Travelin' About

“We do not take pictures with our cameras, but with our hearts and minds.” -Arnold Newman I had the privilege of viewing the stunning black and white photographs of Arnold Newman, one of the great masters of the 20th and 21st century whose work has defined great portraiture.  The exhibit, Arnold Newman: Masterclass is free and open to the public until May 12 at the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas campus in Austin.  There were over 200 iconic photographs taken by a man who focused largely on capturing the essence of artists, cultural celebrities, movie stars, and political figure.  He insisted on shooting his subjects in their own personal surroundings.  Some of my favorites included Grandma Moses, Georgia O'Keefe, Marilyn Monroe, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dali, to name just a few.  Photography was not allowed, and I honor that. But to see some of his images, you can go to http://www.arnoldnewmanarchive.com. He also...

  I just reread the blogs I wrote in 2009 about our trip to Ireland .  An Irish shop I visited recently said they would be interested in selling my Ireland photos, so I have been revisiting the country via Lightroom. One of the great perks of being a photographer is reviewing the landscape, remembering the vistas and moments and mentally being able to recall a special place that brought us wonderful moments and memories. I also discovered that with advances in technology and things that I have learned in post-processing, I had more pleasing images than I remembered. I also saw that I had a very dirty sensor, and so, I have been mentally "living" in Ireland as I revive some old images and fall in love all over again with the Emerald Isle. I'm also trying to determine which images might sell, so I'd really appreciate your feedback. Which ones might you like hanging on your wall?  This is all making me want another trip. Hopefully, the nice people...

I always come away with some wonderful new tidbit of knowledge every time I go out with other photographers for a shoot. Can't say enough good things about Meetups - they sure helped me meet like minded people and helped my transition from New York to Austin, Texas go smoothly.  For one thing, I am learning new parts of the city that I otherwise never would have explored. This past Sunday, a group of us explored West 5th St. At first, it looked to me to be a very modern, somewhat boring looking section of the city. But, through the eyes of my new friends, I discovered it was as ecclectic as all the rest of Austin - old and new mingling with funky architecture and interesting characters. I followed a woman who's photos I have admired on Facebook, Tracy and marveled at the things she discovered to shoot. She first set out for the skateboarders. Then she was interested in reflections on buildings. I am generally taken by small details or large landscapes, s...

This blog was originally inspired by the brilliant writings of Joe McNally and David Hobby . I had been reading both of their blogs religiously and wanted to reach out to an audience of folks who were just beginning with tips and suggestions so that they, too, would come to be inspired by Joe and David, who, to this day, remain my heroes. I just read a McNally blog – do yourself a favor. If you  truly love photography, and hearing a good tale along the way – go read his blog and soon you'll find yourself buying his books and seeking his videos and You Tube. But, if you are just starting out and are looking to become better, let me share the wisdom that was given to me years ago. • Shoot Daily.  I once asked Michael Nelson to mentor me and he said "just go out and take pictures every day. Select ONE that you like best and throw the others away.  I did that in the beginning and I look back now and marvel at how I have improved over time.  Shooting daily is a...

I have been enjoying posting a photo a day on Facebook, every day since January 1st. It is a challenge that is making me a better photographer and hopefully more in tune with new concepts and details.  Some days are frustrating and I feel like I have no pictures "good enough" and other days I get 3 or 4 great ones and can't choose which ones to post. Certain friends have suggested that I "save" those really good ones for the "less creative" days, but that feels to me like wanting to reread "Hamlet" and having someone hand me the Cliff notes. Not good enough. They are only MY rules but I have a sense of integrity and who am I cheating by posting an older image? Me, that's who. So, I stick to my own rules - a new photo every day - TAKEN that day. So, what to do with the "good" ones that didn't "make the cut?"  I thought I'd show some here and discuss why they didn't get posted on Facebook.    This on...

OK. Here's Day #12's Photo of the Day.  My breakfast.  It's a delicious combination of my husband's homemade granola, milk, banana's and pomegranate seeds - crunchy, sweet and oh so yummy! We are expecting the grandkids later and I had my camera with the 105mm lens already out and on the tripod, so I figured I'd be an early bird for once. Lately I've been taking lots of photos and downloading them late in the day and having a difficult time trying to select which one to post on Facebook for the day. Day 7 was especially confusing since I started off the day by seeing this on my way to the gym. Now that's not something I see every day.  Guess they are advertising their new development to the commuting crowd. At any rate, the tethered balloon wasn't there very long, but I did have time to shoot it. I later stopped off at the Barton Creek Mall where you get a pretty good vista of the Austin skyline.  It was a gray day, so this is what I g...

Had a great time shooting with Photographers Adventure Meetup Group on Sunday, Day 6 of my 365 project.  There was a fairly large group of photographers.  Tim Babiak brought along a model, Sarah,  and gave an excellent tutorial for shooting portraits in the bright outdoor light.  The group split us into two groups, some of whom shot along Austin's Congress Street, and some of whom stayed to get some shots of Sarah. I chose to work with Sarah since I have been focusing a lot on the other kind of photography lately and I'd like to do more portraiture.  After many shots of the beautiful Sarah, I still chose the shot above for my shot of the day. I love reflections and the Capitol Building is such a cool building. The sky was a magnificent deep blue and the view from across the street just seemed to be "picture perfect" to me. Still, I believe I captured Sarah rather nicely.  Here are some of my favorites. It's always fun to watch the ot...