Transitions, Transformations and a Little Photography
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Play
Well I feel like I’ve been pretty serious lately with my posts and now that the grey fog has lifted (see this post if you missed it) it’s good to have more uplifting fun topics to talk about. I’ve been doing a deep dive into the book Play by Stuart Brown and it seems to be very timely as I’m in the middle of a great break which includes time with an old friend, a writing retreat and time with a photography friend - there is a lot of play involved in this trip with very little seriousness at all! Who doesn’t love a good rainy November in Wales?
I find that I can get caught up in a very serious cycle where my sense of humour seems to have gone for a walkabout. The best thing for me to do at these times is take a break and find something to have a good belly laugh about then start to focus on having fun - in other words a good session of play does the trick.
Relationships
Not the TV series, but personal connections - what makes an acquaintance versus a friend, or a close friend versus a lifelong friend - and does being able to define and differentiate between them matter?
I have friends who I feel I’ve known for a long time, however some of them have childhood friends - relationships that span most of their life which sort of blows my mind. Others have close relationships with relatives that also span their life and while I have some long term friendships and some deep connections with the people in my life - I don’t have long term connections with anyone more than 40 years (that seems odd, but remember I’m in my 60’s). Sometimes reflecting on this fact makes me a bit sad and it makes me wonder why.
Printing Images
I have been making images for about 10 years now and while I feel like I’ve progressed in terms of technique, editing ability and creative expression, there is one area that I have been hesitant and even resistant to pursuing in any significant way and that is printing my work.
Editing images for use on a computer screen or social media or a blog is much different than editing them to be printed. For starters I tend to use lower resolution images for my blog and social media as the file sizes are smaller. Also, images viewed on a screen are backlit and they appear brighter and a bit more saturated than when they are printed. As a result there are different editing steps used for printing to bridge some of these differences.
All About The Light
I have been photographing for a few years now (more than 10) and I am feeling a shift in my photography - I love how I find myself in one of two states - either in flow and feeling excited and inspired by my photography efforts, or in some state of disquiet, dissatisfaction or generally uninspired. I seem to gravitate to these two states which seems very odd, but true.
I will trundle along in a state of disquiet or lacking inspiration when suddenly it is like a light bulb turning on and I feel myself slip into flow (I wrote about flow here). What I don’t always recognize is that there is a process that I go through to enter flow and part of that is getting focused on the present moment and letting all expectations and criticisms fade into the background. I can’t force this to happen, but when I let go and slide into it - magic!
The Sage Inner Voice
There are times when I feel like it’s getting a bit crowded inside my head - yes I’m one of those people who can really get stuck in my head and then the different stories start to spin and all those voices take on a different perspective of the story and wow it can get busy and noisy in there. What is often not as easy to do is to slow down the hubbub and focus on that small quiet voice - the one that is not loud and overbearing, but persistent nonetheless. I like that little voice - it is often the one that speaks common sense or at least asks questions that prompt me to re-examine thoughts that I felt were etched in stone facts.
I’m not sure when I started being aware of that little voice inside or even when I stopped giving it equal air time, but as I’ve grown older that voice has become more and more important to me.
Into The Future
I’m not usually one who bemoans birthdays or growing older as I feel it is part of life. It feels like embracing aging helps my mind to be more at ease with the inevitable shifts and changes. Maybe it’s because I have some great mentors in this - a wonderful friend of mine is turning 95 this autumn and she has celebrated life and aging in ways that are truly inspirational. There is a softness and ease with which she treats herself as the years accumulate as well as a brightness, joy and gratitude to the way she greets each day. This isn’t to say there aren’t and haven’t bee challenges to be faced on a daily basis, however these don’t become the central focus of her time and attention.
Some key things that I’ve noticed and noted about aging reflect more about attitude and mindset than most other things. There are a lot of researchers saying that to age well (not sure what that means exactly) one needs to never retire
Taking Time For Me
I’m not sure when I first realized that I was putting myself incredibly low on my priority list - powering through to meet everyone else’s expectations (or what I believed to be everyone else's expectations) and then hitting a wall and not being able function effectively. This yo-yo/rollercoaster way of getting through the week really took its toll over time. I felt perpetually exhausted with low energy and at times I would just have to shut down and allow my energy levels to come back to a functioning level.
