Some Links

No picture for you today, but I have some links.

A delicious flatbread recipe.

An interview with David LaChapelle written by a friend of mine!

A wedding shot entirely with an iPhone 4. Not sure whether to be awed or shocked. Also, this is just a little ludicrous. (Both links via Tafari.)

An interesting article on the 99% about creating for yourself.

Hope you enjoy!

Streetscape

How to Get Out of a Photography Rut: 5 Things to Try

I think it was yesterday that I mentioned how I felt like I was spinning my wheels. Well, whenever I feel like that, photographically speaking, there are a few things I know to try that usually fix me right up.

1. Go somewhere new. For me, this is a big one. I'm stimulated by new sights, sounds, smells, people. Tastes! And you don't need to travel anywhere far away. Just choose a part of your area you haven't explored, or go to a festival near you. Photograph, but don't forget to participate too.

2. Give yourself an assignment. Doesn't matter what it is. Curves, lines, the color red, close-up, environmental portrait, black and white landscape, whatever. Just make yourself shoot something within given parameters. If you're at a loss, there are many photography challenges online either monthly or weekly. DPS, for one. Also, the Learn Photography Facebook group.

3. Try a new technique (or practice one you haven't used in a while). Panning, say. Or making the lights in your photos become stars. Practice shooting backlit. Take a walk and only shoot from the hip. Try to predict what your camera sees when you can't look through the viewfinder. That one's harder than it seems.

4. Find a photo buddy. I'm always happier when I have someone to talk photography with. People can give you feedback and new ideas. Both of which are obviously beneficial. Don't know anyone? I've had great success using meetup.com.

5. Create a series of images. Instead of thinking in single frames, try to come up with a concept that can be expressed in more than one image. Perhaps change over time? A photo essay about a person or subject can also really get the juices flowing. Or maybe you can document your day, from wake to slumber.

What about you? What can you add to this list? How do you stimulate the photographic juices when it feels like you've run dry?

Blur

More and more I find that integral to a good image is not only controlled sharpness, but also controlled blur.

Split-Screen

This is a composite of two shots, one focused on the fence and one focused on the garage. Both were shot at f/1.8 with my 85mm lens. 

Sometimes I feel like I'm just spinning my wheels. Days pass, my to-do list doesn't get shorter, it only lengthens, and the important items remain unchecked. I try to remind myself that this feeling is only an illusion, that actually I'm a lot farther ahead now than I was at the beginning of the year, but I find myself unconvincing.

I'm itchy, too. I haven't spent this much time in one place in a long time, and I need to get some more travel under my belt. I long for far-off places, different languages, temperatures, smells. It's time for a trip. I crave the jolt of creativity that comes with travel; the feeling that we're all the same and yet, thankfully, also so different.

For the time being, I'm staying put, buckling down and working hard. But soon that trip will get put on the schedule. I'm thinking South America, because I've never been. Macchu Pichu, Buenos Aires, maybe Rio? Who knows.

Where would you go if you had the chance? Say money and time aren't factors in the equation.

San Francisco Nights

I don't know if you're familiar with Chris Isaak, but I went through a phase when I was about sixteen where I bought nearly every one of his albums. An unabashed crooner, there are few in the music business who can sing like him. One of my favorite albums by him is 'San Francisco Days' and the eponymous track closes something like this,"I'm heading for that Golden Gate, hoping I won't be too late to find the one that I still love . . . San Francisco nights."

And for me this image perfectly reflects those words, that melody. The soft, muted tones of a San Francisco night. The kind of fog that almost embraces you, muffling sounds and blurring your vision. For me, home.