Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What do you want to be when you grow up? Remember when you were a child… you could be a doctor in the morning and an astronaut in the afternoon and everything else in-between? How could you think like that? Why would you think like that? Why was your brain so scattered? Now, I don’t even play a child psychologist on TV… but I believe your mind was not at all scattered. Rather, it was putting into perspective and order all the new and bewildering things you were discovering every minute you were awake. You were also gaining an interesting side-effect benefit… you were discovering what sorts of things appealed to you; which you found interesting and enjoyable; which you excelled at and which not. You were laying the ground work to answer the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. And so it goes, too, with photographic vision and focus. In deciding to be a photographer, you have answered only part of the question. You will still need to define, and refine, what your unique expression, voice, vision, focus, message, style, etc., will be. And what better way to do that than to be a landscape photographer in the morning and a portrait photographer in the afternoon and everything else in-between? But, won’t that just scatter my attention? Un-focus my focus? Spread me too thin? Oh, noo-oo-oo-oo…
As I wrote in an earlier post (Dec 8, 2015): “… try shooting architecture, portraits, animals, plants, textures, mechanical, food, bugs, stars, fireworks, motion, sports, landscapes, pets, close-up, far-away, cityscapes, countrysides, still life, studio set-ups, storms, clouds… and yes, even Selfies; there is something to be learned from every shot taken. Soon [you] will start to discover a photographic preference developing and will start to hone the skills to excel at that chosen genre.” By trying a lot of widely divergent genre, you will refine and pinpoint where your Mind’s Eye goes, which mental lens you tend to use to view and interpret the world, and the unique style you’ll develop to convey your vision and message. So, get out there. Shoot everything. Shoot color. Shoot black and white. Shoot sepia. Play with the art filters in your camera. Or open up Photoshop. Shoot realism. Shoot abstract. Shoot up / shoot down. Do the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself around. OK. That last one was just for fun. Point is… how will you know if you don’t try it? Happy Shooting. Happy Discovering. Happy Coming-Into-Your-Own. Thank You for visiting, — Chris P.s. What do you think will be — or what is — your favorite genre? How did you come to decide this? What sorts of things influenced — or are influencing — your developing style? Do you prefer: realism or abstraction; documentation or fantasy; grand view or minutia? Did you find any hurtles to overcome during your discovery process? Were you surprised by what you discovered about your preferences? I bet we all have some great stories… let’s share ‘em!
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Kathy Lawler — Guest Blogger ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Get ready to get Hoppy. The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton is featuring its first annual BrewFest on August 13, 2016 from 10am-6pm. There will be beers to sample from 30 different breweries and many of these will be local breweries. The Workhouse is also bringing in food trucks, a great musical lineup featuring local bands, activities, demonstrations, and more. There is even a Root Beer Garden for the kids!
For a list of participating Breweries, check out the Workhouse site. You can buy your tickets online too. But wait, there’s more . . . Since this is also The Workhouse's Second Saturday, the Artists’ Studios and Galleries will also be open for you to tour and to purchase art as well — all the way to 9pm! If you haven’t been to the Workhouse, now is you chance to combine a great event with lots of great art. The Workhouse has ceramics, painting, photography, glass (blown and fused), stained glass work, jewelry, fiber, and more. The exhibit in the main building during the month of August will be the first Fiber National 2016 and will be on display in Building 16. This is a juried exhibition “showcasing traditional, contemporary, and experimental fiber art” from across the Untied States. While you’re enjoying BrewFest, be sure to check out Chris’ photography in Building 9. This month he features the theme “Dew Kissed” (including the namesake image Dew Kissed). This collection is a delightful group of refreshing images made to help the viewer feel cooler — even in the August heat. There are even dew kissed works in the Small Works section of the gallery. Hoppy August days! Thank You for visiting, — Kathy P.s. Hope to see you there! Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings In Coleus-beration with: Kathy Lawler — Guest Blogger ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In our college days no dorm room or apartment was complete without one or more potted specimens of: Boston Fern, Schefflera, Spider Plant, and, of course, Coleus. Back then our collective taste in houseplants was about on a par with our taste in beer; we’d happily drink brands now consider un-palatable, and we’d keep our houseplants no matter how raggedy, misshapen, or bug-ridden they were. We’ve all come a long way since then, and so has our friend, Coleus. Having recently re-ignited an appreciation in all things gardening, there was still one plant we just couldn’t wrap our heads around wanting in our yard. It was Coleus. It wasn’t until we built our Uber-Fun Yard Pots that we had a reason to even explore Coleus. Back then, it seemed Coleus had just one look: “normal” leaves, green with a dab of color in the middle, and trailing stems. Now, OMGoodness! There are now about a billion new cultivars of Coleus. Curly leaves. Small leaves. Big leaves. Purple. Red. Maroon. Yellow. Some leaves don’t even have any green at all! We’ve got stand-up varieties. Trailing ones. Shade-preferring and full-sun-tolerant choices. Seems there are now Coleus varieties available to satisfy any, and every, gardening need — indoors and out. We had great luck growing them last year, so this season we added several more varieties. We purchased Burgundy Wedding Train, Electric Coral, El Brighto, and several more they are doing really well. The variety and color of this annual wins big for us! We love the constant color of the foliage and what they bring to a yard — you don’t have to wait for blooms to have color. Another interesting think about Coleus is that depending on the conditions they are grown in — perhaps the soil or the sunlight vs. shade, or maybe the day/night temperature — their colors change making them all the more enjoyable. One thing about Coleus that hasn’t changed though, is its ability to grow from cuttings. We’ve rooted them in a glass of water and we’ve rooted them by simply sticking new cuttings into consistently moist potting soil. Planting them directly in soil has won for us, but you have to be able to bear that they will look horrible for a week or two after doing this. They look like they are going to die any minute but then one day — they perk up and start going crazy.
To root in soil, you need cut off stalks 2-3 inches longer than you want to have protruding out of the soil. Choose stalks where you have leaves at the bottom that you can cut off so the node will be the source of your new roots. Poke a hole in the dirt (I use a nail, a huge 40d one) and then gently insert the stem and carefully and pack soil around it. Using cuttings is a great way to experiment with pairing up different looks in the same pot. Try a stand-up variety like Eruption with a trailing type such as Trailing Green Olives. Or mix a bunch of them in a planter. Or mix a bunch of them with several other different species. Coleus with Fountain Grass, Sweet Potato Vine, and Variegated Trailing Viola, perhaps. The possibilities are wide open! So, go through your old yearbooks. Look up your old friend, Coleus. Invite Coleus into your home for a visit. You’ll be happily surprised with what you discover! Thank You for visiting, — Chris and Kathy P.s. What unusual pairings have you tried in either your yard in your houseplants? Do you have a favorite combination? Let’s share stories and try each other’s combos! Chris Fedderson — MacroFine Musings ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do I ever have a photo challenge for you! Bubbles! I recently experimented with trying to photograph bubbles. Not the kind found in champagne or beer, although that might be fun too, but the kind you used to have so much fun blowing, watching, and chasing as a kid. An interesting thing about the experiment was that it presented about every possible photographic challenge you could think of:
For me, this was actually an experiment in seeing what my new camera would do on some of the automatic settings. I rarely use them but it is always good to know what your camera does when left to its own devises; for that moment when a hummingbird flies up and you don’t have time to do much in the way controlling your settings.
You also don’t want your camera's settings to ruin a great opportunity, so you should learn what can happen. For example, while on auto, the ISO on my camera sometimes went to some ridiculous number and if I had captured something good, I likely wouldn’t be able to print it due to the noise/grain in the image. One caution: this is a messy, messy challenge — you’re going to get soap everywhere, so don’t try this challenge indoors! Also, you’ll need an assistant — someone to blow the bubbles — and to clean up afterward! Thank You for visiting, — Chris P.s. So how did your bubbles turn out? I'd love to hear about your experience. |
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About Chris
I am a Virginia-based photographer and gather my images while hiking in parks and natural areas here at home and in the locations I travel to. I also love to visit arboretums and botanic gardens to find unusual and exotic subjects. Archives
March 2017
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