Everything is good until suddenly…..things go off the rails and eruptions occur like this geyser. (EXIF data f7.1, 1/1250s, 200mm, ISO400, -1.0EV)
It took a long time for me to really understand that by not prioritizing myself resulted in me not being much use to anyone - especially me.
Coming Out Of The Shadows
A few years ago I joined an online photography community ( A Year With My Camera) and I found such inspiration and camaraderie among the members. During that time I stumbled across the concept of liminal spaces (defined as a place or state of transition - the “in-between” moments where you are no longer where you were, but not yet where you are going). This concept intrigued me and I started to see liminal spaces all over the place - which led me to photographing them to try and capture that feeling of transition. I wrote about it in this blog post.
Little did I know at the time that this rabbit hole was going to lead me to all sorts of self discoveries that changed the way I view myself and my world. I love the mystery of liminal spaces - the not knowing where they lead or where I will end up.
Extremes/Cold Plunge
I’ve often said that I have a tendency to an all or nothing mentality and by that I mean that I’ve got to give 100% or I’m not doing it - that perfectionist approach that has the potential to be so limiting. That all or nothing mentality is also what causes me to grin and bear it - power through - whatever way you want to say it - I can ignore pretty much anything going on inside of me and just focus on the end goal. Needless to say there are occasions when that results in a total breakdown of some part of me (getting sick is a big one, back spasms or other sundry aches and pains). I think it’s my body’s way of saying - you should have listened to us in the first place, but since you didn’t we’re letting you know that we’re on strike for the foreseeable future.
Backyard Safari
I have been working through a 52 week creative photography course which has helped me to develop/hone some new creative concepts and stay engaged and inspired throughout the year. Week 46 of 52 was about storytelling and featured the prompt Backyard Safari. I liked the idea of this prompt as it encouraged me to view my backyard in a different manner - with fresh eyes - curious to showcase what I see - trying to present it in a different perspective.
One of the things I liked best about this prompt is that it encouraged me to stay close to home and not feel that I needed to venture to some new exotic place in order to find something photo-worthy.
Editing An Image
I thought that I’d take a blog to go through some editing that I did with my Zambia images as I spent some time with Michael and learned a few new tricks. He also helped me to remind myself not to be so lazy and short cut on editing - sometimes I’m not the keenest editor, but it can make such a difference.
I’ll start by saying that if you shoot raw format images (asI do) - you will have to edit your images as they come out of the camera rather flat looking. This is on purpose as the camera has not applied any editing to the image - all the information is preserved and it’s up to the photographer to edit the image. Jpeg images on the other hand have computer applied edits to them and are often quite good - unless you’re working on a more dramatic edit.
The Why Rather Than the What or How
I have just finished a week at a photography retreat in Kingsbrae Gardens, New Brunswick with Freeman Patterson. This is my second time attending this retreat and I have again found myself to be inspired, uplifted and just moved to a new place in understanding why I do what I do with my camera.
The week is not a workshop - there is no learning new technique or trying to understand the technicalities of my camera or craft - it is about delving into the Why. The week is filled with conversations, visits to artists working in different media and open time to spend photographing in the gardens or around town - any way we wish to use the time.
Judgment
My knee jerk response is no - I’m a pretty accepting and open person who really frowns on being judgy, but if I’m being perfectly honest with myself - I do it in subtle ways that can sometimes fool me into thinking that I don’t.
I came to this realization recently on our Zambian safari trip. It’s always interesting to observe the interactions and dynamics when strangers put together by circumstances (chosen vacation location) first meet and start up conversations. There is the initial pleasantries and then the inevitable where are you from, what do you do for a living, do you have children (I always feel judged when I answer no), have you been on safari before and what are you hoping to see?
