Week 37: Perspective

perspective is generally thought of as either a construct that describes a person’s unique psychological state given a particular circumstance, or as a physical orientation of objects in space. In the realm of photographic discovery, both are apropo.

Photography (and art in general) is all about exploration and representation of one’s psychological perspective. We snap a photo, alter it, dress it up or down, and otherwise mangle it because we feel we have to.. because there is something inside of us that sees something in the photographed scene that we feel must be unleashed, experienced, shared. Whether it’s due to nostalgia or a yearning for some future state, we are all drawn to particular subject matter because of who we are, were and want to be (or don’t want to be). We all share in this fervor, and yet are unique in our particular experience of it.

This is why there is an ever expanding amount of space for art, why there is room for so many creative souls to share their work and passions. Nothing we know of can be as varied as the human mind, the human perspective. When applied to reflections on living, reactions to others’ lives, there in no end to the variety of visual representations of perspective.

When we begin to push ourselves to previously undiscovered methods or subjects in art, we are not only challenging the status quo of our body of work, we also challenge our perspective, our vision, our take on the world. Sometimes this is frightening, or disheartening. Sometimes it is exhilarating.

This week, we challenged ourselves, and our fellow momenters, with just such a task. Change your perspective. Photographers were asked to (as described by the ever imaginative Cory):

 Take a picture from a different point of view. Put your camera on

the floor, over your head, or imagine life through the eyes of your

cat, refrigerator, coffee table, street curb. Think of a perspective

that you have never takena picture from and use it to get a

creative shot.

These were the results. Enjoy! 

 

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Kristin – Cory – Rachel - RC

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From our beloved Flickr Group:

 

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Xanthe Berkeley - pink goldfish

 rhonda gibson - keli h – suseij35 

hollyindavis

gis 00 – Maria - redorgray

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momenters

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I’m proud share with you, as a little cherry on the top of our project, that we now have

in our flickr group. How amazing is that?!?!

Week 36 – Friday July 31st at 12:11 - take your seats please

 

“Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it must be an inseparable part

of our being.” Mahatma Gandhi

“The seat of knowledge is in the head; of wisdom, in the heart. We are sure to judge wrong, if we do not feel right.”

William Hazlitt

“A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy.” Albert Einstein

This week’s assignment: Take a picture of the chair you are sitting in, the one you last sat in, chairs at the restaurant you are having lunch at, the chairs in your classroom, the one you spend all day working in, or even your favorite chair, bench, stool, recliner, etc.

If there is one thing I have learned from this project it’s that no subject should be overlooked as fodder for camera play nor for philosophical musing. “Take a seat” can seem like such a simple theme. But really, focusing on these everyday trappings of our lives act as windows into our worlds, our habits, our daily gestures which make up the being in our existences. So many moments are spent in these seats. So much of life can pass by while focused on our lunch, paying bills, sitting at a laptop. Having any reason to stop for just one moment and take in the simplicity of our lives is a gift. Here we share these gifts with each other, and I am so privileged to be amongst them.

Another, no less important, lesson has occurred to me.  The simplest, most straightforward theme makes the most room for creativity and reflection. The evidence for my thesis? See below.

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Rachel * RC * Aziza * Cory

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 rhonda gibson * Cosi! * redorgray * keli h

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tara.mama.wendy * xandthe berkeley 

 DebbsGa * hollyindavis

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Week 35 move baby

 

** John Steinbeck

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The Amazing Aziza

** I was doing a photo session for my neighbor's grand kids.. and I was literally on the move chasing around the little ones

The Cryptic yet Comedic Cory

** I was fiddling around with my new (to me) Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera, trying to open it up and clean it up a bit. My mother found this at a thrift store in Idaho while she was on vacation a few weeks ago and picked it up for me (along with one for herself). Who knows where this little camera has been, but since it has found a new purpose as a TTV viewfinder it has traveled from Idaho to Oregon to California and flown with me back across the country to Maryland.

The Rebellious Rachel

** The moment caught us at home this day, just knocking around the house a bit ( yes, I am now British for some reason ). I spotted these guys, things that are bursting with potential movement, but resting for the time being.

The Kooky yet Kind Kristin

** the whirring of my vintage fan on my dining table flapping the curtain in the window.

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The always moving, never slowing down, never quitting, Flickr Group

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 xandtheberkeley * pink.goldfish * Kathryn Froilan * DebbsGa * redorgray

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tara.mama.wendy * gis 00 * Cosi! * Chessiekitty

Week 34 - New

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To me, there is something so elegant, poetic almost, in the way that words are defined. It' is as if you can feel the mind that toiled over the exact words used to render the most comprehensive and yet efficient meaning possible. There is art there. I feel it. So, I hope you won’t judge me too harshly for relying on the well crafted words of others to explore this week’s theme.

from the google search term “define new”:

not of long duration; having just (or relatively recently) come into being

fresh: original and of a kind not seen before

raw: lacking training or experience

having no previous example or precedent or parallel

unaffected by use or exposure

newfangled: (of a new kind or fashion) gratuitously new

(of crops) harvested at an early stage of development; before complete maturity

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Thursday, July 16th at 3:49 p.m.

