Dave’s great shots of owl eyes staring at you. Click in left hand column (Photo Shoot Images) to see them – then return here.  If you missed my yesterday’s post of a beautiful morning on Drummond Island, click “Older Posts” at the bottom of this page.

Do you mind eyes staring at you or you at them – Hey, go see Dave’s great shots of owl eyes staring at you. Click in left hand column (Photo Shoot Images) to see them – then return here and take a morning walk with me.

Here on Drummond autumn arrives early and fast – one day it is summer and the next day it is fall.  It felt that way this morning. Soon the Sand Hill Cranes will circle the island to gather up groups for the trip south. I know that will not happen for another month but these last few days made me think of next month. Bright sunshine with brief periods of cloud cover, fog rolling in over the bay a 5:30 this morning, and heavy dew in the morning.

This week, I cut more grass, cleaned up more downed trees, painted more items than I did all summer. I did all that work just so I could enjoy being outside in the early fall-late summer days on Drummond.  We still have 15 hours of light, but each day the hours of light shrinks. And the temps – Oh my – in the high 60’s at noon today – with bright sun.

Like Mister Hawthorne said:

“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” Oct. 10, 1842 ― Nathaniel Hawthorn

Others have said: Everyone must go outside and watch fall sneak in – Hello, Fall! It’s Fall Y’all.  Happy Fall Y’all.

First at 5:30 the whole lake was hidden in a fog bank that soon burnt off.  That is when I took a walk outside to enjoy the dew and late summer flowers of early morning.

According to the dictionary – Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning due to condensation.  As the exposed surface cools by radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate greater than that at which it can evaporate, resulting in the formation of water droplets.  Because dew is related to the temperature of surfaces, in late summer it forms most easily on surfaces that are not warmed by conducted heat from deep ground, such as grass, leaves, railings, car roofs, and window panes.

Bet you are glad I looked that up just for you – Anyway I will post some of the photos I took on my early morning walk today.

I truly hope these photos inspire you to get out there and enjoy the simple but beautiful things you can see and study each day as the new season approaches. – And of course take your camera and share your experience with friends and neighbors.  If you send me a photo or two I will share it on this Photo Club blog – even if you are not a member I am sure our members would enjoy your photos!

Be sure to go to “2. Photo shoot images” by clicking in left column – Jim Dick posted  some TGO bobcat photos and hummingbird photos.  You will not want to miss these beautiful photos!!

Then come back here and learn of breakfast not served at the Brubaker’s.

• • The Anhinga’s distinctive shape earned it the nickname “water turkey” for its turkeylike tail, and “snake bird” for its long snakelike neck as it slithers through the water
  • Unlike most waterbirds, the Anhinga doesn’t have waterproof feathers. While that may seem like a disadvantage for their watery lifestyle, their wet feathers and dense bones help them slowly submerge their bodies under the water so they can slyly stalk fish.
  • The name Anhinga comes from the Tupi Indians in Brazil, meaning “devil bird” or “evil spirit of the woods.”
  • The oldest recorded Anhinga was at least 12 years old.

My favorite wildlife animal is the fox – Go see what Dave Cesari photographed. Click 2. Photo shoot images in left hand column – Then return here and read on!

Photography is a way of expression. It is a medium for story telling. There is something special about taking photographs and sharing them with friends, family, and online. Your favorite location looks unique at different times of the year –  Snowfall in winter, spring flowers, green in the summer, and colors in the fall.  Maybe choose the theme of telling the story of the changing  seasons of your favorite location.  

What ever your chosen theme, go out and photograph only subjects that you think fit that theme – enjoy the challenge of finding the subject you wish to shoot – then get on a ladder and photograph it from on high. Next, lay on your stomach and photograph it.  Then backup, look through the v of the big oak tree and place your subject right in the middle of the v.

Well, last week I chose “abstract close-ups” as my theme.

I was out cutting down some trees on the shores of Lake Huron, on Drummond Island.

My photographic eye said – I bet a close-up of that wagon load would be a great abstract.  I can show what this pile of branches will look like next winter – as an abstract!

While looking at the terrible iPhone close-up my mind took a crazy path – I have not idea where it came from – but I think I wanted to learn by doing – If it does not work out – that means I learned what not to do.

Be careful of that let’s try attitude – I had that attitude even when I was younger boating, raising cattle, riding motorcycles, riding horses, etc.  That attitude sent me to the Emergency Room more than once – But I think having that attitude with photography is safe – If it does not work out on try one – just erase it and start over.

Back to me looking at the terrible iPhone close-up.  Suppose I changed my theme – from iPhone to PhotoShop abstracting using this iPhone photograph as a starter and adding some of my past photos from each of the four seasons. That is what I did.  It was fun and I will show you the results. Study each of the season’s images for hidden images within.

