Coot, and a Few Links

(Shot in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. There are a lot of coots there, not all of them birds.)

Tabbed browsing (where you can have more than one page open in one browser window) is both a blessing and a curse. I love the freedom of opening a page in a new tab: I can go back and look at it later, and it doesn't interrupt what I'm looking at now.

But.

Then I'm left with 800 tabs that I have opened and therefore have to get through. Some of them are links I'd like to share with you, so I keep them open until I write a post. It can get a bit hairy.

So, in the spirit of getting rid of some of those tabs, here are some links for you, stuff that I found interesting. Feel free to click on them all or ignore them all. Free choice. No one's forcing you to click on anything.

In the spirit of New Year's Resolutions, whether you made any or not, Mostly Lisa has created a list of Ten New Years Resolutions Every Photographer Should Make. I think they are great ideas, no matter what time of the year it is. If you're looking for bigger projects (and longer lists) Christina Dickson over at Digital Photography School has written down 30 Photographic Goals for 2010. Now, I won't get to all 30, but there are certainly some great ideas in there.

For some powerful black and white animal photography, I recommend taking a look at Dark Zoo over at Photography Served. I especially like the ones of the giraffes.

A beautiful example of what can be done with stop motion video, Notte Sento was shot in Rome, and is composed of over 4500 photographs. It's beautiful. You should go watch it.

And, last but not least, need some help with those resolutions? (Assuming you made any.) Check out Zen To Done.

That's it for today, see you tomorrow! Hope you're enjoying your Saturday.

Some Thoughts About Resolutions

A couple of days ago I posted about my resolutions for 2010. And I mentioned that I never used to make any, because I was afraid I wouldn't keep them.

There are a lot of things in my life that are like that. Things I don't do, or don't try, because I'm afraid things won't work out as I'd like them to. And really, that's just a waste of time.

If I don't try, then for sure I won't succeed. If I do try, and I fail, so what? I'm in the same place. If I succeed, then I'm ahead. I only lose out if I don't try in the first place.

The first day of the new year is a good excuse to stretch ourselves, and try. Try things we otherwise might not.

Because really, what have you got to lose?

Squirrel!

Resolutions for the New Year

I used to never make resolutions because I was afraid I wouldn't keep them.

If it was important enough to make a promise to myself, then why couldn't I do it on any other day of the year? Why the first, specifically? But since I've procrastinated as usual, and here it's the 5th already, I feel like this is prime time for resolution making. And since I'm making them public, I'll have you all to hold me accountable.

I have two kinds of resolutions, photography related and life related.

Life Related (these are more important, although it's hard to remember that, sometimes).

Consume less. And, consume consumables. I don't want to surround myself with things. Living in a small apartment is teaching me about how much junk I really have. I want my extra money (when it comes around, if it does) to go to new experiences: travel, education, even going out to restaurants or concerts. For me, this is a difficult resolution.

Give more. To people on the street, to my friends, to charities or causes I believe in . . . do more favors. Be more available to help.

Enjoy. The little things. Good meals. Walks in the park. Listening to great music.

Photography Related

Shoot More Portraits. I love taking pictures of people, but often I am just too shy about actually doing it.

Get Paid. I'd like to make this photography thing a bit more lucrative, if only to justify my obsession by turning it into a useful skill. Know anyone in the SF Bay Area who needs some photos taken?

Increase my percentage of keepers. I want to go out shooting more, but come back with fewer photos. There are times now when I take a photo and I know it's not going to be good, as I press the shutter button. I want to be able to stop myself from taking that shot, and go and search out a better shot. Plus, my hard drives are filling up with photos at an alarming pace!

Print more. What good are my images if they never get off the computer? I've got plenty of wall space that's just calling my name!

What about you? What are your resolutions? Did you make any?

Roof

I was playing with 8x10 crops yesterday, and I realized that, although I love the 3x2 ratio, I'm a little tired of it. I've been influenced by all these photographers who say they never crop their work, and I've been working on perfecting my image in camera, but what if I don't want a 3x2 image?

And I like this photo just as much if not more, with a little bit off either side. I think I might shoot with this crop in mind for the next few days, see which subjects work for it, which don't.

For your reference, here's the 3x2 image. I took this shot in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in a temple. These are clay roof tiles. Which crop do you prefer?

Trunk

Another photo from the snow. Two ways of processing it, which do you like better? I'm leaning toward the first, because the second one hurts my eyes a little. Not sure that the first one is interesting enough, though.