Make It Interesting...

I recently participated in a photography show where the focus was the non-traditional art of photography.  There were artists represented that either combined photography with other mediums (for example, mix media) or they had a unique perspective to their photographs.  I fell in with the latter of the two.  It was an honor to be included with such a grouping of talented people.  I have often seen how photography has been overlooked as an art medium, because it is not something that the artist creates.  I disagree, wholeheartedly.  The group that I had the privilege to show with are a group of photographers who have transformed the medium to another level.  It is the type of photography that I love, I love to transform an image, to draw the audience and to have them wonder "how you came up with that idea" or "what does it all mean" or more simply "wow."  One of the pieces that I submitted (I was honored to have three in the show) created that drew more attention than my other works.  It is an image of the Reid & Murdoch Building located on the Chicago River, the building is iconic because of the red brick which is such a contrast to the rest of the scenery along the river.  It is also the current home of the Encyclopedia Britannica headquarters.  Most people asked why it looked so familiar and what was the meaning to the other elements in the photograph.  I explained that it was the angle of the shot and I wanted to create a piece with this shot because of the different characteristics, from the red brickwork and the iron bridge that both appear in the shot.

Here is the original image:

And the piece entitled "River Walk:"

"River Walk" (c) 2012

Painting Nature...

I have really developed a true love for nature photography. I will always remain faithful to my first love of architecture and structure, but recently I have decided to challenge myself to embrace other subject matters.  I began painting again and rejoined a watercolor class after a three year hiatus.  I stopped painting because I felt that my skill level just wasn't developing, that I was painting too much for what I thought it should look like as opposed to what I thought should feel like.  I could not find myself in my work.  It was then that I picked up a camera and began my odyssey in photography. What photography taught me was to let go, let loose and discover my art.  The lesson that I learned from my photography, I have applied to watercolors.  My painting has truly developed from where it was three years ago.  I paint for me and how I envision the subject matter to be.  I also found that I should paint what I love, that being nature.  Not to say that I won't paint other subject matter when I have the feel to do it, but I want to really hone into my first love.


Seeing that I am painting lots of flowers, I decided to also work on that skill set in my photography.  Really stretching the look and feel of the image itself.  I am really focusing on bringing painting techniques and style to my photographic art.  Below is a new piece and example of what I am trying to do in both my photography and painting.

"Thistle" (c) 2012

Summer Colors....

Summertime is known for bright colors everywhere, this is nature's chance to put on a show and exhibit all of her beauty for all to see.  It is the time of vast gardens, fireworks and family get-togethers, vacations to exotic locales and highlighted by spectacular sunrises and sunsets.  It is my favorite season of the year.  July is the one month for gardeners when all of their hard work pays off, everything is in full bloom.  The piece below is that of my absolute favorite flower, the daisy.  It is the happiest flower around and I have blogged about her fairer version, the classic and friendly Shasta daisy with it's white petals and perky yellow center.  Here is her grown up cousin, the Gerber daisy.  She dresses for the occasion displaying brightly hued colors of pinks, yellows, oranges and my personal favorite, a rich red.  The red Gerber daisy is seductive and beguiling... and when she stands by herself, she reaches for the heavens and pops against any background.

"Red Daisy" (c) 2012

It's Hot Out There...

There is nothing more damaging to your camera's sensor than extreme weather conditions.  I have the blessing to have the choice of when to bring out my camera for work, but there are photographers who are not so fortunate.  They have to shoot in any condition presented to them, and when it comes to extremes in temperature, there is nothing more dangerous to the inner workings of your camera.  We know that when it is raining to shoot with a camera sleeve, but what about going from very hot to an air conditioned room and vice versa?  


The first piece of advice that I every got was to temper your camera to the temperature.  Meaning, keep the camera in the camera case which is insulated and still protecting the camera and after a couple of hours you can pull it out without a fear of condensation wrecking the inner components of the camera.  The best piece of advice I got was to put silicon packets in your camera bag.  These are the same packets that you get in a shoe box or brand new bags, because they are designed for that.  They prevent moisture from ruining those shoes and bags and in essence they do the same thing for your camera.