Scarcity Mindset
The strict definition of scarcity is when demand for something outstrips supply or the basic premise that there is a finite amount of human and non human resources, so at some point there will be a shortage. This term has come to be associated increasingly with our mental condition and is often referred to as the scarcity mindset which is a belief that resources we rely on to live and survive (e.g., money, time, love or opportunities) are limited and less than is required to satisfy our needs. This results in a focus on what is lacking - much like the gap in the term the gap versus the gain which I wrote about in this post- the focus is on what I don’t have (whether it is real or significant) rather than what I do have. I like to think of this as the opposite of the gratitude mindset which is when I am grateful for the abundance of the wonderful things in my life rather than focusing on what is missing.
Exploring the Lower Zambezi
After spending 5 wonderful nights in South Luangwa exploring the area on game drives and through a walking safari we moved on to the second location of our safari adventure - the Lower Zambezi. This is a much different area as the water levels are controlled by a dam whereas the Luangwa River remains a naturally regulating water course resulting in significant water level changes throughout the year.
The safari adventure transition started with a drive to the Mfuwe Airport with a stop at a few local shops looking for the green tomato chutney we had become addicted to at Mwamba.
Finding Creative Inspiration
Well there’s a loaded question! Do I go after what is inspiring or what is creativity? Actually, I attended a photography talk by David DuChemin at the new Calgary Library in the east village downtown December 2024. It’s an amazing building with interesting architecture and design elements. Spending time there made me itchy to grab my camera and explore the lines and curves. Maybe that alone is inspiration - something that compels me to take action and get out of my head and get creative.
I’ve long been a fan of David DuChemin’s photography and writing - he has a number of photography books which often feel more like books on life and the creative process than strictly photography - so they are applicable to any creative pursuit.
Community
I was challenged recently to think about the communities I have lived in and the communities that I have passed through. What were some key characteristics of them and how did I feel being in them?
There are so many different kinds of communities that are linked to geographical circumstances and cultural practices. In North America where we have so much space there are communities that are spread wide apart with lots of space between properties - providing privacy, but also isolation. People with garages behind their homes or attached to them have the further challenge that they can enter and exit their abode without having to come in contact with anyone. Contrast this with other neighbourhoods where people live in row houses or condos with communal walls or floors/ceilings. There can be a definite lack of privacy, but also more interaction and community. There are also new communities being built around communal green spaces to encourage interactions.
Bluebird Season
This is the busy time of year for the bluebirds and for monitoring their activity - exciting times too. As I’ve mentioned before the bluebirds return from their winter homes in early to mid March and they start building nests in earnest by the beginning of May. Once the nest is built and shaped to a perfect cup the female loses the feathers on her abdomen - called a brood patch - which enables her to transfer maximum body heat to the eggs after she lays them.
Once the nest is finished she starts laying eggs - one a day for 5 - 7 days and two weeks after the last one is laid they start to hatch all on the same day! This is when the real work begins - constant feeding for both the male and the female while the little ones form feathers and grow big enough to fledge from the nest some 18-21 days after hatching. What a an amazing cycle to be able to witness and collect data from.
How to Tell a Good Story With My Life
I know that is an odd way to start this post, but in effect that is how the idea for this whole post started. Kory and I have been working on getting out of our comfort zone a bit more and just getting out more which includes actually coming up with date night or date day ideas. Full disclosure - he excels at this so much better than I do (for example the puppet making workshop was his idea). When he suggested that we attend a workshop titled (How to Tell a Good Story With Your Life) we thought it was about writing and that it would be a cool thing to attend on a Saturday morning.
Boy were we wrong about the topic, but I digress. We showed up at the venue where there were about 8 or 9 other people (Kory had gone to a workshop put on by the facilitator (Val) previously and enjoyed it - a setting your intentions for the New Year sort of thing).
Elders’ Wisdom
I do love when the universe feels the need to provide me with a strong life lesson and there is no warning that it is coming my way. These lessons tend to knock me on the head and get my attention - quickly. When I take the time to stop and really pay attention then the lesson tends to go easier, however I must admit to rarely being wise enough to do that.
I’m more of a quickly assess the facts and take action kind of woman - yes this habit has gotten me in trouble a time or two and I’ve been working on slowing down and being more intentional about what actions (if any) I take. Slowing down, getting curious and spending more time gathering facts tends to change the way I view a situation and how I go about responding.