Favorite things: My backyard paradise

May 13, 2016 by Beth Shepherd

Nothing makes me happier than spending time in my garden, breathing in the fresh air, listening to the sounds of the birds and being surrounded by flowers and plants. It’s my own private backyard paradise.

And so I’m sure it comes as no surprise that when the weather warms up, I’m out there every chance I get. My cares melt away and time stands still as I dig my hands in the soil, prune, and fuss over my beloved garden.

Here are a few photos from the past month, many taken for my 366 Project. I am especially fascinated by the details, the stamens on a Clematis flower, a ladybug happily munching on aphids as she crawls along the stem of a rose, the prospect of adding tiny chive blossoms to a salad picked fresh from our garden beds, birds making their families.

It’s all about the journey,

Beth

366 Project: Four things I’ve learned during my third month

April 14, 2016 by Beth Shepherd

March 31 and I’m 1/4 towards the finish line of one photo each day for a year. By December 31, 2016 I hope to have amassed 366 photos. Every month I learn something new about myself as a photographer and a person. Here are four things I’ve learned this month.

Photos March

Patience or luck: I have had some pretty good luck, like the day I caught a beaver swimming below me and an eagle in our tree later that afternoon. But I also think my luck has to do with patience. I will sit and wait until that cormorant lifts his leg and takes a step. Or I’ll take twenty shots of a tulip from several angles at different times of the day until I get a shot that speaks to me.

I enjoy “happy accidents”: For all my planning, there have been a few shots that were happy accidents. I took a picture of my cats through the window screen and I’ll be darned, but it looked like a tapestry. And those birds that kept flying away as soon as I stepped out onto our deck? Well, I clicked away through our glass door. The shots were blurry but the blur looked cool and painterly.

I have a good eye: I am always putting a frame around my view. My eyes are drawn to patterns in plants, a tiny detail. You know how in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the young boy Cole says “I see dead people?” Well I see photographs. Everywhere I go.

I love nature but…: On more days than not, my photos are of nature: plants, animals, scenery. I do find shooting nature meditative. But I would also love to photography people more. I have taken a few shots for our cousins who were pregnant and just had a baby. My own two-legged beloveds? They REALLY do not like to be in front of the camera. So–I need to find some creative ways to catch them!

Young eagle

It’s all about the journey,

Beth

366 Project: Four things I’ve learned during my second month

March 3, 2016 by Beth Shepherd

I’m two months into my 366 Project. One photo each day, all year. Here are four things I’ve learned during my second month of this project.

I’m big on little things: I’ve always been a detail-oriented person (unless we’re talking about technology–see last month’s post), especially where visuals are involved. My eyes are drawn to tiny buds on a Clematis vine, the patterns made by a goose’s feathers. Looking back at the photos I’ve taken over the past two months, I notice there are a lot of close-ups. That or a big picture panoramas. Maybe I’m not much of a middle-ground gal?

Put a bird on it: Not a revelation, but still worth noting, 1/3 of my shots in January and nearly half of my shots in February are of birds or have a bird in the picture. One of the mamas in my Mamas with Cameras/365-52 Project Wonder Women commented, “You’re a bird whisperer.” I do love birds, so this may be true.

If it’s not in the air, it’s in the ground: Most of my photos are nature shots. I do manage to include a few photos each month of my sweet cats and my spirited daughter, but for the most part I’m a nature girl. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the flowers and plants are living or dead. I’m fascinated by them all.

I’m eclectic: Sounds better than unfocused or all-over-the-board, doesn’t it? Black and white, intense color, dreamy and diffuse, high definition, close-up, far away. I suppose that’s what this project is all about: experimenting, practicing…and finding my photographic self along the way.

Thanks again to my virtual 365project.org friends. And Mamas with Cameras, 365/52 Project Wonder Women–you mamas are the bomb!

It’s all about the journey,

Beth

Favorite things: Spring blossoms!

February 27, 2016 by Beth Shepherd

Spring is magical–my favorite season. My spirits are always lifted come February’s end as Spring blossoms. Each day a new surprise awaits. Trees bear tiny specks of color which soon burst into leaves. Delicate buds in Easter shades of pink, purple and yellow pop up in every corner. Birds come back to make their nests and fill the air with beautiful music.

Here are a few of the photographs from my “366 Project” that shout out: Spring blossoms!

It’s all about the journey,

Beth

366 Project: Four things I’ve learned during my first month

February 3, 2016 by Beth Shepherd

January 1st I embarked on a photographic voyage. My destination? One photograph, every day, for a full year. Here are a four things I’ve learned during the first month of my 365 project:

I am a perfectionist with limited technical skills. Not the best combination. When you look at one of my photographs, I want you to see exactly what I saw and maybe even feel what I felt in the moment I snapped the shutter.

However, technology has never been my strong-suit. My eyes glaze over whenever I try to read a manual. Yet photography requires a certain level of technical comfort, both in being able to use my camera to the best of its (and my!) ability and in knowing how to post-process my pictures in a way that brings them to life.

I am overly self-critical. I spent hours putting together my collage of photographs. Several wise (and experienced) mamas from my Mamas with Cameras group offered advice, and suggested websites and programs to help me achieve my goal. I looked at their collages, with orderly rows of squares and lovely photos and wanted to do what they were doing. But mine? To me it looked like a mishmash of sizes and subjects. Why couldn’t I figure this out? Why can’t I identify my niche?

Guess what? As soon as I posted it, in came the kudos: I like how all the photos aren’t the same dimensions. That’s really neat! I feel a bit limited by my squares, and you did a great job! Your photographs are very serene.

I have a color palette! Who knew? Not me, apparently, but one of the comments on my collage made me think. Our templates all have different tones and such. Yours feels so cohesive, almost like one of those Pinterest color palette swatch kits.

I did a double-take. I looked at my collage, and then I looked at several of the other photographer’s collages. Sure enough, I could see exactly what she was observing. Some of the collages had palettes of warm tones: golds and browns. Other collages were bright and playful. And mine? Well it does indeed have its own je ne sais quois.

I love photography! This isn’t news to me or to most people who know me, but taking pictures every day for 31 days has confirmed…I like it. I really like it. Honestly, I could spend hours behind the camera (and post-processing too but let’s not go there). I find it both thrilling and soul satisfying. As with gardening, there are few things I do where I completely lose track of time and let the moment envelop me. Photography is my meditation.

Of course, let’s see how I feel about this after 335 more days. Meanwhile, here’s January! Take a look.

Thanks to all the folks participating in 365project.org who’ve been commenting on my photos and stroking my ego. And a special shout-out to Mamas with Cameras, particularly our 365/52 Project Wonder Women–I am so grateful for your support and wisdom. Click on Mamas!

And you? What takes you to that place inside yourself?

It’s all about the journey,

Beth