I recently visited the Washington DC area to visit my best friend and her husband and one of my goals was to shoot the monuments and have my creative fun with them.  Unfortunately due to the extreme heat and subsequent storms that wrecked havoc on the area, I was unable to put my camera to use in the way that I liked.  Hopefully, the next time I visit, the weather will cooperate in my best interest!


Not to leave you without any examples of my recent work, I decided to go with the image I call "Rocky." But today, with the majority of the nation under heat advisories I thought this image might provide a cool and refreshing escape.  Can't you just imagine your feet in the water of this piece?  I know I can!

"Rocky" (c) 2012

Urban Edge In Nature...

So, I love, love, love shooting architecture.  It is my absolute favorite.  I love the urban feel of  a city, all of the grit, street life, buildings, and so on.  I have often wondered about how to put that urban look on a nature shot.  A couple of weeks ago, I shot an image of a rose and thought that it would be a pretty cool idea to combine the urban edge I love so much with this particular shot.  A rose truly encompasses beauty and edge.  The softness and allure of the petals in combination with the thorny protection of the stem.  So the original image below....

....turned into the following piece, aptly named Graffiti Rose.  I just love the darkness, edge, and urban feel to the new image.  

"Graffiti Rose" (c) 2012

Getting Buggy With It....

There are so many interesting things to photograph and some of them are the smallest things around... bugs.  I began to shoot some of the more interesting looking six and eight legged creatures around my home because my son truly finds them fascinating.  My daughter could care less and would prefer not to encounter any of them.  Living so close to a forest, we get an interesting mixture of "buggy" life.  Bugs that I have never seen before, which I attribute to living the city when I was a young girl.  In a previous blog post, I showed the lovely Woolly Bear Caterpillar that I was fortunate to shoot.  Here you will see two lovely and creepy creatures.  One is a dragonfly and what I loved about the shot that I got was all of the detail that you can see in its wing.  The shot came out just perfect, this particular dragonfly was smitten with the garden in my front yard and you could find it flying about on a daily basis as it made its rounds around the neighborhood.  I am not aware of what species it is, but if you can identify it than let me know!

"Dragonfly Perch" (c) 2011

The second image is a yellow and black spider known as the Yellow and Black Argiope or more commonly garden spider, corn spider, or writing spider.  All I can truly tell you about this one is that it scared the living daylights out of me, was not expecting to see this guy hanging out when I went to water my garden.  After my heart came back in my chest and was beating at a normal rate, I grabbed my camera and captured a shot.  My curiosity got the best of me and I had to document it, but if you see the name of the piece than you can still get an understanding of how I truly felt about it!

"Arachnophobia" (c) 2011

Garden Season...

This is one of my most favorite times of the year.  Getting my hands dirty and planting new blooms in my garden.  My little backyard is my "hacienda" from all things being a mom, wife, photographer, homemaker and the list can go on.   I sit out on my patio, read and drink a good cup of coffee or tea, depending on the time of day.  Another great aspect of garden season is the beauty of nature... all the flowers and trees.  As a photographer, my eye is constantly drawn to these beautiful pops of color and I end up with some cool pieces of art.  


I am currently taking watercolor classes to refresh and rejuvenate my painting before I head off to grad school.  I either plan on getting my Masters Degree in Watercolor or Photography, I have yet to decide and why I began the classes. I have taken the classes before, but had a three year hiatus.  It is wonderful being back, missed my fellow classmates and teacher.  One of our assignments had us taking a small field trip to the local nursery.  I captured quite a few images and was able to create some really cool work as a result.  Below is one of the pieces and what I really like about this piece is how a stack of clay pots can truly create something special.

"Clay Pots" (c) 2012

Flower Painting...

I have always been a creative, artsy person.  Ever since I can remember, I have either doodled, sketched or painted in some form.  Because of this my mother enrolled me in private art lessons that I took from the age of 8 until I was 14 years of age.  Then I had high school projects and took my craft into a different direction.  Anything that I could apply my creative skills to, I did, all the time.  I never thought that I'd be in a position to follow my dream and my passion, but I am blessed that I am able to do so.  I have begun painting again, I had joined a local class in 2005 and stayed with it until 2008.  Then I abandoned it to work as a manager in the retail world... I have since left and decided to take up painting again.


