Purplesnow's Blog

Good news. I'm a published photographer. I've been published in three(+) publications with bylines and everything. Woot.

Paid. Double-woot.

It hasn't been my goal to be published so I feel like this is a nice windfall for doing something I love. It fits that old saying, do what you love and the money will follow- or some crap like that - and though I definitely couldn't survive on what I'm paid for these images it certainly is nice.

What is this wavish nature? I'm here and not, here and not. I don't blame anyone for not stopping here and lingering. Especially if there's nothing new to linger over.

But note, (mostly for myself) I've been actively photographing, drawing, writing (and etc.) daily. Every day I learn something new about technique and framing, coloring, value, texture, process and equipment.

I have a new laptop; MacBook Pro (17"). It's dreamy and taking my breaking it in with aplomb. Three cheers for awesome gear. Long live the dead laptop. You served three masters well.

Starting a new catagory, "Everyday As Art". Got the idea from another artist. She snapped pictures of everyday scenes and pulled the art right to the forefront. Most beautiful. I'm going to try it for myself.

I'm giddy for this Spring Season. Winter isn't a favorite- I sometimes feel I put things on hold during winter. As soon as I can, I'm going to open the windows and put away the winter clothes. Plant seeds and get my garden going...

I'm trying every night to work on "my craft". The art of images, layout, cropping, choreographing, composition, colors, shapes, values, contrasts, details vs. suggestion. Even if it's picking up my tablet and sketching impressions and ideas, every night there's an effort to improve and not allow those large gaps of non-creativity that I've allowed in the past.

In order to call myself an artist, which I've had difficulty doing even though I have always had an interest and natural inclination towards the arts, I must be an artist through my actions. It becomes a matter of principle and integrity. It's a matter of self-awareness and honesty.

It is my attempt to capture; my laziest attempt-turned-obsession. I thought, in the beginning that the camera would do all the work. And I would reap the reward.

But it is my brain and eyes that have to train and through vigilance- a camera at one's side- which will make me good photographer. I hope to build upon and build up and build out and build on and on until I am satisfied that the image I saw is the image I captured.

Sometimes it takes some post editing, just as if I had a darkroom... ah, I miss the darkroom- but I have Photoshop, or the like and I do what I can with what I have.

Toy cameras, real cameras, digital cameras, they are my glasses, my shades that I hide behind/ in plain sight. If I put me out there, extremely vulnerable, no one will know I was vulnerable. No one would guess that I'm not solid and permanent.