Lifting Souls

I went to walk at the park near my house , much like everynight where I try and walk at least a mile each evening.
Tonight, the local church was holding a prayer service , where names go on luminary bags, surrounding the Quarter mile track, among gospel singing, as prayers are offered to lift up the souls of those whose names are written.
I took a few photos to give the  Church of this event..
Tonight I was touched by the people I came in contact with, neighbors, strangers…
Tonight, I felt that I walked with God…and perhaps he even heard a few prayers of my own?…….

The “Voice Within”

Ever see images in your head that don’t exist in the “real world”?  This started out as a lush Green overcast color photo that I thought had potential; but just didn’t “speak” to me….
so, I worked on it some and found the “voice within” and created this one!

Good Luck Dave!

Photo byTina Watson

The man on the right is david F.- He’s retiring tat the end of this month and moving down south. He’s  been my mentor and friend for Many Many years. I would not have been where I am today without his encouragement or his support and I will miss him greatly!

david and his photographic counterpart  Steve S. saw something in my work ( and me) years ago and gave me the opportunity to become a photographer- I owe them both ( and others ) a great deal…

The image we are holding was my present to him- A digital painting I created from photographs he and I took together in Huntingtion of the Keith Albee theater. This has a special significance in the fact we had a ball shooting in the city and it’s a great memory for us both- and the fact that he took his wife on dates to catch a show there while they were dating.

David- I’m sure we’ll visit as we can- For touching my career and life with your special gift of compassion and direction- Thank you!
All the Best!
Clayton

Who I listen to….

I was just going thruogh my morning “blog list” of people I check out everyday- you know , people that inspire me or I get some of MY tips from- Thought I’d share them with you:

Scott Kelby- the man has his finger on the pulse- I keep up with him to keep up.

Pixelated Image- I’ve gained more insight from David in the past year as to why we photograph what we do, than  in the past few years! very inspirational humanitarian photographer who uses his powers for good not evil.

Joe McNally- The Godfather of lighting- nuff said.

The Strobist- David hobby- the man who changed how I photograph in a very cool way- if there’s a question about how to light with  off camera flash and he don’t know it- it don’t need knowin…..

Digital Pro Talk- David Ziser’s place- Don’t tell him, but I get soooo many great marketing and sales ideas from him…….oh ok, go ahead and tell him!

Aphalog- This is sort of a conglomeration of blogsites and websites; that i check on maybe every other day- but there is a feature I dig  about half way down- a Flickr link of popular photographic posts- now THAT is where I find  visual interest and inspiration- and such talent from pros and non-pros alike keep me humble!

OK gang- that’s not quite everybody, and I do look at others – but notEVERY day!

The coolest thing about those that I’ve mentioned here? I’ve talked to each and everyone ( except for aphlog) either by email or in person- they are as generous and helpful in real life as cyber life. That’s why I value what they have to say…..

Let me know if you have any blogs you read that YOU find amazing- I need all the help and inspiration I can get- it’s all about sharing the love………

Planning and the weather delays

Well, I checked the weather map for the next Ten days- Rain coming in after today til at least next Tuesday- This past weekend ( Have to take care of the personal stuff  SOMETIME…. * Smile* ) would’ve been the perfect time for an outdoor shoot at a facility I’ve been planning  for a while ( sensitive info- can’t disclose location til after the fact. Sorry) That puts me at least Three weeks behind my personal schedule for this project. I have a total of Four for the same area.
Whoever thought that “outdoor photography” didn’t need as much scheduling as a portrait sesion does……needs to take a look at what goes into some of MY work….*smile*

Oh well…………We all need the rain sometimes….And when time decides it’s right; the photography is gonna be AWSOME!!!!
Have a good one……………

Inspiration

Today is Friday- And I have nothing planned photography wise for the weekend- I’ll be laying down some marble tile instead.

But I wanted to leave you with a thought for this weekend- Inspiration!

I believe I told everyone about the program “lenswork and Landscapes” I was doing this past Monday- Thanks to everyone who came BTW- and those who cameto “the show” made me realize something; there is a need to be inspired.
My program talked a lot about what to do when things aren’t going the best, how to find the shot that seems to be hiding…just out of  sight; but still there waiting to be found. It resonated with the crowd! 
Sometimes all it takes to see the vision that eludes us is a fresh approach, and this always means a different way of thinking.
But let’s forget about the photography for a moment ( did I REALLY just  SAY that!?!)  In life, we all feel that if we  look  just a little harder, work harder just a bit more, take more risks; we will come out on top with what we think will be success; and be dissappointed if we do not.
The truth of it is, we become so focused on what others are doing, we measure our successes by what we see others achieving- not what we ourselves have accomplished.
No one can be a better you- there are lessons we can learn from others of course, but gathering knowledge  of how to do some thing, some technique is not the same as learning and interpreting it to make it our own!
To be inspired , to give us a fire to create or do something that has personal meaning , and see that thru is the true measure of success. For then you’ve not only become inspired; you’ve become inspiring. 

Find your passion, look thru the looking glass; become amazing,  
Think about it….. see you monday…….

Web ready….

 

What the Duck

OK, Maybe not THAT small…..LOL

Shooting Cause I Like It- part2

I took this in September-but I thought I’d post it “cause I like it”….

Sometimes it’s texture that grabs me- sometimes it’s the color that gets me; when it’s both….well, then it’s just BEGGIN to be photographed!

Shooting cause I like it

Sometimes I just like to go out and experiment a little……Hence the “grunge water tap”

Spring is Here!

Ok, the leaves haven’t began “popping” out  quite this much yet! This was from a different year- but I can see the vines and limbs “greening” up and ready to come out of hiding………