It is my love of painting that ties into my love of photography.  With Photoshop, I am able to paint with my pictures and create new images, images that I might not necessarily be able to do with a brush and watercolors (one of my goals since rejoining the class is to paint some of my photographic fine art pieces... which I will blog about from time to time). I use Photoshop as my digital paintbrush and one such piece, that I recently finished, truly defines what I do.  It is a classic image of Spring flowers and edited to create that painting "feel."  I simply love the end result and I hope you do too!  Below is the finished piece and underneath it lies the original.

"Mellow Yellow" (c) 2012 

Telling A Story...

One of the great things about photographing people is that the imagination is left to create it's very own story when it sees the image.  What is going on? Why are they where they are? And so on.  People are one of the few subject matters that I do photograph, but when I have the opportunity I prefer candid moments where the subject is truly in their own world.  The following image is a photo of my son and his buddy.  It is such an iconic image because it is a photo of two friends and that is a topic and subject that is always close to any one's heart.

"Best Buds Fishing" (c) 2011

It is so simple but how many stories can you create by seeing the image? I can think of tons.  The simple truth behind the photo is that they are learning how to catch tiny fish to use for bait when they go bass fishing later on.  A perfect summer day, a perfect day for fishing and a perfect day to enjoy with your friend.

Long Time Coming....

I have seen many panoramics of the city of Chicago and have always wanted to do one.  There are those by the day, at night, in color and the classic black and white.  When I finally had the opportunity to shoot the skyline (one of the best spots is located by the Aquarium and Planetarium) I took advantage of it, capturing many shots to create my dream panoramic of the city.  Those familiar with my style know that I am a true creative at heart, I love to create something new and different.  It took me a couple of weeks to figure out how I wanted to piece it together, deciding to keep it in color or go the black and white route, I played with a variety of techniques and finally created a product and piece that I am so proud of.  The image itself is made up of four unique shots of the skyline, then I edited each of those pics before stitching them together and creating a final edit and style to the skyline of the city I love most.  Below you'll see the end piece and beneath the panoramic you will see the original four shots help create the final product.

"Chicago Painted City" (c) 2012

The Mosaic Effect....

There is a pretty cool effect and treatment that you can apply to your photographs that is available in Photoshop and I have used it on a few of my pieces.  It is the mosaic filter.  Now, it is not for every print or piece that you produce but depending on the end result that you are aiming for, it is a filter to consider.  On the example below, I used the filter on a photograph of a glass bottle (hence glass being a phenomenal way to use the layer, especially if you are new to using it).  Initially, I saturated the colors and used some other techniques that you see in the final product below, but I also have the original image as well so you can see the differences between the two and what a great final product you can end up with using some of the more interesting filters that are offered in Photoshop.

"Crackled Glass" (c) 2011 

"Got A Spigot?..."

"Got A Spigot?" (c) 2012

Normally, my favorite things to shoot are subject matter relating to nature or architecture.  But I have been slowly but surely shooting outside my favorite two genres.  The above shot is one such example.  I happen to come across this lovely stone bowl filled with water spigot handles during an excursion to an antiques sale.  What struck me most was the richness of the stone and the different pops of color with the knobs, some were bright and others were rusty.  I further enhanced the image by saturating the color and a couple of other tricks that I have.  The original is below so that you can see the differences between my final piece up above and what I initially started with.

The Story Behind "Science Experiment..."

"Science Experiment" (c) 2011

This image is my highest viewed image on one of my photo sites 500px.com and as with any image that I capture and subsequently create, there is a story.  This image was initially photographed on a brief weekend getaway in Michigan.  My family stayed with some friends and each day that we were there we headed out to the lake where they had a boat.  We swam, soaked up some sun, fished, and lots of other fun things.  And of course I had my camera with me.  By the lake, there was a wooded area next to the opening I spotted this gnarly tree.  What was so neat about the tree was that it was covered in moss and had a large opening, almost like a crater.  Within the crater there was sap, which are the reddish brown areas in the image.  It almost looks like a geode and because of all the interesting tidbits in the image, I named it "Science Experiment" because it reminded me of when I was a young girl, full of curiosity and anxious to learn about anything scientific.  Let me know what you think of this image either here or on my 500px site http://500px.com/photo/2350376.