Many many more fun steps produced the following winter abstract of the tractor in the barn:

Boy did I learn a lot about PhotoShop by just doing.  I sure do not want to encourage you to become a PhotoShop nut like me. No, No!

But my message is – pick a theme for your photo moments – create your photos from all different angles, different foregrounds, different back grounds, same scene different seasons, different lighting…… AND learn to have fun by creating, taking on a challenge, and by trying.

I love the challenge of trying to figure out what to write in this blog. It makes me feel good and I spend hours really enjoying doing it – in the evening when a person my age has few options: 1. TV programs have gotten beyond me and the advertisements they show a usually for things I do not understand, do not want, or can not afford.  2. I did not put my boat in the lake this summer, so a moonlight run up the Great Lakes river to the Soo Falls is not an option – and further more the moon is not even out. 3. My canoe is available but I am too tired to paddle against the south breeze pushing against my dock – of course the return trip would be easy if I ever got out there. 4. Guess I could drink scotch and have a great day tomorrow – What do I mean?? – well if I did not drink scotch tonight, when I awoke in the morning I would feel the best I will feel all day (That was my attempt a Dean Martin joke).

In addition to thinking about writing this blog, the challenge I faced last night was to study why we love a challenge. I went to many psychology oriented web sites to find out why we humans enjoy a challenge – We  love the challenge even if we lose – in fact they said we love the challenge even more if we lose – at least in our first attempts! The web sites went on to say we are designed to take on a fighting challenge in our attempt to win – some sites said we do it to dominate over other humans and other creatures.  We humans, over the many thousands of years, have used challenges to develop our skills beyond other animals – because of our built-in drive to dominate we are motivated and are excited by the challenge.

Oh my!  Why am I looking at all of this? Well, I am taking on the challenge of bringing excitement into your photography by giving you challenges.

Oh, I did look at one other psychology angle. I went to the internet to look at the challenges our kids are taking on  – it is called  digital gaming (almost 2 billion people are gamers – that is one out of every 4 – it must be a trillion dollar industry).  No one told our kids they have to do it – so it has to be that  they love it due to this build in joy excitement of a challenge – boredom goes away when we take on a challenge – like me and the challenge of writing this blog at night and trying to understand why I love the challenge rather than TV, boating, canoeing, or drinking too much scotch.

So, I suggest you grab you camera or iPhone and take on one of the 328 challenges I found on the web – Do some searches for 328 photography themes – you will find it too.  Go ahead – Grab a photography theme –  Bring excitement to your life – Well at least to you photography.  Just for fun I will show you four photography theme challenges I recently took on. I really had fun – much like a scavenger hunt, but much better:

1. Theme – Flowers with bees on them.

   

   

2. Theme – Plants used by animals.

   

   

   

   

3. Theme – Rocks that look like things.

   

   

   

   

4. Theme – Make a piece of photo-art using  photos within each theme.

   

   

   

   

Skills are like muscles — you need to flex them regularly. When you think you’re comfortable using a camera, that is when it’s healthy to challenge your techniques.

The best photographers take on challenges as part of the joy of their photography. Dave Cesari, (click “2. Photo shoot images”) tells and shows of his joy of photographic challenges.

GO SEE DAVE’S WORDS AND PHOTOS – THEN COME BACK – ‘CAUSE I GAVE YOU SIX IDEAS ON EXERCISES FOR THOSE PHOTOGRAPHIC MUSCLES  WITHOUT BORING TECHNOLOGY:

Think about what you might learn by  pressing the shutter with one of these suggested challenges:

01. Go on a photo walk: In any city you happen to be in, search the paper and internet for an organized photo-walk.  Photo walks allow you to practice taking photos of just about everything.  They give you an opportunity to meet new photographers and hear what they have to say about their approach to each subject to be photographed on the walk..

02. Take photos of strangers on the streets:  Challenge yourself to approach strangers and ask them if you could take a photo. If they say “yes”, the challenge begins – What do you do next?:  pose them, take a candid shot, quickly choose a background, and do not forget to check the light direction, etc.

03. Express yourself with self portraits:  Forget selfies. Learn to create proper portraits using a tripod and a camera with timer or remote control.

04. Create a photo essay: Document your summer, your fall, or what ever. Your goal is to take a series of photos that tells a story -much like a comic book without words.

05. Photo the same subject – different perspectives: Pick one subject to shoot, and capture it in different angles, distances, colors, and light.  How about your cat, dog, kayak, church pew, Grandchild, or anything?

06. Add movement with time-lapse photography:  Catch the movement of the foreground or the background. Show the movement of a tree in the wind as the foreground of a landscape or the movement of the stars in the sky as the background to a rock.

07. Or;    Like Dave – catch the bird in flight. Or like me, use your photos to create a fake view of passengers looking out over the rear deck bar of their cruise ship – after the third drink.