Twenty Days and Counting

Another high school reunion is fast approaching. Conversations are often the same, "So Nancy, what have you been up to?," they will ask. With that in mind, I started thinking about what I've accomplished in the past five years. So here's what I've come up with in no particular order: become seriously interested in photography ("When does a hobby become an obsession?," my sister asks. "When I spend $600. on a lens," I answer.), joined Facebook, taken three photography classes at the Showcase School, taken four on-line photography classes at Kennesaw State, started volunteering at my local elementary school and stopped, spent over four hours hanging out under the Brooklyn Bridge taking hundreds of images while my hungry husband waited patiently... God, I love him,

worked as an extra in a television show (Drop Dead Diva), started writing this blog, spent two weeks traveling around Provence with my sister and brother-in-law,

figured out how to download songs according to the beat onto my iPod for walking, started an on-line shop on Etsy, done several art shows, planted lavender that actually lived, painted our front staircase in black and white, designed my own web page (in html no less...okay, I'm bragging), went to the Oprah Show in the middle of winter and got Gore's DVD instead of a car :(, went to NYC on a girl's trip with my three of my long-time friends, lost two friends to cancer, saw the Chihuly exhibit at both the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and the New York Botanical Gardens,

visited my niece's fourth grade class in Brooklyn and almost killed one student, joined a Bible study at church...still with it, started taking YOGA classes...absolutely HATE the plank pose, began a life-long study of Photoshop, really, and bought my first pair of Chuck Taylor Converse sneakers in RED!

That just about sums up my life for the past five years. I'm ready for the reunion. So tell me, what have you been up to?

SYMMETRY

Eye on Composition was the title of my last photography class. As you can probably guess, we focused on the rules of composition, you know, like color, leading lines, depth, scale, and the rule of thirds to name a few. As I studied the images that I shot during the six week period, I discovered that I seem to gravitate to the rule called symmetry. This surprises me because I like to think that I am very non-traditional and occasionally like to buck the rules. Some call it living "out of the box."


I think I like to venture "out of the box," but I suppose shooting "out of the box" is kinda risky. Every time take a "funky" shot or try to make it "funky" with the help of Photoshop, my husband and friends don't like it. Okay there was one shot that I took at the beach that was definitely OOTB (out of the box) and my friend, Karen, liked it...so I gave it to her.


To me, symmetry is calm and expected. It is what it is. I consider it "in the box." That can be boring, so I try to add some excitement in post-processing. The image below was shot at Piedmont Park in Atlanta this spring. Our instructor said that reflections are almost always symmetrical, so I found the lake and shot it. If I had cropped it right under the water line, it wouldn't have been symmetrical, but you already know that. This image still needs some work, but you get the picture.

The next image was taken behind a restaurant situated on the Chattahoochee River. To take this shot I had to venture "out of the box," meaning that my "grip" (Karen) and I had to sneak around the back of the property and hope no one was there. It was Memorial Day and thankfully the restaurant was closed. This is the front of a huge leaf on a plant that I have no idea what it is. All I know is that it's another example of symmetry.



So here's what I think. I'm confused when it comes to thinking and living. I think OOTB, but most of the time I live ITB. It's so sad.

He Missed A Few

What you see here is a few berries holding on to a very tired dogwood tree. There has been a race for the past few weeks among the squirrels to see who could grab and eat the most berries. Now these gluttonous squirrels are too heavy to reach the ends of the branches and that makes it impossible to reach the tips. I'm sure they are just itching to get to them, but they don't want to take the plunge. Get it?

Watching the squirrels (rats with furry tails) reminds me of that song that goes, "he glides through the air with the greatest of ease, the daring young man in the flying trapeze." I have no idea when or where I heard it, but it has stayed with me for a million years. It's amazing how we can retrieve the smallest phrases, but can't remember what we did last week. Early stages?

Side bar: Over lunch the other day, I was discussing this post with Maria, a friend who I taught two hundred years ago. Being the smartest kid on the block, she went back to work (Georgia Tech) after lunch and looked it up. So here are the first few verses of that song.

THE MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE (George Leybourne) Walter O'Keefe - 1934 Don Redman & His Orch. - 1936 Also recorded by: Eddie Cantor; Burl Ives; Cliff "Ukelele Ike" Edwards; Spike Jones; Ian Whitcomb; Les Paul & Mary Ford.

Once I was happy, but now I'm forlorn

Like an old coat that is tattered and torn;

Left on this world to fret and to mourn,

Betrayed by a maid in her teens.

.

