One of Those Days

 

I’m a jeans and t-shirt girl usually. But sometimes I’m a classic pant, timeless top kind of lady. A Gap ad of the no-nonsense kind, for lack of a better description. But today, even with interrupted sleep, and uncontrollable raging hormones, I made myself put on my favorite skirt and heels.

Encouraged by a number of amazingly inspired and seemingly impossible self-portraits and all sorts of cool vintage, antique and/or toy camera images I decided to attempt to take the edge off of feeling low by trying to push through the doldrums with creativity.

I recently splurged on a well-deserved new camera (well, it's gently used but new to me and I love love love it) and wanted to try it out with my Lensbaby’s Optic Kit. I know I have a Diana camera somewhere in this house but I can’t find it (don’t get me started) and since I longed for something that would help me create something nostalgic and moody (since I was in quite a mood after all) I knew ‘plastic camera’ simulator would do the trick. Did you even know they offered that? So cool! Sometimes clearing the cobwebs by trying something out of the normal routine can work wonders. If nothing else, it’s a distraction.

What tricks do you save for rainy days, mood swings and lack of motivation? Throw us a creative bone today. Something we can sink our teeth into when nothing but chocolate will do.

Edited to add- I ran across a perfect quote for days like these! It's nice to get a little perspective sometimes. Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas. I'm feeling better already.

Comments

[Marcie]

Love this image. Everything about it works!!!!
When nothing else works...and all else seemed to fail..I turned to some brown remnants of winter:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=728

[kosenrufu mama]

i love that picture, the colors are so soft!!! for me the best is a long walk in my loved town, bologna in Italy...
http://esterdaphne.blogspot.com/2009/03/spero-sinceramente-che-tutti-abbiate.html

[Alicia]

With spring taking so long to get here, I've been feeling in a bit of a mood about pictures. I'm tired of seeing all these leaf-less trees and feeling the cold wind blow through my city. But, this weekend, a trip to my favorite place (Brooklyn Bridge/Dumbo!) and a little playing with the processing, helped me create the pictures in this post. I love them, even if I've taken pictures similar over and over in past visits! I did find some shots I hadn't necessarily taken before! (Kind of a photo challenge for myself with each trip to the Brooklyn Bridge!)

http://aliandsethinthecity.blogspot.com/2009/03/saturday-with-boy-in-alligator-hat.html

[Mrs. E]

I visit blogs that inspire. I find out on Shutter Sisters that I am not the only person who takes pictures while I am driving. (My daughters beg me not to do that any more.) I caught this picture a week or so ago. It is sunrise, though it looks like a sunset. There was a large cloud bank. I don't often see sunrises, and this one caught my breath!

http://erickfam.blogspot.com/2009/03/i-expect-to-pass-through-this-world-but.html

[sharon]

Cool! I am not sure I have a body part I want to capture for eternity. (I'm working on it.)

[ELK]

what a very wonderful post Tracey....
a trick I use
scissors...check
paper...check
camera....check
table.....check

http://www.redorgray.com/2009/03/perched-by-redorgray-on-flickr.html

oh did i forget chocolate..it is out of the photo but there! ELK

[Sue Henry]

I try to use a new technique, such as featured here:
http://suehenryphotography.wordpress.com/page/2/

Or, I'll take an existing photo and "add a little love," like this:
http://suehenryphotography.wordpress.com/2009/02/12/the-gift/

Or, when all else fails, I head to look for rust:
http://suehenryphotography.wordpress.com/2009/02/15/contemporary-wall-arrangement/

[Puna]

I don't have a photo to share but I will share that I am feeling the same way today. I have the doldrums. I think there's a change coming in my life...I hope it involves photography.

[camerashymomma]

nice legs! and sweet little straps on the your shoes too.

i'm afraid when i got nothing, i got nothing but chocolate.

oh and that *twist* self-portrait? good grief! that is amazing.

[hi kooky]

Well, I take pictures too. I like to add a challenge for myself to keep it interesting:

Using toys: http://hikooky.blogspot.com/2008/12/phototherapy-for-me-anyway.html

Messing with exposure: http://hikooky.blogspot.com/2008/12/cure-all.html

(If I've posted one or both of these links before, please forgive me - I can't remember!)

[debi]

I call what I do "digital therapy". I discovered it accidentally about a year ago & have used it since. I find a photo - not necessarily a great one, but one that has lots of "spaces" to be "colored" in - and start filling in those spaces. It takes a long time and I pay attention to nothing else - it's a form of meditation. This screen image took forever & I loved it:
http://emmatree.blogspot.com/2008/11/thiefs-window.html

[Karyn]

Besides trolling around flickr for hours looking for awesome ideas...
I tend to revert to cooking.....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayak57/3383729407/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayak57/3170840721
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kayak57/3327756065

apparently quite a lot.

[Wayfaring Wanderer]

My camera has been doing more dust collecting than anything these days.

