The 365 Project

I've decided to join an interesting project; the participants have committed to taking a photo every day and sharing it. It's one of those projects that I can't decide if it's too ambitious, or just fun.

I'm seriously hoping it will be fun.

Anyway, in the interest of at least starting it fun and easy, I took a photo of the orchid that sits between my computer and my beading area; to take the pressure off, I used my cell phone, and balanced it on the edge of the pot, looking up.

It's a start.

New year, new word

And so it begins.

Tomorrow is a new year, full of new possibilities and new opportunities. A time for starting over, for making new promises, for doing things better; for making changes.

For the past several years, I've been picking a word at the end of the previous year that resonates with me; a word that I hope to keep in my mind throughout the coming year.

It's a good intention, but I can't say that I've really succeeded all that well yet. I tend to lose my focus and fall away from my inspirational word as the days go on. I blush to say that I don't even remember  what last year's word was; I can't tell you if I managed to use it or not. I hope I did; I'm sure it was a good one.

But hope springs eternal, and perhaps I will do better with this year's word. As you can see, it's joy. It came to me suddenly; I hadn't even starting thinking about what my word would be when it arrived. I'm hoping that's a good portent. I would like to have more joy in my life; it's one of those resolutions that is hard to argue against.

Unlike resolving to lose weight and exercise, resolving to be joyful is, well, a joyous thing. I'm aware that I will, no doubt, find more joy in my life if I continue to be healthy, so eating right and exercising aren't going off the table. Neither is work or play; both of those bring joy into my life. I'd like to add more music; it's one of those things that both scares and delights me. I'd like to lose some of my fears and enjoy it more.

So that's about it for now; with luck, I will remember to add joy to my life this year.

Contests

I"m working on another contest piece; this time it's one for Good Quill Hunting's Birds of a Feather contest. See the feathers in this sneak peek? That's the requirement for this contest; every entry must have at least a few feathers in it.

My feathers came from our parakeet who has been graciously bestowing them on us all summer; it's his first molt, and I think he's enjoying it. I like to say that I've collected enough feathers to make a whole new bird; but, instead, I'm using them to make a contest entry.

Why do I enter contests?

It's a good question. I have lots of friends on both sides of this issue, and it's one that many people have very strong feelings about. For some, contests are a very negative experience; there are those who believe that they stifle creativity and are in direct opposition to what art is all about. Others say that competition stimulates creativity, and raises artists to the next level. Some hold that losing a competition is devastating; I've heard it described as a loss that is not unlike a death. Others say that artists must develop a thick skin, and competition is a good way to learn how to deal with rejection.

It's simpler than that for me; I like contests because they give me permission to make whatever I want to make; they give me a reason to get wild and crazy and make something that I will never, ever be able to write up as a pattern. Contests bring out the daredevil in me; while I'm working on a contest entry, I'm not thinking about using supplies that can be found all over the world, I'm not thinking about how to draw an illustration of what I've just done, and I'm not thinking about how I will explain it.

I'm just beading. I'm breaking all the rules I know, and inventing new ones. And then I break them, too. I make something fun; something that speaks just to me. It's not about winning; winning is an extra, and not the reason I enter contests at all. It's about flying. Flying without a net. Beading on the edge. Giving myself permission to not remember what I did; giving myself permission to play.

It's me time.

gratitude is an attitude

Harriman State Park, Photo by Cynthia Newcomer Daniel

For those who might not know, we make our living as property managers; art and music are what we love, but neither of them pays the bills. Nine days out of ten, the property management gig is an easy one, but when it's hard, it's very, very hard. The past couple of weeks have been full of very hard days; we had to evict someone, and they left the property in very bad shape.

Cleaning, painting and general repairs are to be expected; three months worth of uncollected garbage and never a spill wiped up, wasn't. Nevertheless, that's what they left us with; it's our job, and we've been doing it. It's just dirt, and, with a lot of scrubbing, we're getting it clean again.

But not without aches and pains. I've been working out for over a year, and I thought I was in pretty good shape; scrubbing walls, appliances, and floors for hours on end every day has shown me that there are muscles I wasn't using. I'm actually too sore to bead today; my hands won't hold the needle without complaining bitterly.

I wanted to have a tantrum; really and truly, I did. I wanted to lie down on the floor, pound my fists on the carpet and start kicking and screaming; but I'm too sore to do that, so I just moaned a bit and felt very sorry for myself. And then, I got to thinking.

This is a very temporary condition; it's one day out of ten in my life. The other nine, I'm strong and healthy and I don't have major aches and pains. This is the day that pays for what I love; this is the day that allows me to be an artist the other nine. For this one day, I can work in spite of the aches and pains. For this one day, I can let go of my complaints; I can be grateful that days like these buy me the time to create and do what I love.

ch-ch-ch-changes . . . .

I'm rearranging my studio, and changing the way I've taken my photographs for many years. I've been using an improvised set-up for a long time now; I built a very small light tent out of an old pop-up clothes hamper and some worn sheets, and I've used a combination of sunlight from the breakfast table window, my Ott light, daylight bulbs in the ceiling fixtures, and a halogen shop lamp. I have to set it all up when I want to take pictures, and I have to break it all down before we can eat our next meal.

In this photo, you are looking at the future home of my dedicated photography station; I am officially taking the plunge. Last night, I ordered lights and a new tent; a new, larger, non-improvised tent, and a set of four very bright, daylight lights, that move around on a frame that goes up the sides and over the top of the tent, so that I can adjust them to get the exact lighting effects I want.

I also ordered two gradient backdrops, and this morning I picked up a nice table to bring it all up to a comfortable height. I briefly considered putting it all on the floor and taking pictures lying down, but then I thought not. If I'm going to increase my level of professionalism, I can't do it  while crawling around my belly. Of course, only the table and my camera are here right now; I had to mail order the rest of it. I am hoping that it will all arrive sometime next week.

I'e always started my photo shoots by taking a dozen (or more!) trial shots with my best guesses as to what today's light temperature and exposure might be; then I compare the results, choose the best ones, and shoot quickly, hoping that I can finish before the light changes. I haven't succeeded in that yet; light changes very quickly when one side is coming through an east window. It also makes it challenging to get a balanced photograph; no matter what I do, my photos are never evenly lit.

Once I've chosen the photos I like, I Photoshop like crazy to fix the color temperature and the exposure, as it has invariably changed while I was shooting. My new station is away form the window; and with all daylight bulbs and no direct light form the window, I should be able to set the light temperature and exposure and have them stay consistent for the entire shoot. Actually, I'm even hoping they'll stay consistent from one day to the next. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

I know, I know - I'm picky about my photos. But I'm not the only one who wants me to take better photos; lately, it seems, no one wants a Photoshopped photo. I'm better at Photoshop than I am at photography, and that needs to change. I need photos that come out of the camera with true colors, bright whites, proper exposure and sharp focus. And I want those dandy grey graduated backgrounds, without resorting to Photoshop, too.

Just as soon as the rest of the pieces have been delivered and are in place, I'm going to start changing. This is just the first step, but it's a big one for me!