Sense of Place

No picture today. The camera will not work and I can't figure out why. I think it may have to do with the fact that, in an attempt to travel light, I pulled out an old lens that this not been used in months. In any event it does not look like I'll be snapping a picture today.

Man is it cold. The seminar wound up about noon and I walked up to a small shopping center called Gaithersburg Square to grab a bite of lunch. It the wind. It would be cold without the wind, but the wind makes it bitter. I just checked and the temperature is 36F with a windchill of 27F. I didn't come with clothes for this kind of weather. Head and hands are suffering most while I'm out walking. It's that danged wind.

Today's seesions were again from Richard Day in the morning on photographing birds. The trend seems to be planting flowers and other plants that will attract birds of certain types. I did become convinced of one thing...I'm never going tot get pictures of those cardinals around the house unless I'm in a blind. Not sure it's worth it. I don' t see myself as a bird photographer, but then Janie wants a bird house tree. Things might change.

The closing session was the highlight of the weekend for me. It was Jim Clark's Capturing a Sense of Place. This approach is bascially creating a emotion in your photography...connecting yourself to a place. It becomes your passion. And thus, your connection to the place is found in the pictures you show, thus connecting others to the place. This presentation wthout a doubt set off the weekend for me. It really should have been the keynote for Friday night I think. It would have set the tone for the weekend ratherly nicely.

After we dismissed, as I mentioned earlier, I walked to the shopping center. Went to the Borders and bought a copy of Aldo Leopold's Sand County Almanac at Jim Clark's suggestion. He said it was where he was 'at.' Since I like his approach, I decided to give it a try. I really like Jim's approach to photography. It's a mix of pictures and story telling. If you've not done so, you should read his story/essay called The Story of the Mason Jar.

When I started writing this, my mouse died. Replaced the battery to no avail. So I looked out the window and saw a CompuUSA within walking distance the other direction from the shopping center. Got there in the midst of a store closing sale. What a zoo. Did get 10% off my new mouse though.

Tomorrow, back on the train. It's been a good weekend.

Let's Shoot

The picture is from my window looking into the parking lot. They still have snow laying around here, which explains why they were so thrilled with the warmer weather when I arrived yesterday. The bellman was raving about it when I checked in. We've seen virtually no snow in NC, and they can't seem to get rid of it here.

Nothing fancy in terms of photos today or this weekend at all. This is not a shooting weekend. We're basically in class all weekend long.

The whole reason I'm here is to get some inspiration. My shooting is virtually non-existant right now, at least in terms of outdoor photography, and I need a quick kick in the seat of the pants to get me out doing some shooting again.

This is not a bad place to do it.

I've deliberately avoided most of the more technical sessions, those being run by Tim Grey. Couple of reasons. One, Tim is the Photoshop guru and will be dealing with 'darkroom' stuff. That's staying inside and working with the computer. Not our shooting. Contrary to my goals for the weekend.

Second, Tim is dealing with workflow issues. I'm trying to implement workflows from Dan Krogh. Don't want to cloud the issues.

Instead I listen to Jim Clark and Richard Day most of the day. Jim talks about compostion and Richard about photographing birds and butterflies in your own back yard. In addition, Richard challenges us with a mini 'workshop' to set some goals for our photography. Jim concludes the day telling us how to get published. That put a damper on the day. Not terribly encouraging if you wan to do this in a part time fashion.

The final session of the day is the conference paticipant 'show.' I didn't know this was going to happen but probably wouldn't have participated even had I brought photos to show. However, this was more encouraging. There was some really incredible work here. But there was some average work here. I can do that average work. I just need to get out and shoot more.

Let's shoot!

NANPA Road Show

It was time for some inspiration.

Oh, I toyed with the idea of going and getting some training on how to do DAM (Digital Asset Management...basically organizing all those pictures you take) I in the end opted for inspiration.

It's nice to be:

• Away from the office for a cuople of days
• Taking a not too demanding trip
• Being around other photographers, hearing their stories, and seeing their pictures.

All of this inspires me. It gives me some fresh ideas. It make me want to get out and shoot some pictures!

No POTD (Picture of the Day) today. I never took the camera out of the bag.

I did ride business class on the train. Well worth the additional $20 per leg of the trip. More room. Reclining seats. Leg rest. Foot rest. Quieter car. Free soft drinks, coffee, and/or tea. And I could actually read on the train. What a treat.

More tomorrow from NANPA.