What do I do?

Revert to photoshop!!!! I have been playing with various layouts and am learning a number of new things with the program that I never cared to learn when I was simply editing photos. I have also been working on a newsletter for a local organization I am a part of. Check it out.

http://www.wayfaringwanderer.com/2009/03/current-project-newsletter-for-pact.html

-WW

[spread your wings]

i love your photo - love the colors and the softness - the mood of it
.
when i have nothing I just photograph what's right in front of me.
http://spreadingwings08.blogspot.com/2009/03/drying-dried.html

I'd like to get out the 5-hole circular pinhole camera we made and play around with that. Taylor used to get some really cool images from that camera.

that twist self portrait is amazing - thanks for sharing

[Meg]

Love the mood that your picture gives off. Also have enjoyed looking at all the shots in the comments. Some great ideas too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7565577@N04/3384394017/in/photostream/

When I'm having "one of those days", I try to step out of it by doing something new - something out of my comfort zone. Shooting from a different perspective, trying a new way to edit, or learn something new about my camera or photoshop. It may not always be apparent in the finished product, but it's all about the process sometimes.

[deezee]

I've got to ask: what's the new/used camera???

[Bon]

damn, that's lovely. the legs are lovely, the shoes are lovely. a moment that takes me into a whole short story.

[Sarah - Ji]

Oh my gosh, Tracey! That's a beautiful self-portrait! And "nothing but chocolate will do"--love that phrase because I can so totally relate.

I guess I tend to go out at night by myself, put my camera somewhere steady (too lazy to drag around a tripod), put it on timer and lowest ISO and narrowest aperture and shoot long exposures of urban streetscapes:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraromeo/3371253192/

The star flared street lamps usually at least put a smile on my face.

[Amy.dailypleasures]

New here! :)

I'm supposed to be on the treadmill right now, but yes, I'm lacking motivation. So what do I do?
Grab my camera and search for some light. Perfect, beautiful, streaming light. Mix that with a bit of delicate beauty that I treasure every day, and I end up with this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dailypleasures/3385552064/in/pool-shuttersisters

Love your photo. Dreamy. Full of wonder and thought...

[Cindi Barker]

Oh Tracey, I do exactly what you have done --- I put the Lensbaby on my camera. I also have the attachments for that lens, the closeup filters and the wide angle and telephoto adapters and usually at least one of those things helps me find some way to shoot something in a new way. But I rarely run out of things to shoot probably because I am in our local photography club and we have montly assignments as well as a field trip nearly every month so when I am not out shooting then I am post processing on the computer. And we have one meeting a month with a program and one that is a tutorial so there is always something to learn and to be inspired by, at least for me because I am relatively new to photography having gotten the bug about 5 years ago. I expect if I stay at it long enough I will find myself in the doldrums eventually!

[claudia]

Sometimes I feel like using actions is cheating, but I usually put my own twist on them by finishing with, or squeezing a texture layer in between.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/3380343852/
Other times I feel like my work on photos is all over the place, just trying to keep myself entertained until the snow thaws! :)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurohunt/3378078038/in/photostream/

[Gayle]

I feel the same today, Tracey. Your image is beautiful!

When I feel down, I often cook. It usually lifts my mood, if I can force myself to do it! Today I took some photos while seeking spring. I just couldn't convince myself to get out my baking stuff!

http://planetmfiles.com/2009/03/25/desperately-seeking-spring/

[Kelly]

Dark cloudy days (like today at my house) make me pensive, and I take some of my most thoughtful shots on those days. I've had to deal with a lot of depression over the last couple of years, so I'm learning not to despise it, rather to use it as a reason to look for rest. I let myself process and create and just be with my pictures... Here are a few of my favorite dark day photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8702729@N02/3276720395/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8702729@N02/3384733237/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8702729@N02/3384731557/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8702729@N02/3368797790/

[Leslie]

Yes, this is a wonderful post, on those days of boredom I grab my 60mm macro lens and wonder around capturing whatever I can find...I found this beauty in my backyard.


http://lesliephoto.blogspot.com/2009/03/love-is-in-air.html

[Farmer Gal]

When I'm stalled creatively I like to look back through pictures that I've taken. As I browse, it seems like one of them will stand out and, like they say, say a thousand words.

Other times, like today (http://farmgalsmarket.squarespace.com/ramblings/farmer-gal-ramble.html) I don't worry about being so creative and just speak about what's going on, what's on my mind, etc...

[Liz]

a skirt and heels are excellent therapy! i often go back to my piano and play....just play. these certainly are gray days. one thing that has been helpful lately has been exploring my yard. i just bought my house last November and have never seen the plants here, so it's like opening a present when new things come up! i'd link a picture, but my computer has been in the shop for a week tomorrow (see above reference to gray days). hurry up, summer!

[melody is slurping life]

Hugs.

I need to pick up my camera. Put on a skirt. Or something.

Thanks.