The girl that I loved she was handsome;

I tried all I knew her to please

But I could not please her one quarter so well

As the man upon the trapeze.

He'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease,

That daring young man on the flying trapeze.

His movements were graceful,

all girls he could please

And my love he purloined away.

And if you want to hear Bruce Springsteen sing it, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voXHqkN2k9Q

Thanks for the help, Maria.

Back to business: So anyway, I went outside hoping to get a shot of one of the millions who think our backyard is the big top. I found one, but he was sneaky.

Then he changed positions. I wish I had a shotgun in my hand instead of a camera.

Here he is ready to fly. Does he make it?

He made it. Darn.


While I'm at it, I might as well confess that I'm taking yet another photography class. I'll be out and about shooting images as assigned. I took the next three images in the backyard while I was practicing with my telephoto lens.



The next image was one I took to class. Our teacher says that every picture tells a story. He's trying to make us think when we shoot, as if trying to figure out aperture, shutter speed, white balance and composition isn't enough. Anyway, to make a long story short, he gave us a list of words to describe our images and we chose two. The word I attached to this one was color. He agreed but said I should have lightened the berries. He said his eye went to the sun spot and it was competing with the berries. My eye goes to the berries. I didn't tell him that.

By now you're starting to notice that the background is blurred. It's called bokeh.

There you have it. Until next time.

ETSY

Ready for business! I just finished the grueling task of setting up a shop at Etsy. This is an on-line shop for finding unique hand-crafted items. There are zillions of shops that make and sell absolutely anything you can think of.

The hardest part in starting this project was finding and cropping a banner to fit their speculations. When you see my banner you'll see that it's very thin. That can be a problem if you want to show the beach, the ocean, and the sky. No can do. I did the best I could. Hope you like it.

Then I had to make a decision on what to sell. Janie, my sister, has pounded in my head that I should sell notecards with personal images on them. She says I don't listen to her, but how many blogs have I mentioned that SHE said this or that? Lots. Anyway, I took her brillant suggestion and posted an example card that I have shown in two of my blogs. I love that image. Initially I listed the card as a Vintage Notecard. So when anyone goes to my shop they will see the card. The problem is that if they don't spend the time to read the description, they won't get it! I don't want them to buy the card that is listed, I want them to email me their photograph to be printed on the cards. This was a quandaryment (my word). After much thought and deliberation I decided to put a Your in front of Vintage Notecards. Maybe that will entice shoppers to read the description. We'll see. (Etsy told me that the change might not be up for 24 hours.)

Below is the image I took right after I listed the notecard. It's not very clear, but you get the idea. This page is called "nmccorklephotography's shop."

After a shopper enters my shop, hopefully, he/she will click on the item. It this case, it's the notecard. Then it goes to another page with a larger image and the description.

My plan is to put lots of matted 8X10's and several framed images in my shop. They will remain there for four months. If you want to see my shop, and I hope you will, please go to http://nmccorklephotography.etsy.com/. I would love to read your comments. Any help is appreciated.

It's Not Black and White, It's Fog!

The fog was really thick the other day when I took these pictures. In the first one you can sort of see a red haze in the lower left-hand corner. Bet you're wondering what's up with that. Unless you live in my neighborhood you would never guess. It's a Walgreen's! Yep, right in our backyard. We are some kind of lucky- just a hop, skip, and a jump to the Advil! Fortunately, it's not open 24 hours.
I played with this one a little...worked on the shadows and highlights.

This was taken from the front yard. It looks like we live in the mountains, but it's the fog playing tricks and maybe a little tweaking with the composition.

I did saturate the color on the next one. I wanted to see if I could get the green in the pine trees to appear. It did. Finally.

The lesson learned here is this: on foggy days you can forget about color. You can get great black and white shots without desaturating. Good to know.

Merry Christmas...a day late

This shot was taken last year. I like how the light shines on the wall and the ribbon looks so creamy. But my admiration for this shot is not why I'm including it in today's post. I'm including it because I haven't taken a Christmas shot this year. I'm what one would call, "a day late and a dollar short." But let me explain.

Last year, 2007, Thanksgiving was on November 22nd. This year Thanksgiving was on the 27th. We had four weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year and five weekends last year. Really. I just checked it. In the scheme of things, not having that extra weekend meant a lot.