Art Takes Times Square....

I have recently submitted my work for consideration and the grand opportunity to have my work shown in New York City's Times Square.  How exciting, and what I really like about this contest is that it is free!!!! To have your work considered you have to do some leg work, and to have it shown in Times Square there is even more work or you can submit a fee of $25 to bypass all of the work and get your work out there.  What I really like is that it is a free opportunity for an artist to expose the world to their work.  I am certain that there are many artists out there who painfully submit fees for submissions to gallery competitions to have the opportunity to have your work shown in a gallery.  Sometimes you can win and are included in the group showing or you are politely turned down because they were not "feeling" your work at the time.  Trust me, if you do it often enough, your skin get a little thick.  It is very rare that you have an event that you can enter free of charge, and for any artist (because most of us are struggling) is a great gift of an opportunity.


For any of my followers or fans, I submit the link below for your vote and consideration.  A part of this contest is based on getting enough of the public to become their very own art collector and begin adding collections of the numerous artists that have submitted (and trust me there are beautiful collections out there).  There is also an opportunity for you, the judge and collector to win yourself a trip to NYC and $2500.

http://simonehester.artistswanted.org/atts2012

I have also included the nine pieces that I chose to represent me as an artist.... and I would be very grateful to anyone who participates and add me to their collection!

Jellies.....

For those that know me, know that my absolute favorite subject to shoot is architecture and a close second is nature.  I am comfortable taking a variety of photographs with these as my focal points and standard for content.  However, I sincerely believe in stretching the boundaries of your comfort zone and I try to do that on occasion.  During my kids' Spring Break, I thought of many things we could do, and saw a commercial advertising the Jellyfish exhibit at our Aquarium.  I knew in that instance, it would be a challenge for me.  Capturing wildlife really truly calls on the right moment and time, you can sit all day or actually get lucky and capture that moment.  I have been fortunate to get some wildlife shots that I am truly proud of, but was unsure of my luck capturing the graceful jellyfish.  


The challenge with shooting in an aquarium is the first challenge of not using your flash it is against the policy of the aquarium (I am not a fan of the flash anyway) and using your flash against a tank full of fish is just awful, you get that lovely reflection.  So you just have to know your camera and make the necessary adjustments and try your  best to get your images.  


I was fortunate to capture some really cool shots, I had more bad than good, but there are five that I am really proud of.  They are so simplistic in nature, I thought that another cool effect would be to invert the colors and show two different versions of each image.  A sample of one of my favorites is below (in both versions).


So my advice, get out of your comfort zone, and try something new... you just might like it!

"Jellyfishing V" (c) 2012 

"Jellyfishing V in Negative" (c) 2012

The Golden Rules....

When you study Fine Art of any kind, there are several rules that most teachers pass on to their willing students.  The golden standard.  These rules pretty much apply to any medium and since I paint and photograph, they interchange regularly.  The piece at the bottom reflects two of these "golden rules."  The first rule is the rule of thirds or the bulls eye effect.  Any piece that you create, you should immediately imagine two lines going horizontally and two lines going vertically on your piece, dividing the piece into three columns and three rows. And what you must remember is not to have anything in the middle square, row or column if it is the solitary focal point in your work.  If it is the middle square, it becomes the bulls eye; or if it is the horizon for example, if it is in middle row, it divides the piece in half.


The second rule, is that if you have multiple objects in your work, then it should be an odd number.  This rule, I am not too certain why it has such importance, but it has been mentioned to me by three different art instructors.  I don't follow this one to the letter as often, but in the image below, these two rules are respected.  There are three stones in the image (in the original, there are four) and I made certain that the rocks lay at the bottom of the image, so it is in the bottom row.  I think it is a successful reflection of the two aforementioned rules.  What rules do any of you follow?

"Rocky" (c) 2012

The Art of the Still Life...

