close to home

Snow days, long nights, howling winds, and chill factor can only mean one thing: winter is not loosening it's grip. Not quite yet anyway.

*sigh*

For some that means being cooped up indoors far more often than is comfortable. We can sum it up with two little words: cabin fever.

Today, turn it around by looking at your humble and cozy abode with fresh eyes. Share the corners of your world that remind you how lucky you are to spend your time close to home.

the world through a child’s eye

I had the pleasure of a photo walk with my eldest son at the weekend, just us, as the sun was getting ready to dip behind the trees.

He lead us around the familiar setting of our local park, I wanted to give him the freedom to explore and let him be creative.

As followed him, I watched as he photographed items familiar to us both, even things I had photographed before. He was seeing them differently, through fresh eyes, it wasn’t the “same” or “boring”, just because he’d seen it many times before. Looking through the lens excited him and seeing his composition or framing of a familiar site, was thrilling to him.

I don’t think you have to have children, to know that the way they see the world is different. Everything is new to them, they have fresh perspective and a different view point.

Take a chance today, open your eyes and play with your camera, try spotting and noticing different view of the world, even in a familiar place. I'd love to see your world through "a child’s eye". 

irony and icons (as in polaroid and lady gaga)

 

I spent much of last week at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas (CES 2011). I have a whole list of noteworthy highlights from my very first trip to this institution of an event of leading edge technology. Ironcily, many of which have not much to do with technology at all (except maybe my new love affair with my new Nokia N8).

I attended, courtesy of Nokia, with no agenda but to experience the show as a whole and share my perspective. Of course, for me, my thoughts consist of both words and images. Such is life as a photographer. Before I left, I got a number of tweets nudging me to hit the Polaroid booth in time for the big reveal of goodies that they have been cooking up with Lady Gaga over the last year.  You know, messages like, "take pictures" and "I can't wait to see your pictures". Gulp. The pressure was on.

To my surprise, out of 140,00 people, I actually ran into a few friends whilst heading over to the booth. This of course, worked out to my grand advantage because truthfully, I may have bagged the whole thing had I not had someone to keep me company. Thanks HBM for hanging in with me and for keeping it real!

Under the circumstances I knew capturing any photos that would be of any artistic interest at all would be near impossible. The combination of bad light, tons of people, no special access, the wrong equipment and a press confrence atmosphere only add up to uninteresting photographs. And yet, an opportunity like this doesn't come every day. To see (and shoot pictures of) an icon like Lady Gaga in the flesh, no matter how uninteresting, is pretty interesting. And so I did make a point to see her and shoot pictures.

I came away from the experience being not only intrigued with the new Polaroid GL30 (love those "deliciously retro-futuristic lines") but with how the muse of chance often comes out to play at the most perfect moments. 99% of what I captured was as I had suspected, shots of a a modern day icon that were far from iconic.  But, all was not lost. In fact, thanks to a snap of the shutter that was perfectly (yet unknowingly) in sync with other flashes from the crowd, I was able to capture my favorite shot of the event.

Taking a great picture is a lot easier when you've plotted, planned and have the ideal equipment. When you're able to hand pick your perspective, have light on your side, and focus on something photo worthy in every way. It's a whole other story when the circumstances are stacked against you. I could have very well walked away before I captured this shot. And believe me, I nearly did. But sometimes, sticking with it and giving it your best shot, can pay off.

Have you captured an unlikely moment lately? Share a shot where chance (or many tenacity) was on your side.

For more on the latest from Polaroid, visit them online.

to infinty and beyond

Perspective is everything.

When admiring this wall of images at CES 2011 (in the Microsoft booth) I was most taken with the perspective that leads us to believe that they could go on forever. An idea we can all relate to!

Share a shot today that leads your eye into infinite (and beyond)!

wild sky

Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

-excerpt from Ring Out Wild Bells by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

We can think of nothing more true than the infinite possibility of a brand new year. Today, as we ring out 2010, share with us shots of your own wild sky. It is often said 'the sky is the limit' after all and we love the sound of that.