We had one of the sunniest day's in a while and the sun was shining on my balcony. I chose a little plant with lavender colored flowers, it was overgrown a little by my cornflower plant.
I started out with my 50mm lens but soon changed to a macro lens, I wanted more detail and less of the surroundings. I also really dislike the orange color of the ceramic pots so I always try to exclude that. At first I focused on the flower as I had picked that as a subject but after a while I noticed some waterdrops which caused a nice bokeh in the background.
I also started to notice some of the shapes in the frills and the buds. 
I got to 43 photographs before my imagination ran out. In hind sight I could have varied the lens, my point of view and the DOF more and I noticed I immediately looked through the camera in stead of studying my subject first. I did study it later on in the process but perhaps it would be good idea to also start with just looking thinking what attracted me to subject in the first place and to try and see it. What I liked the best was taking the time to really look at my subject and ponder the different possibilities. That's when I actually lost track of time.After looking at the plant for the photographs I started to look in the immediate vicinity and also noticed some lovely details.
In selecting and processing the images I find I crop them quite often, I really want to think about the frame more when shooting but I always forget. I have also discovered I really like a partial view.
I guess I also love the post processing, I always loose track of time there as well. I liked the partial view as well but I only noticed it afterwards.
Too bad it isn't as sharp as it should have been but I was to lazy to get the tripod.
Great photojournal entry! I like how you captured what you liked about this exercise and what you would do differently next time. I really enjoyed reading how your though process worked. Knowing this will be a great help the next time you go out and shoot! Thank you so much for sharing this with the rest of the class.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI like your statement "but perhaps it would be good idea to also start with just looking thinking what attracted me to subject in the first place and to try and see it." That was part of what I learned in my photo shoot yesterday, too.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenYour images here show such delicate beauty and wonderful colors.
You have such a unique view - I love all your shots. And I really enjoyed hearing your thoughts about the experience.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenLike you, I love the post-processing as well.
One of the exercises that we did in my college photography class was to just sit for 10 minutes and really "LOOK" before we even picked up our camera. Another was to limit ourselves to taking only 24 shots, as if we were shooting film. That really made one think about each shot, really look and compose.
I just smile when I see your photo header, especial kitty that is upside down. Your flowers are wonderful, love the last shot with the yellow contrasting with the lavender...
BeantwoordenVerwijderenLovely photos, and it is an interesting process isn't it? To stop and really think about what it is you want to photograph.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI love flower shots, too. These are beautiful.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThese are beautiful and I love your observations.
BeantwoordenVerwijdereni'm a bit like you, i start shooting without thinking too much about what i want to achieve, and how i can achieve it (different lenses, aperture, angle, etc), and it's after that i realise that i could have done it differently. i think that's the beauty of what kat is asking us to do, by choosing a familiar subject we can go back and try again. despite what you said, i love your photos of the shoot, they are gorgeous. and btw, i was amazed by your title photos, wow, they are stunning, esp the one of the cat looking up at you.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenThese are beautiful - what you said about observing first before shooting is really good. I sometimes don't see things as well until I look in my viewfinder but that'd be a good exercise too.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenLovely photos. I particularly love the colors and composition of the first one. Wonderful thoughts you shared. Looking before shooting, taking time to slow down, that is definitely something I need to work on.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIn my college photography class, one of our assignments was to find a spot and then sit for at least 10 minutes before we even picked up our camera. The point of that exercise was to spend that initial time really "looking". I think that is one of the key insights that you experienced with this exercise - that we need to see first and photograph second. Lovely shots!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenWonderful post for this assignment! I love the images you've created, and I really enjoyed reading about your process. Slowing down and taking more time is definitely something that I need to work on at times. Thank you for sharing! :)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenLovely shots. I like how by pondering the possibilities you lost track of time. I found that too, once I started shooting for this assignment, I got carried away with the beauty of the flowers and the details I might have missed otherwise.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenI too love "partial" view. I like how you wrote about what you were thinking. I tend to get too technical and have been trying to get my head out of the way and shoot more "just because", but I like to also think things through. I guess there are millions of way to go about it-all right, none wrong. I especially love that purple image.
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