Through Light Photography Workshop Manzanita OR

The following posts are about the weekend workshop. Please enjoy.

Metaphors and Shapes, Manzanita

After we shared our morning photos we had classroom time. This time was spent on going over some of the basics of operating the camera, as our group consisted of women at different levels in their photography. These lessons were good for all of us though because it never hurts to refresh the hows and whys of  ISO, shutter speed and aperture. These numbers are often confusing and unless they become second nature we struggle with them. Then we moved on to what do we see when we shoot a scene, what do we want the viewer to see and feel. Is the photo one that you wander into and look around, is it one that gives you a place to sit and be still and contemplate or dream. Interesting ways to think when you are shooting. We went over composition, lighting, rule of thirds, leading lines. All the things that make a photo.

Next came our assignment. Go out and shoot 10 photos each of SHAPES...........ok, that should be easy, there is shape every where, and METAPHORS...............huh??  Oh, dear, that sounds hard, I am not even sure I know what that means. So Beth explained and gave examples.......OH, I get it. Out we go, I think we had just under 2 hrs. to do this assignment then get back for lunch and process images to share before the afternoon class and assignment.

My friend Jacqui and I headed down the street to see if we could find things along the way. Shapes were easy but I also found that Metaphors can be in a lot of things too, it is just how you interpret them.  I also discovered that the subjects I shoot translate into metaphors, that is the way I see them. Old cars, old barns, doors, windows when I see these things what I am seeing are things that are representative of things discarded or abandoned, so that is what they are saying to me

 We came back, had a beautiful lunch set out for us and got busy processing images to share. We did two from each category. Very interesting to see the interpretations from the other women. We all may see the same thing but we all see it differently. All in all a very insightful lesson.

Reaching Out....To me this represented our weekend. Women reaching out to each other and learning

 

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Reflection.....Looking in looking out.

Shapes

"S" Curve

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Manzanita, OR Workshop

It has been WAY too long since I have been posting on my blog, it seems that I was getting too involved in being on the computer and had to get away from it for awhile. I have been inspired by one of my fellow workshop women to get back to it. She had a beautiful post of photos and story about the weekend, I am following suit. Thanks Bonnie, (ps. we share a birthday too).


What a wonderful month February has been. It is the month of Valentine's Day, my birthday, my oldest grandson's birthday and come to find out several of my new friends have birthdays too.

What made it so special for me was getting to go to the OR coast twice in one week. I not only got to go for my birthday, for the day, but at the end of the week I had signed up for a weekend long photography workshop. Thanks to Beth Buglione and Chela Melendez of  http://www.throughlightphotography.com several women came together to share their love and learning of photography. Beth and Chela are fantastic teachers, they have a way of making you stretch way out of your comfort zone, put yourself out there for all to see. The weekend was very well organized and set up so that there were several challenges and assignments to meet.

The first evening was set up as a "getting to know you" kind of evening. Several of us have been in a Meet Up group for a few years together but there were some new faces too. It was fun hearing everyone's story on how photography came into their lives and what it means to them. We visited, drank some wine and had some snacks to pass the evening. All provided by our hostesses. We all stayed together in a fabulous beach house with a great view of the ocean.

Our next morning was up at dawn and get out there and shoot the sunrise. Well sunrise was a no show,but so was the rain for the most part, it was quite windy. Back to the house for a beautifully prepared breakfast and time to relax and share some of our attempts from the morning shooting. Then class time, assignments for the afternoon and back out to shoot the images for our assignment.

For the sake of length, I am going to do several posts for each assignment. 

The dunes restoration project.

The little sea birds, scurrying about the surf.

Storm clouds

Manzanita beach, looking South

Blowing in the wind. Softened with a filter for an ethereal feeling

Just a Whisper

I am falling so far behind in the class at this time but plan on getting to all the lessons in time. I love the whisper prompt, as I have found that I am inclined to lean toward the softer images since finding Kim.  The lesson on resistance really hit home too. What is it about damp,dreary, cold winter weather that takes the creativity out of us? That is how I have felt all winter. It isn't that I haven't been shooting, I have, I am just not inspired to do anything with them. The sun is shining today so I think I will make it a point to get outside and soak up some vitamin D while I can, as the rain returns tomorrow.

This little gown belongs to my sis in law, it was her Christening gown. She loaned it to me so I could use it for photos. I just loved shooting it. The softness lends itself to the soft muted and "whispery" type of editing.
I wanted a quote that had something to do with God and found this one. I think it fits the occasion of a christening a bit. I am loving checking in with Beyonders and seeing what you are all doing even if I haven't posted many things myself. What a great talented group we have.

What's The Story

This week over at Texture Tuesday the prompt for the week was the photo had to have a story. My friend Jacqui and I have driven by this old place several times on our way to one of our favorite wineries and each time we say "Oh, we have to stop and shoot this house before it falls down". So the other day we were headed out that way to go to an antique mall to shoot photos for our camera club monthly theme of Vintage. It was one of the days this week with no rain, just fog. When we were done with the antique store we headed out the road to where the old house set. As luck would have it, there was a drive way up to the house and NO no trespassing signs. I do not know how this old place is standing. From the front you can see that it is leaning but there had been a fire and most of the back of the house is just hanging. It won't be there much longer so I am glad that we made a effort to get some shots of it. We both wondered just what the story of this old house was, who lived there, how long what happened to them. At one time it must of been a very nice place. It isn't giving up it's story, the ghosts were silent on this day.

I used #7 from Ben's collection and 10-10-10. masking some off on each layer.


Texture Tuesday