Inspiration is Everywhere

...if you're looking.

I came across a quote today, "You may ask:  If God is more powerful than Satan, why doesn't God stop this foolishness?

Because the negative power is an agent for God.  His job is to act as the schoolmaster, following God's will.  God said, 'I've got a schoolroom of children here.  Make sure these Souls get enough of an education so that when they graduate, they can go into the spiritual worlds and stand on their own two feet.  Their destiny is to become Co-workers with God, helping me in the administration of my worlds.' "

--  Harold Klemp, "Touching the Face of God

It inspired me to sort through my photographs to make a new image, possibly a new series, "Earth is a Classroom."  After looking through a few dozen pictures, I settled on these two:

A photo of one of my nephews taken by his mom on his first day of kindergarten.

and....

Frontier Village, North Dakota

 I took the second photo myself a number of years ago and thought it had potential, although I was not sure how it would all come together.

After merging the two, making some refinements, and playing with the painting design, I finally arrived at this:

"Earth is a Classroom"  # 1 in my possible new series.  I chose to blur out my nephew's face in this image because I didn't want his personal identity attached to it, it wasn't about him.    

Never underestimate the power of creativity or in your ability to make old things new or even in bringing more light, love, and understanding into your life, the lives of others, and through your medium of choice.  Anything is possible!

Are We There Yet? The Art of Timing

A few fortunate beings on this planet have an innate ability to know when to act and when to wait. Many others are like the child in the back seat of the car with whisperings of "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" as little Susie kicks the back of your seat to a beat only she can hear, only to ask more insistently five minutes later when a whisper becomes a shout and then a shout becomes a whining plea of "Are we there yet?"  

Most parents will start with a patient, "No, not yet" but as you up the ante may soon come back with a frazzled, "Does it look like we're there yet?!" Not to be outdone, the child now recruits her siblings in a chorus of "Are we there yet?" to which the only decent reply is, "Who wants to play the quiet game?" and suddenly the parent is not above bribing their dearest offsprings with a monetary reward for who can stay silent the longest.  

Not only is there unreasonable expectations about the destination itself, and God forbid it doesn't meet our ideas of where we are supposed to be, but there is a whole lot of disillusionment about how long or short it should take us to get there, wherever that may be, whether it be a physical destination or a goal.  

Now add timing into the mix.  If timing is everything then when do you act and when do you wait?  I, myself, have certainly had times when I have pushed, pulled, stood on my head, did back flips, and nothing has come of it, except the thumping of my own head from banging it against a wall (silly me), until one day it happened on its own accord with no assistance from me at all.  

On the other hand, there have been times when I felt as if I was procrastinating only to find that the timing couldn't have been better.  It was as if the stars had aligned perfectly for my very own benefit! What gives?  How do we know the difference?  How do we know when to take action and when to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride?

In photography, especially with action photos or images dealing with people or animals, if you hesitate, you miss the shot.  A person may have walked in or out of the frame, the perfect expression was suddenly replaced with a frown, or any number of things varying from subtle to very obvious can happen. I expect this is much like life.  

If we get a nudge to act on something and we sit on it, we may lose it or it may change in some way. This is not to say the opportunity may not come again or that it may not come in another disguise, but why take the chance?

Is it always going to be appropriate to act immediately?  Maybe not so perhaps it comes down to intuition and discrimination.  Experience will teach us better.  If we missed it one time, we may gain it another and so on and on it goes.  Besides, who says you won't gain something better by taking that detour?

What does this all have to do with photography and your Etsy business or with any business? Many of us give up before we begin.  We have a few false starts or nothing seems to be working so we sit back and wait when we need to take another step.  Or we take many more steps when a little patience may have gone a long way.  

Sometimes we have to do all we can do and then let go of our ideas of how it's supposed to go.  We have to leave room for God or the Universe or whatever or whomever you believe in to do Its part and if you think it's going to come easy, well, you may want to reconsider.  It may but chances are it's another way for the universe to see how serious you are about attaining whatever goal you are striving for.  

In the end, everything is in its rightful place.  It just may be different from where you thought so if there is something you can do and it feels right then act.  If not wait but whatever you decide, don't give up!  

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out."  - Robert Collier

Be flexible!  Allow for transformation.  There may be a worthier plan than the one you have in mind but if you are too attached to what your own vision may be, there won't be any room for anything else and you might miss out on something better.

Lastly when in doubt, take it moment to moment, love what you do and do what you love because as Elizabeth Kubler-Ross says, “It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.” 

Remember, there is always another mountain to climb, another level to go so listen.

Don't Rain on my Parade!

Rain and parades don't mix and neither do numerous photos of the backs of people's heads with some glimpses of color swishing by.  Good parade photos require a good location, street corners usually work out well, or if you can get a pass to be on the road amongst them, even better.
 

2012 Mummer's Parade, South Philadelphia, PA, USA

Maybe a little too close - This guy doesn't seem very happy to see me!

Close ups are great but sometimes you want to be able to show more of the action.  Don't be afraid to zoom back out.  

 

Some other tips:

-  Experiment with your lenses.

-  Walk with the parade.  Shoot from different angles.

-  Know when to blur your background and when to make it part of your photograph.  Ask yourself, does it add anything to the photo?  Where do I want the viewer's attention to be?  

-  Most of all, don't forget to have fun!

Is a Photographer an Artist?

Life had me flying in a few directions simultaneously and something had to take a temporary backseat; unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you'd like to look at it, it was my photography and everything that went along with it, including this blog.  Maybe other areas needed my more immediate attention and that's okay.  The important part is, I'm back, and ready!

A photographer, in some circles, is not considered an artist.  What is so great about photography, especially in this period of time, when so many can pull out their cell phone and capture a photo any time they want and of anything that catches the eye? What could possibly be so special when we are inundated with images from all over the world?

At surface value, I might agree if you are only taking an image for what it appears to be at first glance; however, if you look into a photo, a really good one, you will see a story.  Maybe you will be able to view it from an objective point of view or maybe it will be purely subjective, based on your own life experiences and what you are ready or able to see at that moment.  Isn't that the most wonderful gift about photography?  It appears to be real, the mind accepts it as real, but, depending on what the creator of the image has chosen, it can be altered by layers of other photos or edited in Photoshop in some manner. The final product can be a complete illusion.

To me the definition of an artist is someone who has the creative ability to take the mundane or the ordinary, the often overlooked, and assist you in looking deeper and/or aide you in viewing it in a whole new way.  No matter what the medium is, if you can do this, then you truly are an artist, a creator.

Up next...Images and How They May Affect Your Life