Wow, it has been so long since I've seen a post here, I was beginning to think I had died. Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and saw a photo posted in my Pbase PAD gallery. I must not be dead, just on hiatus. Oh well, back to blogging about photography. Next up...feedback from a pro.
I'm excited to be part of a new website featuring the work and commentary of a group of six photographers. The site was born out of a desire for more meaningful and constructive feedback among photographers who share a common goal. This goal is one of continual creative exploration.
Looking among the members, we all have our own style and photographic interests. At the same time, we all have an obsession with getting better. This site provides us a forum for doing so. It is open to feedback from all, so I encourage those who are interested to give it a visit. I've already captured some new ideas and inspiration from the discussions that are happening there. I hope you do as well.
Please give a visit to lost in focus
Meg and I tied the knot yesterday after 3-1/2 years of dating. I'm a lucky man to have such a wonderful woman in my life. It was great having someone else be responsible for the photos. He just sent me a short slide-show of preliminary shots from the big day. I thought I would share it:
I can't remember a day harder than today. Our family lost a truly loving friend and companion. She was with us such a short while, but endeared herself to us so greatly. She became an instant admirer of and playmate with our older dog Abby, and a loving lap dog for Meg and me. This morning, because of her failing kidneys, the vet recommended we put her to sleep.
Only one week ago, we were out wandering around downtown together taking pictures and enjoying the unseasonably warm weather. Lucy and Abby sat patiently by, eating grass while I set up my tripod and went to work. After a couple hours of that, we all went to the park for a three hour picnic. We spread out the blanket, and basked in the sun. Lucy loved sitting in the sun. She also loved to just sit and watch the people and other dogs walk by. This picture of her was taken on that day. I'll never forget the moment. Lucy left my side on our picnic blanket, where she had spent most of the day and climbed the small hill behind us. I quickly grabbed my camera to take her picture. She seemed completely unaware of me and just lost in the beauty of the day. The feeling I had when taking this image was one of such happiness and contentment. A perfect Spring day, a perfect picnic in the park. It was truly peaceful.
Oh how I want to go back to that day. I want to stop time. It hurts so much how quickly she is gone.
After a long night of no sleep and multiple phone calls with the vet about Lucy's condition I went back to the animal hospital this morning to say goodbye to Lucy. I held her in my lap for 45 minutes while she slept. Her condition was weak and her responses timid. I'm only hoping that through all the discomfort, her heart felt the love we all have for her. We love you Lucy.
OK, so here it is. My first non-photo related entry on the blog. But how can I stop myself. It's Opening Day for goodness sakes.
Opening Day, a day of such promise, such expectation, such optimism for the future. It's a day that makes a man feel a bit like a boy again. Excitement fills the air recalling days when hot dogs, peanuts and the vendor yelling "ice cold beer here!" were just about the only thing that mattered in life.
Two years ago, on Opening Day the designated hitter for my team, the Detroit Tigers, hit 3 home runs to trounce the KC Royals 11-2. What a day! Last year, our Opening Day victory would lead to an unanticipated season that found my team in the World Series. Oh what fun it is to dream about what will become of our team this year.
Go Tigers!
So yesterday, I noticed the number of visitors to this site increased tenfold. After a little research, I figured out why. It is because this blog got a mention over on Scott Kelby's Blog. Now here is this guy, a prolific author of How To Photoshop Books (a few of which are sitting on my shelves), that not only came across my blog, but took the time to read it. That's just pretty darned cool, at least for me. Knowing how much this guy gets done each year I have no idea how he would find the time to come across my blog and further take the time to comment on it. I'm continually amazed at the internet's ability to make the world a much smaller place.
I haven't had much time to visit the blog the last couple of days. I just want to thank everyone for the feedback and discussions - both here and in private email.
And if I hadn't started this blog, I never would have heard this gem of a comment shared by Ivan Apfel:
"The moment you stop caring about whether someone else approves your
images and begin concerning yourself with whether you approve of your
images is the moment when you begin creating your best work."
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