A Surreal Selfie #photoproject

Le Violon d'Ingres

I got inspired whilst looking through Man Ray's photos (I was looking for but never found his Jazz series). He was a Dada &/or Surrealist artist and photographer who came to fame in Paris in the 1920's & 30's. His most famous image from that time is probably Ingre's Violin, but he was also a very successful fashion photographer and filmmaker after the war.

“It has never been my object to record my dreams, just the determination to realize them.”

...Man Ray

The object here is to take a "self portrait" (it doesn't have to include your face, could be just a shadow, an empty chair, your hands holding a camera, or a coffee cup!) that tells much more of your story than a standard head-shot selfie. What story do you want to tell? Perhaps it will be about your aspirations, what you have achieved, what you want to do after lockdown is over?

Pace Yourself

Don't go too soon, race around trying every single home based photo project idea. Mainly because we could be ineffective lockdown for a while, and that time frame will be determined by the virus infection rates and extent of the epidemic; not politician or self-appointed experts (please ignore the trendy but hollow projects, rumors and fake news flooding social media and the populist media, instead, find a  few reliable news sources, stay informed via them and ignore the rest. Follow your appropriate lockdown rules).

The second reason to pace yourself is that this will give you more time to experiment and practice. Just doing 1,000 hours is a bit of a myth and that practice might be counterproductive if you just repeating bad habits. However, if you use the time to gradually improve, discover new things and techniques you will emerge at the other end of this a much better photographer

Rich Sammon has great advice here as well -

"Surround yourself (you'll have to use social media oronline services to stay connected while the lockdown is in progress) with positive/fun people that can help you achieve this goal. Keep this adage in mind: Stay away from negative people."

Stay Safe & Healthy 

VIOLET Colour #photoassignment

Violet (that blue shade of purple) is not common in nature. There can be those fleeting moments at sunset, and a few flowers. However there are lots of manufactured materials that are coloured lilac to violets. The trouble is this not a fashionable colour at the moment. "Its so last year".

So capturing something violet might just be the hardest colour challenge of the week.

DEEP BLUE Colour #photoassignment

Deep Blue (Indigo in  Newton's Rainbow) happens in a magic way when you take your image after dark. Particularly if you photograph during the Blue Hour (which is the hour or so after sunset (or before sunrise). The eye might see the sky as dark but your camera can capture a rich deep blue with the right exposure.

If you haven't photographed at night, try it tonight. First, a warning, your camera's automatic exposure settings may not work. So you will probably need to experiment with a lower f-stop number, a slower speed and/or a higher ISO.  Rather than give you general numbers, I would encourage you to change that mode dial to M (manual) and start experimenting. To begin make changes that give you more light, then refine in little steps till you capture that beautiful rich blue.

BLUE Colour #photoassignment

Looking in my camera bag I can see some important stuff for keeping my Camera Healthy and Clean, which just happens to be Blue. For the lens there are the blower and lens pen and that black microfiber cloth supplied with your camera. The blue "fannel" is also microfiber and ideal to wipe down the outside of the camera (every day after use). You can wash microfiber cloths in the washing. The Blue zip wallet has a spare battery and extra SD cards.

Camera hygiene can be as important as washing your hands as well.

GREEN Colour #photoassignment

There is lots of green in the garden at the moment but I haven't photographed the staghorn fern near the front door in a while. I noticed a new frond unfurling so I got in close.

When you look around the house and look, really look in detail its amazing what you might find to photograph, especially when you look close

YELLOW colour #photoassignment

I want to photograph something strongly yellow in my home. However most of the candidates I've photographed before.  Hmm. Suddenly it was after dark and this jaunty metal cockatoo was the only yellow thing I could see.

Still he takes an ok photo.

Coping with Social Isolation

Social distancing doesn’t mean you should stop photography.

In fact taking a little time for photography each day could be really good for your health (Body, Mind and especially Soul). Thus I have started this little series of blog post that has ideas for mini photo assignments while Self Isolating. Today's assignment will suit you if you're totally locked down or in quarantine.

The COVID-10 pandemic is set to become a very significant world event and remembering what you and your family had to do will undoubtedly become one of the more significant events in your lifetime. So it is a perfect time to start your view of what is happening as a visual record of those little things happening in your daily life. They could be the same as usual or new, that particular way you have had to adapt.

Don’t go overboard and photograph everything and post it to social media. Take a much more contemplative view.  Have the camera ready at a location you can find quickly and take a photo easily or alternative always be ready with the camera on your smartphone. If you are finally sitting down and enjoying a coffee consider getting up and photographing the cup your favourite chair the sun streaming through the window even the time. What about the family playing cards (even if they are not all enjoying it try to capture that). Aim for 5 or fewer pictures each day but make the effort to put them aside into an album that gradually grows. Look to include those little moments of joy and frustration as well as the daily grind.  When the lockdown or quarantine is over make a slide show for the TV, or a photo essay to print or even consider making a book of your lockdown to show your grandkids.

Today I'm blogging.

"what I'm doing right now," was the original catchphrase for twitter, and sounds relevant for today. Unfortunately, twitter, in particular, has fallen to a very untrustworthy common denominator now in a race to the fake news bottom. So stay away from social media just concentrate on creating memories for your future self and family

AN IMPORTANT CHANGE OF MIND ON USING SOCIAL MEDIA

In the last paragraph I wrote yesterday I implied it was best to stay off social media and I still think that might be a good way to avoid the mass hysteria and misinformation. However social media is a good way to stay connected to your friends and family while in isolation. So Yes definitely use social media BUT be safe there as well be careful who you trust and avoid passing on unsubstantiated rumors if you can. I still suggest not posting every photo you take, just yet.