There were other extenuating circumstances that caused my lateness. The first major interruption was kitchen cabinets. This project actually began on Halloween; that's when the demolition began. I had to cram everything that was in the cabinets all over the house. They finished the Monday before Thanksgiving. You can imagine the chaos. Usually I try to start decorating after Thanksgiving, but this year I had to find the electric knife so Tom could carve the turkey, and the plates, and the silverware, and on and on. It reminded me of the time that my stepson had a party (after many warnings from us not to try it) when Tom and I went out of town. In the spring when the bushes were trimmed, all sorts of things surfaced. We even found Pepperidge Farm fish crackers in places you couldn't imagine. But that's another blog.

The other project that interfered with Christmas was the front stairs. To be perfectly honest, this started about two years ago when Tom pulled up the carpet from the stairs at my request. Then it was my turn. I pulled out a million staples and then took a year to rest. I like to pace myself. In early October I began again with the spackle, sanding, caulking, priming (two coats) and two coats of beautiful Benjamin Moore white satin paint. When the cabinet work began, I had to stop the painting (the tread needs to be painted black) to oversee the kitchen project. Yep, I was right there. I have pictures.

So to make a long story short, I'm still behind. I have some friends coming over for lunch on Monday, the 29th and I'm looking for the elves to go on the mantle. But before I put up the elves, if I ever find them, I'll have to stash the pumpkins that have been holding court on the mantle since October. Oh, and while I'm at it, I'll just throw away the candy that is still in the bowl next to the front door from Halloween.

I'm doing my best to catch up. Before you know it Valentine's Day will be here and those elves will still be on the mantle. Maybe I'll put some cute little hearts in their arms.

Debbie's Christmas Card

In early December I met my friend, Debbie, her husband, Dick, and their two cute,little dogs, for a Christmas photo shoot at Kennesaw Mountain. As a rule, I really don't like to take pictures of anything or anyone that breathes. When one breathes, one moves, and that makes it difficult to get a clear shot. Now I know that I could increase the shutter speed, but in this case, that would necessitate taking my frozen hands out of my gloves to move the button on my camera. Here is an example of what I'm talking about. Dick is trying his best to get control of the white one. Debbie told me a thousand times what her name was, but my brain was concentrating on getting THE SHOT.

The white one is cute and playful, while the brown one is behaving. But wait, it doesn't stop there.

Dick and white one continue to play. I'm thinking, "We've got work to do. This will have to stop."

And it does, for minute or two. Everybody seems to be calming down.

Oh, no, here we go again, only this time it's the brown one.

Someone has got to get control of this situation. I'm thinking, "Hey! I'm over here! Look in the camera."

Now we're ready, but somebody moved. The camera? This one would have been perfect. My fault.

Debbie, you have got to get control of yourself!

FINALLY! Got the shot! It just needed a little tweaking.

I just added a little vignette and it's a Christmas card !

Here's what I learned: 1. If I'm taking shots of animals, take treats. 2. Learn the names of all involved so when I need their attention I can use their names, and not just make weird noises.That goes for the dogs, too! 3.Don't take outside shots in less than 50 degrees. And finally... 4. Use a remote. That would enable me to get closer to the subjects without moving the camera. Maybe I'll get one for Christmas. Are you reading this, Tom?

Thanks, Debbie and Dick. I had fun and learned a lot. Next year? Maybe I'll have my remote.

Art in the Park: Part 1- The Shoppers

Last weekend was my 5th Art in the Park. I started this "adventure" last year knowing absolutely nothing about exhibiting in art shows. I must like it because I keep going back. It's really a wonderful feeling when someone likes and actually wants to buy your work. Sometimes I feel guilty about charging $12 to $15 for one of my matted 8X10s, but then I quickly remind myself about the expenses of the classes, equipment and supplies. That price is fairly inexpensive compared to street artists in New York on Columbus Avenue. It is a lucky artist who can make a living "doing art." Dare to dream.

I've noticed that I have become more and more confident with each show. I know my photography is good..not great, I just don't know if the "general public" agrees. I can almost tell when a visitor enters my tent if he or she is going to make a purchase. One thing I know for sure is this: when a person walks into my tent with a camera around his neck, he is not going to buy. These people want to talk. I admit it, I've done it myself. They usually want to ask me about my equipment and say "where did you take that shot?" I've learned to be vague in my replies. They seem to accept what I say, thinking to themselves, "I know I can find that dune in Cherry Grove," or "I know just where that house is in Charleston."

One young couple who came to the park on Sunday was putting a lot of thought in their purchases. The young woman chose an image of a chateau that I shot in Provence last spring. As they were paying, I told them about the location and she laughed and said, "he said he knew just where that house is in Charleston!" Poor guy. I wish I knew where that house was in Charleston before I went to France...

