'Parisiens Jaune'
"One doesn't stop seeing. One doesn't stop framing.
It doesn't turn off and turn on. It's on all the time."
- Annie Leibovitz
It's been five long years since I've been able to return to Paris. Oh! How I miss her so! I especially miss wandering the city with my cameras: all those images waiting to be captured, all those stories waiting to be told. Encore, my Paris drought has prodded me to
re-invent this blog - a joyful, stress free challenge to expand my creative eye here, at home. Now the only editor's timeline and deadline I have to adhere to are my own. Thus, not only do I continue to carry my camera with me wherever I go (and click, click, click) I have the space and time to research, explore and experiment with my craft: technique, lighting, viewpoint, editing, etc. here, at home. With this in mind, for this post, a challenge for self-taught me: curate a post with photographs taken in the month of April, applying the technique(s) and photography-genre(s) I've been researching...
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"There is only you and your camera.
The limitations in your photography are in yourself,
for what we see is what we are." - Ernst Haas
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Landscape...
'Spring Snow Shower'
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"...my dreams might let me know, all the stars are closer." - Kendrick Lamar
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'Sauk, Meskwakis, Kickapoos'
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"I'm thinking balls are to men what purses are to women.
Just a little bag, but we feel naked without them."
- Carrie, Sex In The City
My favorite camera weighs about 3lbs and is bulky; always necessitating a pretty large camera bag/purse (God how I miss my discontinued Epiphanie
Ginger camera bag/purse!). I'm not ashamed to admit that there are times when I just don't want to lug it. I tell myself I can capture anything that catches my eye with my trusty high quality iPhone camera. And wouldn't you know it,
that's when I see or experience something I
have to capture - and I'm almost always disappointed with the results. The quality, scope, range, clarity, 'edit-ability,' and dependability of a 'real' camera just aren't available with a phone camera. Lugging a well stocked camera bag far outweighs the frustrating results of
not lugging one. The moral of this story:
bite the bullet to get the shot. Lesson learned.
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Still Life...
'Mercury Spectacles' 'Paris L.S.P.'
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"The art of photography is all about directing the attention of the viewer." - Steven Pinker
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'Coffee Table Hiatus' 'Finklestein'
One thing that prompted this assignment was my realization that most of my Paris photography focuses on the 'exterior' of my experiences there - capturing strangers and images that catch my artistic eye and speak to me emotionally. Makes perfect sense since, although I visit often, I'm still a short time visitor. Thus, for this assignment, I added another caveat, focus on the 'interior' - keep it personal, intimate: days in the life, with the loves of my life; champagne with beloved friends; a Spring snow shower viewed from my bedroom window; scenes from an Indian Trail during a late night convertible drive with Mr. G; my spot at the barre (last week, after a
four year hiatus, I've returned to my love); vintage bleachers (I spend an inordinate amount of time on courts); my collection of defunct eye glasses (I use when I misplace my glasses, which is often ;-}
Documentary...
'Executive Meeting' 'Sage Repose'
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"Don't shoot what it looks like. Shoot what it feels like."
- David Alan Harvey
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Architectural...
'Barre' 'Numbers'
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"I looked around at rooms that I did not see as rooms but more as...a biography of memory." - Anne Spollen
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Sports...
'This or That'
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"Sports do not build character. They reveal it." - Heyword Broun
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Portraiture...
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"There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment." - Robert Frank
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Oui, I lament my too long Paris hiatus but my city of light and love continues to inspire, no matter how long my time away; encouraging, forcing me, to grow, technically, aesthetically, artistically. And, in the interim, during the journey, I've found so many facets to capture that further deepen my appreciation and love of home. Yes, these lemons make the most delicious lemonade...
Vivre! Rire! Aimer!
Temple