The still life is one of those styles that are used often for subject matter as one is learning a particular technique.  In all of the art lessons and classes that I have taken, it is a constant staple of a teaching tool.  My instructors often would remind us to bring something in for the next class to use as a still life.  As a painter it is constant.  The easiest thing to paint is the subject matter that does not move, thus does not require you to freeze time with a camera or the like.  In photography it is a subject matter that is not as popular as maybe landscapes or portraits, action shots or structures.  But there is a simplistic beauty surrounding the still life.  I recently completed an example of a still life when I captured a shot of some rather unique and beautiful earrings.  They are Italian horn earrings that are adorned with clear stones.  I inverted the colors and played with some other techniques and the end result looks like a typical infrared images.  I am just pleased with the work and how beautifully unique it is.

"Blue Horns" (c) 2012

Loving Me Some Spring....

Today is the first day of Spring, and usually we are so excited for this day to arrive.  It means that the weather will soon be changing for the better.  Here's the thing, we have been fortunate to experience an early Spring, temperatures well above normal for the past week and a half.  If I could only choose one adjective to describe it, I would say that it has been "phenomenal." I even took a walk yesterday in lieu of my beloved elliptical machine. I have also had the opportunity to snap some Spring shots, since nature has decided to spring on us earlier than normal.  Flowers are blooming, trees are sprouting and grass is getting greener.  All appreciating the early warmth and loving sunshine.  


The picture that I snapped below.... is your typical happy daffodil (even happier in the sunny color yellow).

What I enjoy most about creating my work is playing around with different techniques to come up with an end result that I am most pleased with.  This time around, I wanted to create a painting feel even though this is a photograph.  So I added a variety of textures and then decided to use the liquefy option (one of the photoshop filters) and put different swirls throughout the image and in particular on the petals.  It created a beautiful effect... what do you think?

"Yellow Flower Paint" (c) 2012

Something Old, Something New, Something Old Again...

For those who know me personally or those who follow my photography and work, truly know that I am a lover of things that are old, that have a history, that exhibit age, that show character and so on.  Even when I paint, I am drawn to things that have some rust, are weathered, distressed or full of cobwebs.  This type of subject matter is so interesting to me.  When I had the opportunity to visit the antique show that I blogged about in early February, I captured some images that I knew I'd eventually create into pieces for my websites.  The piece below is a fine example of something old, they are antique toasters; but they also had such a modern and new look about them as well, which I attribute to all that chrome.  When I created the piece, I wanted to rough it out some, give it some age, and let the attitude shine through.  So using a variety of techniques, I did exactly what I had initially envisioned... creating a piece that shows something that was old, but looked so new and I made it old again.

"Toasters" (c) 2012

The Art of the Portrait...

Portraits have been around for a very long time, since the time of the cave man, moving through the Egyptian era and making the way through the Renaissance until the present, it continues to make it's mark on culture.  Today, one of the most popular form of a portrait (yet probably the least flattering) is the camera phone self-portrait.  How we have become a little narcissistic in our attempt to capture our best pose that we can share with all of friends (or someone we'd like to have as a friend) by posing in front of our bathroom mirror, holding up our cell phone and snapping away.  Some of these images have gotten some into trouble.  I will never understand why you'd get in front of a mirror naked, snap a cell phone shot and sharing it with someone.  If you post that image online via a social networking site, it is permanent.  You have to be careful of what you share.


Portraits do come in a variety of genres, styles, and techniques.  Today I want to talk on the more non-traditional portraits.  Not the cookie cutter stamp of the school portrait or that classic stand in front of a backdrop either solo or as a group or the infamous wedding poses that are out there.  To me some of the best portraits are those that are captured showing the life and vitality of that person (or people) who are in the moment doing something they love or reflecting on life or whatever.  Just doing something. The frozen in time standard was created because at one point it was important for the subject matter to be as still as possible while the camera captured the image via the use of sunlight.  Which is why photographs from long ago had captured people with a straight face and no smile.  So we have tons of somber imagery and not a good picture (no pun intended) of the person, were they happy, sad, a little zany? Who knows.


Candid portraits can capture a laugh, a sincere moment (think of a woman holding her baby for the first time), sadness, joy, and pure bliss.  These are pictures that truly tell a story and allow you to have a sneak peek into some one's life in that moment (we are all truly voyeurs aren't we).  The image below is an example of that.  It is a portrait of two boys fishing.  Now, the dozens of stories that one can come up with are numerous.  What story do you think the portrait is telling?

