Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Photo Play 2024: January Summary

One of my 2023 goals was to focus on my photography more.  Well that lasted until about May.  It's not that I quit taking photos, it's just that I stopped what limited studying I'd been doing and didn't keep up with reviewing and critiquing my photos.  At the end of this January, I asked myself what I really wanted out of my photography, why am I taking photographs?  I came up with three reasons:

1.  I need to walk for my health, photography makes it more palatable and interesting.
2. I'm retired, but I want to keep learning new skills.
3.  It's something both My Guy and I both enjoy doing together. 

Those are all good reasons.  Having decided that, the next question was what do I want to achieve with my photography?  I read a few articles on other photographers and what they thought was important about taking photos and here's what I decided mattered to me:

1. I enjoy photographing the little things we tend to miss, how the light shines on water or how light shines through a leaf. One photographer said "An image is a poem about time".  And that thought really resonated with me. 
2. It just brings me joy.  Simple as that.  

So I'm back on my journey to document the interaction of light with objects via the camera lens.  My plan is to do a monthly summary on the blog. Here's the best that came out of my January photography efforts. 

January was cold and dreary, but we did get some incredible sunrises. 






Even broken glass can be interesting. 




The play of the morning light can create some interesting images.




 
Even after an extremely cold January, you can still find color out in the woods. 







Some of these photos were taken with my I-Phone, some with my digital SLR.  Not a bad start to 2024.  

7 comments:

Linda said...

These are all good reasons to keep a camera close while you walk. You must be close to the woods and hopefully a nice trail!

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

Lovely photos--glad you have decided to keep working on it--
I need you come and 'whip' me into shape too--I have the big camera and short and long lens and I used to take a ton of photo--but--been really lazy the last 4 years--????
Valentine hugs, today--di

Barbara said...

Beautiful photos. It’s a good exercise, and running through the reasons as you have will give you some focus (no pun intended) for your sessions. One thing I realized early on is that I don’t like carrying around a lot of equipment unless photography is the goal of the outing. For other things, a point-and-shoot or else an iPhone will have to get the job done, and they all their strengths and weaknesses. Your photography posts help keep me motivated too, so thank you.

helenreimers said...

You have some very interesting photos, the sunrises, the tree thru window, and the leaves. Keep up the great work

Sara said...

It's an awesome beginning to 2024 photography. We've had some beautiful sunsets this winter. I see more sunsets than sunrises, as I'm not a very good morning person. LOL

piecefulwendy said...

I'll have to remember your idea of taking my camera along when I go for a walk. I get bored with just walking, so this might help. Your photos are great - fun to see each one!

Melisa- pinkernpunkinquilting said...

I always enjoy seeing your photos, Kate; you inspire me to look a things differently when taking photos . Have an awesome week. Hugs.