100 Day Project 2021

Monday, September 5, 2011

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.


11 comments:

  1. Cathy,

    I love all your photos here, but especially the last two, the way you framed each one. What a creative way to use nature to frame your new 'subject'! Congrats for stepping out of your zone and trying something new!

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  2. Of all your photos, I think the picket fence one was my favorite. I also liked the interior shot with the folded up rope bed--you did a good job there in a challenging lighting situation. Good luck with future out-of-the-box explorations.

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  3. Cathy,
    Your results are rather stupendous for an out-of-comfort-zone experiment. Your frame-within-a-frame work was so inventive and creative - I especially like the last shot with the curving sunflower framing the building. What a wonderful combination of your love of nature and your new-found "love" of architecture.

    You really pushed yourself, both in terms of subject and point-of-view. I think you should be very proud of your how far outside your zone your traveled.

    I really like what you said: "If I remain in my zone, I my never find what I am capable of achieving."

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  4. Cathy, I think you said it all in that last sentence. It seems like nearly all of us go into these challenging lessons not feeling very happy or inspired about it...but as we persevere, something sort of magical happens. And I love the way your nature-loving eye framed that old cabin with the sunflower. You did a great job with this assignment and got some lovely images.

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  5. These are great shots. I really like the light in the 2nd one & love your period woman shot through the doorways. Beautiful.

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  6. love the sunflower shot - beautiful photos.

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  7. And I love the window image, the frame within the frame and the pattern the wood and the glass makes. Great exploration.

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  8. Fantastic Cathy. I'm so glad that you really challenged yourself to go beyond your normal. I love the detail, that is so you, but I also love the bigger picture you were able to frame as you stepped back. Wonderful work! As the other participants mentioned, your last sentence sums it up beautifully. You are capable of achieving so much!!

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  9. I love your framed shots in this series. I too tend to enjoy going in close, finding a small detail-such as that cool shutter holder. In this group of shots though, I felt the last 3 (where you stepped back) are really great images....the combination of nature and architecture is really appealing, though my favs are the window and the woman in the doorway. Nicely done.

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  10. How on earth did I miss this post! I love your moment (which I shared today, but didn't step back) of looking at the bigger picture - with fabtabulous results. I absolutely love the affectionate feeling behind the picture of the woman.

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  11. the way you talked about your process of stepping back really has we thinking about what I'm looking for... I'm taking your comments with me on my next photo shoot!
    Love the pics of the windows!

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