That being said, I took away several valuable discoveries. I learned that I can push through the block and come out with results I love. I learned that if I want time, I have to force my family to get on board, and I have to kick them out of the house. It's just where we are right now. I learned that I love the creative results, and I also crave to improve technically so I can achieve the things I want to. I learned that I love wood!
As I am driving here and there, I find myself longing to pull over and leap out of the car, set up the tripod, and capture various scenes. I haven't ever been drawn to landscapes and I'm intimidated by them, which might be 75% of why I don't actually pull over. It seems that I'm intimidated even by the process of setting up the camera on the tripod. I hate using the tripod, come to think of it. The need for a tripod actually stops me. Huh.
I had the opportunity to experiment with macro photography, and loved the impact of the photos, although there were so many technical imperfections that I was on the verge of hitting "BUY IT" on a macro lens.
I am looking forward to Journey of Inspiration as a redeemer - we'll be all settled in our new place, with new challenges but our weekends won't be spend driving hours and hours and packing and laundry and all that. My goal going forward is to actually pull over when I feel the pull. I might not get something out of every shoot, but unless I try, I'm not getting anything!!
If you have the opportunity to take Kat's classes (button is around here somewhere - click to go to her page), they're phenomenal for anyone in any stage of the photographic journey!
8 comments:
JJ,
Glad to hear that you will be moving on to the next class - good to have fellow travelers along!
I encourage you to stop the car, with our without your tripod. Listen to that tug of inspiration. You never regret the shot taken; only the one that you didn't. (Speaking from experience!)
And don't beat yourself up about life interfering with the course work. You can always go back and work on the lessons when time is more on your side. I think these lessons are ones to revisit often, throughout our photographic journey.
There were times I didn't feel like I gave the class my "all". Life does get in the way. I'm planning on revisiting the assignments. I'm so glad they'll stay available for us. I've enjoy your posts and look forward to seeing you in October!
Let share with you that you are not alone in not keeping up with the class work. It is a fact of life that women, mothers, grandmothers are beyond busy...and it is very difficult to know where to draw boundaries. I was going strong with this course, and loving it, just like you....but illness in the family and with dear friends...stopped me in my tracks. I could not concentrate on photography when there was sadness and fear among my family or friends. I had to do what felt right. So now I am frustrated to be so far behind. But I will pick up where I left off...it matters not that someone reads what I post, I just need to do this for myself and to better my photographic eye! I am sure you feel this way also, but I did want you to know that you are not alone on this path. I, too am taking the october class and grateful it isn't until October!!
smiles: sharon
I adore you all for not making me feel a failure!
It's good to learn the things that you did. I think that you have to go with the ebbs and flows of family life. That's the reason that i'm not going to do the next one just yet. I was able to keep up with this one but feel that i need to stop for a while and that i wouldn't be able to keep up if i kept going.
JJ, you are in NO WAY a failure and I echo what all of your course mates have said. Life happens. Our journeys are filled with much more than photography and online classes. We have to balance things. The course lessons are yours forever and the Flickr group remains open. I'll see if there is a new post and will come by and comment, or you can always email me. Take what you can in the moment, participate how it works best for you, and let go of the guilt. I was so happy for your wonderful participation in the course, and did not notice if it wasn't as much as you might have wanted. It is all good!
If it's any comfort I've still got several assignments still to do (including this one!). My opinion on the tripod is if you don't like it, ditch it. I bet your photos will be great anyway and I think it's a shame to lose out on a shot because of equipment. Looking forward to seeing how you get on with the next course. :)
Glad you're in this next class. The first class was quite a wake up call for me. I didn't give it all I should have either but it's so simple. Stop the car, get the camera and tripod and take the picture, you'll feel so good about yourself (gee, I should take my own advice!) Looking forward to this journey with you.
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