Then there was a golfer who was interested in one of my framed golf shots. Realizing the clubs in the image were antiques, his nose almost touched the frame. We talked about where he played golf and he mentioned that he belonged to a course where I really wanted to shoot. Because we had become chummy, I guess he thought he could ask me to come down on the price. Not a chance. He didn't have cash or a check, only a credit card. Needless to say, the transaction didn't occur. Love 'em and leave 'em.

At these shows I feel like a bartender or a hairdresser. People tell me some things I really don't want to know. I show interest. I care. I live in the South, I can't be rude. We talk about where they're from, where they're staying, what they're doing at the beach...you get the picture. One retired lady told me about her move to the beach from a city in North Carolina. Although she told me she was looking for artwork for her new home, I could see that she wasn't reaching for her checkbook. As we continued to talk and I showed an interest in her new life she found a picture that she just loved....a statue of an angel...just for her bathroom! A pity purchase. I'll take it.

Towards the end of the show on Sunday, a nice couple from Long Island came by. I could have talked to them for hours. He was a retired principal from an elementary school in Brooklyn and his wife was still working for the school system. Because my niece is teaching in that same area (a small world), I had tons of questions for him...."Why doesn't NYC buy new classroom furniture for the schools (my niece's teacher's desk is one of those old wooden ones that they used in the 50's)?", "Why don't they air-condition the classrooms?", "Why is it so hard to get students with discipline problems and learning disabilities tested?" and finally, "How can principal's get away with handing out teacher handbooks in December when it should be done before school actually starts?" Before they left, I gave them directions to nearby town where they could spend their evening observing a subculture in action. I hope they went. Bless their hearts.

These were the most interesting people who I met at this show. There were many more. I guess I'll add more as I remember them. What a hoot. I can't wait for the October show.

Art in the Park- Part 2: The Vendors

The best part of participating in an art show is meeting so many different people. ..not just the "shoppers," but the other vendors. I have gained so much useful information from them, such as, how to attach my banner to the front of the tent (use a bungee cord), how to keep the top of the tent from flying off in heavy winds if you don't have weights (use big-time clips), how to zip up the sides when you leave so the street people won't use your tent as a hotel room (still can't get the front zipped) and on and on.

The first new vendor who I met was Milan. Milan is a hat-maker. Before she got serious with her hats, she was a psychotherapist.. Really. Her frustration began when a local police department decided that jail was the best therapy for some of her clients. After being slapped in the face over and over, not by the police or her clients, but the "system," she turned to hats. Very cute. Milan told me about several art and craft shows in our area that are, in her opinion, worth entering.

Across from my tent and down two, was who I would describe as an "elite artist." Her paintings were breath-taking. Okay, I exaggerate, but she was major league talented. Being a bit pricey, her work was tad overpriced for the tourists just out for a leisurely stroll on a pretty weekend at the beach. I just think that people need to think seriously about making a major purchase like a painting. I bet she won't be back.

Then there was a couple from east Tennessee to my right. Usually Mr. Henry is in the corner spot, but June is too hot for him. He'll be back in October. So on Sunday while I was tapping my foot with my hand on my hip patiently waiting for the throngs of tourists and locals to appear with cash, lots of cash, I started talking to my new friend. He was an absolute hoot. This is what he does. Art and Craft shows are his life. He makes cute wooden sculptures with solar lights for people to strategically place in their yards. He decorates them with various and sundry animals and uses moss as an added touch. Some folks call it YARD ART. It sells. He said he won't be back.

Don is a photographer who lives near the beach. He can shoot from Charleston to Ocean Isle whenever he wants. He does every Art in the Park and many other shows in the area. Most all of the photographers who I've met are willing to share their knowledge of photography and many of their experiences. Don is one of them. He shoots digital like I do, so when he talks shutter speed or aperture, or even point and shoot, I listen.

Finally, there was a newcomer from the Charleston area. He doesn't shoot digital, only film. Another thing, only black and white, and trees, only trees. That's great if everyone likes pictures of trees. He displayed a HUGE picture of a tree and priced it at $1000. Didn't sell. Interesting point- didn't use glass, used plexiglas. Said it was more expensive but lighter in weight and discouraged fading. Don't think he'll be back either.

"Tent professionals," this is what Tom, my guru calls them, are an interesting group. Not only are most of them artists, but to sell their art they need to know a little merchandising and marketing, with a touch of PR thrown in. Do you know how hard it is to engage a tourist in a conversation who has tattoos and piercings all over his body, and at the same time really, really, hope that he won't want to buy an 8 X 10 of my sister's Western Flyer that I shot at 8:00 in the morning on a cold fall day on the beach?