kirk d

Contrive to your heart's content. You are an exceptional contriver!

Kirk

Don't know how I missed this one. The life super imposed over the lifeless building is well done.

Kirk

Great observation and capitalization of the moment! This certainly symbolizes the intensity at which the technical world can absorb a person. However, on the flip side, it could also help confirm my suspicion that a trend I'm starting to feel among people to communicate directly with other people and cherish contact and each other's company more. Of course, that could be tied to the ease at which we are able to communicate due to the advances of the technical world.

Great composition the way the bench seat comes in from each end leading your eye directly to the engrossed businessman/student.

Kirk

The background is funny as is her expression. Her smile is kind of like the child under 9 yrs old that hasn't figured out how to smile for a camera; yet it is warm while seeming to be protecting a shy person inside. Very natural and touching photo.

Kirk

Jeanne & Pnina, the brown thing is/was the seed. The root emerges from the seed first and then as the first leaves grow, they shed the seed, which at this point is an empty husk. These milkweed seeds are pretty flat though.

Gord, I have not seen milkweed growing in the wild down here. Fortunately, there are many individuals that have taken interest in gardening for butterflies and over the years, people are beginning to realize that host plants are just as important as nectaring plants, which the milkweed provides both. I've already had my plants eaten by two broods of caterpillars once in January and they grew back and just two weeks ago and leaves are coming back again.

Kirk

A Canadian friend with an affinity for blurred images sent me these seeds last fall. I've kept them in my fridge as he suggested and put them in starter pots last week. So far, they are looking like they want a home in south Louisiana.

Keeping my fingers crossed, they make it - I'd like to see pink flowers.

Thanks Gord,

Kirk

Jeff,

Man, those first digital images that allowed tweeking - almost all of mine are over saturated or over sharpened or both!

You know, what Fred said about thinking his image was okay until someone pointed out it being more prominent than he wanted. Reminds me of writing, you write, proof read, re-write, proof read until you are so familiar with it, that you're reading your thoughts and not your own words. I've done that with photos too and to make it worse, even though I've had my lap top calibrated, my images still look differently on other monitors and depending on how I position/angle my own laptop it could be different there too.

Kirk

Only because I work in photoshop did I stop for a second and wonder if the light was achieved in processing - it did not get in the way for long before I was drawn into the image. Unlike Gordon, I have not stood on a shoreline and watched so many sunsets. So, I can't say whether this effect is likely or not but if I was not aware of dark room techniques with film dodging and burning or photoshop editing, I would not have stopped for a second; this is certainly plausible.

The dark and light draw me into the water, to the far bank and around the point of land to who knows where but it does draw me.

You make things beautiful in your own way using photoshop, you expertly accentuate and communicate your intentions along with your titles as good as the best photographers and certainly better than most highly rated images.

When you mention your film days, did you have your own dark room in which to develop and make your own prints? I would think that if you did, you would do then what you do today in your living room on your computer in the photoshop dark room and that is to write your own music.

Jeff, you know, there is something interesting about many of the TRPs - they have few comments - often fewer comments than ratings.

Kirk

Jeff, glad you liked it. Conversations you and Gordon have had about being in a funk during the winter popped into my head immediately when I viewed this video.

Funny you picked that statement about curing cancer, one of the first commentors on the blog ironically is an Encologist that has been wanting to get away more and take pictures but said he had a reality check from Zack's video that he does cure cancer and needs to focus on that and do his photography when he can but not let it distract him from doing what he is best at.

Anyway, I liked the comment he made about being baffled by "our insational need to compare ourselves with others - what is this great sickness".

I find that is the root of my disgust with myself most of the time. Granted, it doubles as a motivator driving me to do better but often it drives me to compete with other and not to get in touch with my own creative juices - strange.

For a while, I would make my self miserable wishing my wife would not be so against me taking my camera with us when going out but she is right in those thoughts at least most of the time. You are right, it does split your attentions. That is more in the past now, recently, she has been encouraging me to take my camera and/or take pictures. That allows me to be more at ease and not be in conflict. Having it with me to use mostly for family stuff does not take a whole lot of thought and creative attention so I am able to stay focused and in tune with my wife and children on our family outings.

I've been spending more time organizing and going through old pictures and processing them than I have actually shooting.

Anyway, that video is amazing on so many levels - it is so creative and articulate and interesting. Man, if that guy gets into funks, I don't stand a chance - I know, there I go comparing myself, it is a great sickness.

I'm going to send Gord a note to check it out.

Happy Mardi Gras!

Kirk

Jeff, intersting little vacation series you have here. This one made me think of buildings buried in sand oddly enough.

Anyway, check out this video by Zack Arias on Scott Kelby's blog. After his comedic introduction, his video goes into some interesting thought provoking aspects about creative stagnation that have been discussed here.

http://www.scottkelby.com/blog/2009/archives/3433/comment-page-7#comment-127315

Kirk

When I fall/trip, I usually blurt out an obscenity on the way down. However this image reminds me more of flying through the sky instead of tripping on the carpet and this looks like a beautiful feeling.

Kirk

Very beautifully done Jeanne, this rendition makes the image look timeless. Great job! Do the children like it?

Kirk

Pnina, this street is now seeing some houses being built by "Make it Right" founded by Brad Pitt. I have to get down there and take another picture. I have one in my folder from approximately the same vantage point as this but a little further donw the street. It shows symbolic Pink boxes representing new houses and the name of the Pink Project that were up during the kickoff celebrations of the project.