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Rachel: A new game ----- I always thought that kids figured out how to play pretend on their own. I never knew I was going to teach this skill. The other night, somehow, we got on the kick of playing “putting baby to bed”. He stripped baby, bathed baby, diapered baby, clothed baby, put baby in bed, put blanket over baby, read a story to baby, kissed baby goodnight, turned off the light, came back when baby asked for help with blanket, left again, came when baby woke up in the morning, and took baby out to the living room to watch “Go Diego Go&” as we do every morning. It took off from there in the direction of two babies being bathed and carted around the house in a big dump truck. I know my hubs was jealous. A hot tub and huge machinery all in one? What's not to love.

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Aziza:  taken in Nike Town shop where my son insisted on going to get a new soccer shoes

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Cory: I was walking around the Capitol area of Washington, D.C. and happened upon a farmers' market. It was one that I've never been to but also the icing on the cake of a wonderful day of exploration and knowledge.

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RC: Container gardening is one of my great joys--- I am looking forward to future golden peppers simmering ... in the heat now, or in the pan later

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Kristin: thursday 3:49pm theme "new" 

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 keli h  *  DebbsGa  *  rhonda gibson  *  tarra.mama.wendy

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mistybliss  *  Chessiekitty  *  redorgray  *  gis 00  *  xandtheberkeley

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and our last little, yet beloved, straggler Cosi! (so glad you made it)

Week 33 - Bokeh

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Bokeh defined

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- (derived from Japanese, a noun boke 暈け, meaning "blur" or "haze") is a photographic term referring to the appearance of point of light ...

- subjective aesthetic quality of out-of-focus areas of an image projected by a camera lens

- derived from the verb "bokase" meaning to smudge or make blurry. Pronounced BO-KEH in English. ...

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The moment photos for Week 33

Taken on  Friday, July 10th at 1:21 p.m. 

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susiej35 - May your day be filled with beauty and your weekend filled with friends.

 

Kathryn Froilan - All I need is a moment.

 

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rhonda gibson - a dried rose borrowed from a friend at work for my moment....

 

pink.goldfish - Friday, July 10th at 1:21 p.m – Bokeh

 

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Cosi! - today was officially our first day at the lake for the summer! kind of kicking myself for not starting sooner - so fun!

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Kristin – my moment

 

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xandtheberkley - was in the kitchen, saw these out the corner of my eye when my moment struck.

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RC - hanging out with all my family day.. from beach to lunch and beyond—the

gravitational pull of forces of three generations of girls... use your imagination! This moment ...got away from us b/c of a little enjoyable

one (blonde) & was shared w/ Seaweed Lady at lunch

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Cory - hiding from the sweltering heat indoors after a long lunch with my family and gazed out the window to the swaying tree

branches. At that moment I wondered if the breeze might have made it cooler to be outside once more.

 

DebbsGa - My mom and aunt thought I was nuts!!  My moment this week actually found me

travelling and as soon as I landed wanted GOOD pizza, so we went out to a local GOOD pizza joint for a late lunch

Week 32 Pieces of one sky

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“In the sky, there is no distinction of east and west; people create distinctions out of their own minds and then believe them to be true.” – Buddha

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“I will grow. I will become something new and grand, but no grander than I now am. Just as the sky will be different in a few hours, its present perfection and completeness is not deficient.” – Wayne Dyer

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“There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul” – Victor Hugo

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Rachel, Cory, Kristin, RC & Aziza.

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The inspiring Flickr Group

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“Sitting downtown eating ice cream... I wonder how many people look up and see the art deco facade of the building across the street?” – ShootingSunset

“The sky above (over processed on purpose)” – Maria Kallin

“7:12pm, Thursday, July 2nd....*Optional theme: sky* Point your lens out your window or simply go outside. We are all under the same big sky here, so what does it look like in your corner of the world?” – patti | dearmissdoll

“… oh how i love my maple and blue sky” – redorgray

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“Cleaning the craft room. This includes picking up miles of thread and playing hide and seek with pins that get stuck in the carpet and then stick themselves in your foot. The alarm on the clock went off and I looked around for something to photograph, these colorful bobbins of thread seemed perfect. “ – Chessiekitty

“the kids were out doing sparklers way too early, so we stuck one in our strawberry shortcake dessert. Getting a head start on the weekend festivities! :)” – Cosi!

"So kid wanted to go to fireworks with someone else,so im home,sewing fourth of july fabrics and others to sell on my etsy.”  - DebbsGa

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“Every week a group of photographers around the world take a picture at the same time on the same day of whatever they're doing, and assemble the pictures into a collage.” – rhonda gibson

“we were packing the car for our long weekend away to the mill, on the isle of wight. this is the view of the sky between my home and the park.” - xandtheberkley

“I got out of work, got home, made Maya some supper, and then went to the park for a run and took this.” – NaturallyClare

“We have had rain for 4 days now and it is finally leaving and clearing up.” - susiej35

“Once I became a parent I found myself doing things that I never thought I'd do. The latest example of this is golfing. My 7 year old son has become a golf nut. Now, I come from a long line of golfers & learned to play as a kid, but I gave it up as elitist & boring in my teens. But now my son wants to play & my husband (who never set foot on a golf course before last summer) is determined to play, too. I am just as determined NOT to become a golf widow, so I've taken it up (again) & last night found me on a golf course (on the 6th tee) playing golf with 3 of my friends (I've also learned that golfing is everyones' favorite "closet" sport). It was a hot day, but a pleasant evening & a good time was had by all.” – hollyindavis