I was recently invited to submit a photo, or two, for the London Science Museum’s ‘Coupling Up’ project. It’s an open project for anyone to submit to, but I was emailed about it and thought I may as well. I selected the above photo which is of a couple on a bench, although they are almost entirely lost in shadow. I quite liked this idea of a “couple shot” where the couple aren’t very visible – lost in their own private void as it were. I’m trying to get in the habit of sharing more of my photos so this is a step in that direction. I’m not expecting it to be selected for the exhibition, but it’s a step for me to even add it to the pool.

i’m loving all the snow we’ve recently had. we even took a day off as an official snow day! unfortunately we haven’t been able to go out and enjoy it entirely, but hopefully we will have a chance again this week.

Never compare your journey with someone else’s.
-Cheryl Jacobs Nicolai, PhotoDino

Autumn is my absolute favourite season. Although it was a rather blustering day, we spent the afternoon enjoying the lovely Autumn colours around Oxford. I’m definitely looking forward to experiencing some more vibrant New England Autumns in the coming years, but I’ll miss Oxford in the Fall.

The mere fact of being at the Eiffel Tower is not enough reason to make a photo, but the challenge of finding the light and the moment that help capture exactly how I feel at the Eiffel Tower is what makes photography endlessly rewarding to me.

i love this – fact, moment, light. it really is so well said. thanks to jorge for the link.

now i am eager to redesign this site, but i am feeling utterly uninspired. work starts up again on monday so i’m sort of hoping i can come up with a design at least over the weekend before i get pulled into work projects. we’ll see. for now, it feels good to be taking photos regularly.

it’s been awhile since i’ve felt inspired to take photos. i went through, or am going through, a bit of a slump i guess. i haven’t kept my photoblog up-to-date as i should. i have photos sitting, waiting to be processed. just recently though, i started to feel that familair (and missed) urge to pull the camera out and capture something. something beautiful or intriguing or haunting. something that says something – anything – to the viewer.

this all started after watching zerkala (aka: mirror) by andrei tarkovsky. a beautiful and extremely personal biography with powerful, and sometimes surreal, imagery. the story interweaves dream sequences, past memories, current events and real soviet footage from the time. almost every frame could be a photo. the visual impact is haunting and beyond anything, inspiring. just watching it, i wanted to be able to capture images that evoked such powerful responses or intriguing questions.

this reawakened need to pick up the camera was emphasised today when browsing one of my fave saffa blogs, south of the sahara, and being reminded of an exceptional photographer – jurgen schadeberg – who not only had a great photogaphic eye, but made an impact on south african history.

i realise now that i started to think too much about the photos i took and posted. i started to feel i had to shoot to post to the photoblog, rather than because there was something worth shooting. i guess, i ended up making photography, and my photoblog, a chore when the whole point of it was the exact opposite. i’ve decided to go back to basics. to start over. to start fresh.

i know many photographers are adverse to using actions on their photos, and in many cases i quite agree, but sometimes it’s great to play with effects to enhance the mood of a shot.

i especially love to play with actions and other PS effects when i’m feeling less than inspired. it can be quite encouraging to take a photo that you originally find okay and turn it into something that you really find interesting.

if you are looking for some interesting actions to download, Smashing Magazine recently posted a rather comprehensive list of useful photoshop actions.