Thanks,

Kirk

I was trapped at work, not physically but mentally - people down here only drive in ice and snow once every 4 - 10 years so its best to stay off the road. Anyway, I took this out of a window after I figured how to cut the glare reflection by putting my camera in a dark jacket sleeve and holding the jacket up on the glass. Anyway, I didn't get the classic streetcars, cememtary or Jackson Square with snow but I had been wanting to shoot this building with its bright shutters. When I boosted the contrast a little, I liked the slightly dirty look.

Thanks for the comments Jack and Jeff.

Kirk

Great candid shot! The boy looks very comfortable and content.

Kirk

Great picture. Children always have their eye on something. Even in the quiet of their boredom and insecurity, they are transfixed on something and thinking. I would like to know what is going through a child's mind when looking off like this.

Beautiful picture, I thought this was a little girl until I realized the cap and read other comments referencing boy.

Kirk

Hello Allison, hope you're doing well.

This is a very appealing Autumn image. The simple nature of the, basically, two colors with the strong dark contrasting shapes fill the composition very attractively.

Kirk

I definately agree. I've seen images where I am "speechless" and when attempting to verbalize, realize it is a futile effort and if I did, I would be stealing something from the image (undermining, like you said, I like that you said that).

That being said, for some reason, I find myself almost always compelled to title my images. As much as I would like to cross over to the untitled camp, I can't; maybe temporarily, on occasion, I won't title something.

Anyway, good reply.

Kirk

Fred, the number of words used to interpret a photo does not reflect the depth at which it was felt or interpreted - to say an image is haunting or down are two words to me that say the viewer experienced the image as deep or more thorough than a viewer that writes ten paragraphs of analitical comments.

Anyway, I agree that the photographer titling their image is part of their art and is open to commentary. I'm not against controversy and healthy discussions.

I guess I was trying to figure a way to liken the posted images to images you would see in a gallery where you walk in, and see the image large and are able to step back and absorb it - the title and artist are there usually to the side or beneath the image in very small #10 or #12 font size making it unintelligible while experiencing the image. Usually after soaking in the image, you move closer and see what the title is.

Kirk

I wonder if Photo.net could write a script that toggled the title below photos on/off so that when an image is displayed, the title by default would not show. If the viewer wished to see the artist's title, simply click on a link under the picture that read "Title" and then the title would be displayed. Of course, there could also be an option for the photographer to disable and always display the title if they felt strongly about the title of their image.

In galleries, the title and artist name is usually on a small placard barely visible to the naked eye. On Photo.net and most other photo sharing sites, the "title" of the image is usually pretty prominent often making it a distraction.

There is no way people in the Title or Not to Title camps are going to convince each other to cross over.

Fred, I've got to wonder how you were able to feel haunted and interpret this image so thoroughly if you were that distracted by the title - forgive the cinicism.

Kirk

Great shot! I like the crop. That stone looks cold, stone cold! The colors and lighting are perfect with the snow bib.

Kirk

You captured a good unsuspecting, kind of innocent gaze on her face common to how many people feel inside and go through life not realizing that border of existence is so easy to walk over and cease to exist. No better example than what is recently happening in Isreal where a house is standing, people are living and the next minute, a rocket ends that existence.

Or as others have said, walk over that border and exist more fully and lively, which as pointed out is much easier said than done. That veil may be thin but is very strong, often meshed with the flesh and almost impossible to tear away from and become free of.

Kirk

Talking about snow, we got snow this year in New Orleans - last time was in 2004. It snowed in the morning and was melted by afternoon but it put smiles on many faces.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q195/kirkdiet/KED_7593Adj.jpg

Gord, glad you did not resist, that was funny.

Kirk

Gord, Thanks for clearing your point and pointing out my error in my English - I went back and edited disrespectful.

I saw your instamatic lens rig but forgot to comment, I wanted to ask if you ever tried using one of those front door "peep-hole" lenses - you know the little fish-eye lens you screw into a hole in your door so you can see who is knocking on your door?

Kirk

Jeff, Gordon, Jack, I think as long as you chase the illusive you will capture the soul. As an outsider looking in, I say that almost all of yawl images have more soul than the average image. I have to respectfully disagree with Gordon about the image above not being the same with your digital; I have seen your digital stuff that looks and more importantly feels just like this. I have no doubt that you would have produced the same feeling with your digital camera - in fact, when I was first looking at this, I said to myself, "another good use of the lensbaby". However, I do think focusing on technical stuff gets in the way of the chase, but it isn't "digital" that is the bad guy, it is the stopping your mind to "think" that is the damning thing, which pretty much echoes Gordon's experience he shared above.

I go through that often, I'm always on that chase and never am happy that I've caught the soul - maybe once or twice but that is about it. While I don't have any old images to go through thanks to the Katrina flood, I do often get that feeling of thinking of something to shoot and those shots usually come out like a magazine shot instead of something thought provoking that I'm really happy with and conveys what I think it should.

Most of us can not see ourselves and our art like others see us/it and often when we do, we reject it. Just like you'll likely reject what I've said above about your images having the soul you think you fail to capture.

Proof that you are able to capture the elusive soul is that you continually do it with any medium I've seen you use: your paintings, your kid's camera, your P&S, your old film, your lensbaby, your pinhole, your photoshop stuff, and now your Holga.

I'm not trying to disuade you from exploring different tools or keeping on the chase because as I stated in the first sentence, I think the chase is important. Its your chase that is behind the soulful images you create. It may be easier to stay in the chase with a less sophisticated piece of equipment because then your analytical mind isn't tempted to get in the way and "think", which is why your paintings are moving - it is just paint and a brush - nothing technical.

But, if you want to believe that you need to use pinholes and Holgas to capture soul, don't let me stop you; just remember my address when you want to get rid of your Canon digital gear.

Kirk