"Best Buds Fishing" (c) 2011

Something You're Listening To

I am a great lover of music, all kinds.  There are certain genres that I do listen to more than others, but since I was a little girl I have had my ear open to a variety of sounds.  This is something that I definitely owe to my parents.  They loved music too.  One of my favorite songs as a little girl and still has a dear spot in my heart is Ramsey Lewis and Earth, Wind, & Fire's "Sun Goddess." You can find that on my beloved iPod, along with several other artists, including but not limited to Santana, Louis Armstrong (as noted above in the photo), Cesaria Evora, Cee Lo Green, Michael Jackson, Jay Z, Adele, Ella Fitzgerald, Andre Bocelli, Amos Lee, Rolling Stones, Sade, Jill Scott, and so on.  I can get lost in music!

Money

So I think that everyone has the lovely money jar.... and I am no exception to the rule.  This classic is where I grab the kids lunch money in pinch, grab some change for the toll or donate.  One of the best things is saving all the change and depositing it in my kids savings account.  

Something You Ate

So lately I have put my "only in moderation" diet on hold and have indulged more often than I would like to admit.  The one thing I have kept up with is making sure that I hit the elliptical machine 5 to 6 days out of the week.  So my weight loss has been stagnant.  I have hit my goal weight earlier in the year, but thought I would challenge myself to lose an additional 10 pounds.  So after this weekend, I told myself that I would go back to my lifestyle change of eating smarter and not forgetting to treat myself on occasion. Today, I snacked on one of my favorite treats a Gala apple. So sweet and so refreshing.

Night

With tonight being the Oscars... wasn't sure if I'd remember to capture an image of the night sky.  But in all honesty, I am glad that I had a chance to post this.... My favorite piece of art is Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night." For an art project a few years back one of our assignments was to reproduce a Van Gogh.  It was actually a watercolor class and that was the trick to reproduce the depth of color and texture that was originally an oil painting.  I thought it was an ideal time to capture my favorite work of all time. It is on a smaller scale than the original by Van Gogh, but I am proud of what I was able to accomplish with it being a watercolor.  This is also a tribute to a great lady, my former art teacher Claire Weist whom taught me so much about watercolors and myself as an artist.  She is in the hospital and my spirit and wishes of a speedy recovery goes out to her at this time. 

Green

Green.... this is actually my favorite color.  I love all shades of it from the deepest emeralds, to bright limes and the yellow and blue hued versions.  To me it is a simple of earth and of life.  It is symbolic of nature.  When it came time to capture an image for this challenge, I decided to go with what nature herself offers best... the simplicity of a green leaf.  The leaf is often a backdrop with spring, summer and fall flora but without it as a this majestic backdrop, the colors of the blooms just wouldn't pop in the same way.  As simple as this leaf may be, the way a leaf actually gets it's green color is so scientific that only mother nature can produce the best formula.  With the close of this challenge drawing near, I am excited to welcome Spring next month and longing for beautiful green grasses and the green buds on trees and plants as they spring to life for the upcoming year.

Inside Your Bathroom Cabinet

Inside my bathroom cabinet? Hmmmm..... well that is definitely a private peek.  So what do you gather from it? To put it simple, I brush my teeth and wash my face, I believe in hygiene! I am actually a big believer in taking care of my skin.  I have several face products to keep my skin as healthy as possible.  Another key thing, I shop at Target (hence the Up and Up products) and use Neutrogena to cleanse my skin.  What you don't see is all of the Loreal Youth Code products, I do use their entire line and I totally love it.

Your Shoes

Probably every girls favorite, right? This particular pair are one of my go to shoes simply because they are flats and in a sparkly zebra print.  Who can beat that? And it always gets the famous DSW question... "Where did you get your shoes?" Well I can't lie, I owe these to Target.  How could I pass up spending just $15 on a stylish pair of flats that can go with any outfit? Keep them right next to my $200 boots and the like.  It was a cool find and an even better buy.

Where You Work

So where do I work? At home, I am blessed to be an artist working from home.  I do all of my editing and creating on my beloved laptop.  I also do all of my research looking for potential show opportunities to display and sell my work.  I also do all of my blogging and writing as well from home.  As a mom, it is great because I am there for my kids and have flexibility in my schedule so I can deliver artwork and the like whenever possible.