Sticks in your spokes

Sometimes one just outgrows a need.  Such is the case with my consistent participation at Weeklyshot.  I guess I need to be more accurate by stating that I have found that the growth I experienced in the beginning of that weekly theme blog is waning.  Partly due to my irritation with some of the abbreviated and in one case completely useless comments by some members.  I discussed this with someone whose work I respect tonight and by and large, he shares my feeling about the Weeklyshot community.

Larry once told me some great advice.  Let people throw sticks in the spokes of your bike, but make them back up the stick with well thought out reason.  Since many of those sticks are not backed up with intelligent thoughts, it’s time to move on to endeavors that will truly motivate me to improve and give me feedback that is valuable.  I’ll always be indebted to WS for my connection with Tracy, but for now it’s time to say goodbye.   Change is a natural element of growth.  And I desperately need that facet in my work.

Putting aside the petty

The other night I had to send Tracy some of the images that I will use for my other site.  That site will house only those images that are my favorites in terms of feeling and technical quality.  Feeling more so than technical aspects.  As I went through my library I noticed that as of late, my images have focused primarily on the positive side of life, its beauty and its glory.  I’m sure that is a direct reflection of my current view of life.

But more importantly I’ve come to discover that some of the things I use to concern myself with seem trivial to me.  Work bickering, financial woes, jealously and material things seem less important.  Perhaps it is because the shortness of life has been oh so apparent to me lately due to the death of my aunt and the death or illness of those I know, even if only briefly.

For the realization that life is so short, that petty differences we all seem to immerse ourselves in is pointless I am grateful.  There are still some things where I wait for the ‘other shoe to drop’ but those events and false fears are fewer and far between.

I’m sure you’ll see that reflected in my work, but much more importantly, I see that attitude reflected in me.

Sensor painting

I have the benefit of having two remarkable artists as critics, Larry Fodor and Leigh Toldi.  I am often envious of painters, their ability to create images that exist only within their own imaginations give them a freedom that is not often replicated in photography.  I have often wondered if it is possible to photograph something that can appear painting like.  Today’s image is one that I feel comes close to that goal.

This image is a close up of a very small water passage that leads from the cliffs above Muscle Rock Shoreline across the beach to the ocean.  Tracy and I were at the beach one glorious afternoon and as we were walking, I spotted the very small body of water as it moved toward the ocean.  Tracy moved ahead as I examined the sand and markings around the ‘river’ of water.  It was marked with dark blue and black sand in addition to a multitude of colors.  The texture of the sand added much to the scene as I examined it through my camera.  So I framed the image and took the shot.

Although I did not ‘paint’ this image, I am very pleased with the results.  An abstract image born from the influence of painters.