Find Your Eye ~ New Subjects Photo Shoot

In photography, just like every thing else, I have a comfort zone. A zone where I feel no anxiety or nervousness. I tend to stay within that zone, rarely stepping out of it. When I do step out, I have to deal with new circumstances and different problems to capture pleasing photos

I was pushed out of the zone in this assignment of Find Your Eye with KatEye View Of The World. I had to pick a subject that I don’t normally take photos of and take at least 100 photos. Since, I normally take photos of nature, I decided on trying architecture. I visited the Arkansas Historical Museum which has several pre-Civil War homes and buildings. I’m very comfortable taking nature photos. For one thing, I can do that in my own yard or nearby woods, all by myself. To capture architecture I had to search out buildings that appealed to me and of course, buildings usually have people around them.

When I first began to take the pictures, I felt awkward and a little frustrated. I couldn’t quite get the photos I wanted. I didn’t feel like they were appealing or interesting. I actually only like a few of the photos I took that day.

One thing I noticed right off, was that I wanted to get close and capture the details like I do in my nature photos. This is one of the first photos I took and it’s still my favorite. I thought these shutter hooks were fascinating. Each building with shutters had different hooks. There were also stars and circles.

Realizing I need to capture more than close-up shots, I walked around and made myself step back further and look. That’s when I spotted this window. The contrast of the lines in the windows and wood and the curve of the dish on the table appealed to me.

I still decided I needed to set back some more and framed this woman, dressed in period clothing, through the doorways.

I couldn't resist, I had to throw in a little nature, nature framing architecture.

I think the challenge of continuing to step out of my zone will bring more joy to my photography, make me think more about the elements of photography, keep me from getting stale, and also increase my self-confidence. Maybe I’ll never have an eye for architecture or maybe I’ll develop one. Who knows. But I do know this, I am trying this again and I may find I have an eye for a totally different object.

If I remain in my zone, I my never find what I am capable of achieving.