A New Direction

I am taking the months of December, January and February to on work on personal projects. Somehow, I feel there is a disconnect with my professional work. I am working on two art projects and multiple photo projects, all self-commissioned. I am hoping that this will redirect my focus. Look for significant changes in the website in the coming weeks.

I suppose I am finding that the images I want to create and the images a client typically needs-or wants-are not necessarily the same thing. I am discovering (I think I knew all along) that I need to be creating fine art images, not offering my photography services to the general public.

It's an interesting thing-I go to the mall, and see those studios-you know the ones where your face is the size of a quarter and the image almost looks like it was shot as the fog was rolling in-such soft focus that it totally obliterates any detail or character in the person's face. And you know what I almost always see-a long line of people, waiting to get these images. They are photo mills, just churning out bad image after bad image. And people can't seem to get enough of them.

What's more interesting is that people I know have gone to these studios instead of coming to me...

I have been told that I get too close. That I need to step back. Not by a client, but by someone close to me. And I did, on a few recent shoots. I admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the results. It is true, you sometimes can't see the forest for the trees.

It taught me that I don't take enough chances, and that I should. But it also taught me that I need to stay true to myself and get close-and closer still. It's who I am.

I may or may not resume offering my services in the spring. I am not certain if I will have the interest or need to. I have so many images in my head, and I need to get them out.

It's time for a new direction.

No Snapshots Yet

Okay, I said I was taking some "snapshots" with a P&S this week, but I was far too busy to get around to that project. Maybe next week.

To Manipulate or Not to Manipulate?

Before the digital revolution, photographers had it quite easy, I think. You knew what your subject was, now, how do I approach it? became the question. Color, or b&w? Slow or fast film? With digital, you have the freedom to shoot color, and convert to b&w or other tones later; to manipulate contrast (which I sometimes like), to add countless filters and layers, etc. if you decide it better suits the image. This has both advantages and disadvantages. While it has created a safety net of sorts, I think it has also become a crutch for some who just shoot without discretion, knowing they can "doctor" all those mediocre images later. In my experience, converting or manipulating an image in any way never saved the bad ones. Sometimes it made the good ones better, but the bad ones were still bad, just in a worse way.

Sometimes, though, I can't decide between color and b&w (or another tone). Sometimes an image looks great both ways, though the feeling conveyed is different.

Road Trip-San Antonio, TX

This summer I also went to San Antonio-for 1 day. And my mom drove-19 hours staight! We were there on family business, for just a few hours, before heading back to Phoenix. Left Phoenix Friday morning, arrived in San Antonio Saturday morning and back in Phoenix Sunday morning. We must be crazy. Still, I managed to grab a few shots, mostly just hanging out the window.

My hometown.

Our Vacation in Mexico

We went to Mexico this past summer to visit my husband's family. They live in a small town in Jalisco called Ameca. It boasts picturesque mountains and and is less that an hour out from Guadalajara.

La Hacienda in the morning mist.

The mountaintops are lush like a rainforest.
Trees in the fields.

Also exciting was going to Guanajauto. It is a city that really feels like another world. Like an old city in Spain. Colorful hillside homes.

A city carved out of stone. You drive through the city almost entirely through an underground tunnel system that was literally carved out the mountain. Bonus: it is the birthplace of famous artist Diego Rivera. In fact, the hotel we stayed in was just around the corner from his house. Took us maybe three minutes to walk there. The house is unbelievable-filled with original furniture, including the bed his mother gave birth in. Original artwork from Rivera included an amazing painting from age 12 and nude sketch of wife Frida Kahlo. Works from other famous Latin artists and photographers fill the upper floors (sorry, no pictures allowed of artwork) and the house includes a movie theatre.

View from our hotel room.
Diego Rivera's house.

Gorgeous architecture.
Cobblestone streets.
Los Dos Adrians.

At Canastillo de Flor.

A hotel in the city.

The city comes alive at night.

El teatro.

P.S. The absolute best mole can be found at Canastillo de Flor. I had it for lunch and dinner the whole trip.