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Jun 17
in Inspirations, Photography Teachings

Second thing to try to assist you to create images which reflect your personal voice.

Ok.. the First thing to try was to photograph WITHOUT a memory card.

 

SECOND THING TO TRY

Go to a location you to intend to photograph…. BUT LEAVE YOUR CAMERA AT HOME !

Yes .. I know you may be thinking I am crazy at this point… but please run with me on this one. I am not crazy. I have some wisdom to share with you for you to try.

It is very easy with 16Gig and 32Gig cards and terabytes of storage to just snap away mindlessly without awareness and without truly connecting with a scene….and without truly connecting with what you want to say through an image.

Take a notepad and a pencil. Pretend you have a camera and draw a frame on the page and sketch quickly what catches your eye…and what you would or really wished to have clicked and taken with your camera – should you have had your camera in your hand!  Beside your sketch write words which come to you. Firstly what you are feeling personally; then what you are feeling the scene portrays.

Keep looking and observing and witnessing your own personal response. Keep sketching quick rough sketches of the scene which you would have taken a photograph of, and keep writing words which come to you….How do I feel ?  What feeling is the scene portraying to me?

Now this next step is important. STAY THERE for a while longer and look through your sketches. Choose ONE…. and then do another sketch of how you would like to process that image…and what characteristices you would like to have that image protray. Write notes and words over the image if you like.. eg… Dark/moody sky…. strong vignette… B&W….. feeling of isolation ….. cool colours….. dramatic contrast….. come again tomorrow with props….. composite with another image …… etc… get the idea!

I will guarantee you will learn a lot about yourself through this process and you WILL start to peel away the impediments to you creating images which reflect your personal voice.

 

from-notebook-700x963Here is a page from my own notes.

I felt strong, soft, yet freedom to change direction.

I wanted the image to be developed in B&W and to express strength, fluidity and freedom to come back to balance. I returned to the tree and created this image; which became my first ever tree portrait!

Tree-portrait-1-700x919

 

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About the Author: Julie
I am a Journeywoman. I live my life as an explorer. An adventurer. An Observer. An Artist. There is no differentiation between how I live my life and the art that is an expression of it. It is through my experience adventuring the unknown, that I learn more about myself. My aim through this connection is to live where my expression is fully in alignment with the essence of who I am. “In the field of Fine-Art Photography, Julie stands apart from others with the way she sees the world and expresses her connection within it. Julie Stephenson’s photographs are sublime. Her work is an expression of her deep connection; and a gift to the world.”

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2 Comments:

  1. Henrik Olsen
    June 29, 2012
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    That’s a good idea and you are so right. I realize that I’ve been working like this for a while now -just without the paper and pencil and without thinking of the process. But preparing the picture in mind before attacking with the camera and perhaps returning to location 2 – 3 times more to seek just the right light.
    During the coming summer I’ll try to leave my camera home some of the days -though it will be hard. And then return later -with camera, if there was anything interesting.

    Kind regards
    Henrik / http://www.haslefoto.dk

    • Julie
      June 29, 2012
      Log in to Reply

      Yes Henrik it can be a bit hard at times to leave your camera at home… but the discipline of refining one’s observation skills and then opening up one’s imagination to possibilities – really is worth it!


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skeinydipping

I looked down and saw my hands. Hands which have t I looked down and saw my hands. Hands which have touched; have loved; have created; have worked; have nurtured. My hands.   

I looked down and saw on my wrist and fingers items from around the world which have so many stories; items which have all been created from the heart and made by the hands of others. 

I looked down and saw beautiful yarn. Yarn which has been handled carefully through shearing, dyeing, skeining, balling; and now being knit in my beautiful hands. 

My hands are one of my gifts. This year I’ve really missed the touch of another with my hands, to feel the heart of another through my fingertips; but so grateful and love my hands which touch and feel; work and play!

What do you see when you look at your hands?

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Knitting a fabulous  #slipstravaganzamkal by @westknits .
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#gratitudeattitude #westknitsarethebestknits #westknitsmkal2020 #knittersofinstagram #knittersoftheworld #knittersofaustralia #indiedyedyarn #handmadewithlove #handmade #handmadejewellery #fromtheheart #createeveryday #livetotravel #healing #healinghands #creativehands
My life is wonderful… and I have so many stories My life is wonderful… and I have so many stories. I’ve had adventures on all continents. Slept being rocked by the sea; felt the ice on my skin in both polar regions, and felt the silence of the deserts. I’ve walked stone steps in monasteries at altitudes where each step I’ve taken consciously and mindfully; focussing on treasuring every molecule of oxygen in the rarefied atmosphere. 

COVID has paused those adventures, but I draw upon my experiences as I navigate adventuring my days in a different way, on our ‘home range’. 

I recall my steps in Tibet as I walk through our bushland. I am mindful and conscious of my surroundings. I listen. I feel. I feel happy here. I am content.

My new stories may not hold the same experiences of connection with others; and may not be of extreme challenges or crazy things  (which I am rather prone to doing! 🙂 ) but they are not less wondrous… as I smell the warm eucalyptus waft from under my feet. 

I weave my stories, and this story is of my personal journey on my daily walk through our bushland. 
You can see some of my other woven stories on my website - link in profile. 

How do you express your life’s stories?
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#weaversofinstagram #indiedyedyarn #indiedyed #rigidheddleloomweaving #ashford #inspiredbynature #contentcreator #emotionalbalance #homedeco #handcrafted #makersmovement #creativelifehappylife #wellbeing #travellerlife #journeywoman #weavingaustralia
“....The Assookinakii cowl was created for those “....The Assookinakii cowl was created for those times in your life when you need a meditative and healing knit. Assookinakii (ass-s-oo-kin-uh-k-EE) means ‘healer’ in the Blackfeet language, thank you to Cut Woods School in Browning, MT for the tradish language support”. –  Candice from @thefarmersdaughterfibers 

Knitting this beautiful cowl by Candice from @thefarmersdaughterfibers for @sistersunitedmt ; WAS healing. 

As my hands gently formed the repetitive stitches I reflected on the word ‘Assookinakii ‘ - healer. I am a healer. I don’t understand it. It’s something unseen. Something within me which has been recognised by Ngangkari and ‘clever men’ here in Australia; and shaman and healers around the world as we travel. This recognition always has caught me by surprise; as I seem to walk a line between two worlds. 

As the stitches slipped from one needle to another and the beautiful colours of @spincycle_yarns revealed themselves; in the pauses between the stitches I heard a voice whispering to continue to seek connection with the natural world and listen deeply. 

What has been healing for you this year?
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#healingjourney #meditationpractice #dyedinthewool #assookinakii_cowl #knittersofinstagram #knittingaddict #livinglifetothefullest #happydays #shaman #healer #healersofinstagram #listentoyourheart #indiedyedyarn #handmadewithlove #knittersgonnaknit #knittersoftheworld
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2017 All photographs created by and property of Julie Stephenson.