JETeye: Seeing Through Pictures- Year Two

It’s hard to believe that another year has gone by and today is my second anniversary on Pixyblog! Once again I was able to post at least one image every Monday-Friday for 52 weeks. The above collage is a scattering of photos from the 326 images posted since last October.

This year I found it more difficult to come up with an idea for a photo that would represent my photography throughout the year. Last year’s idea for the eye mosaic just sort of came together and I was very happy with the result. This time I ended up procrastinating. While I had the idea of creating a collage, the image in my head was a little different than what I ended up with here. But, with time running out I had to put something together for today. In the end I’m satisfied with the above collage. It gives you a glimpse of some of the places I’ve traveled over the past year.

I think if I hadn’t taken the trip to Italy I would have had an even more difficult time coming up with five images a week. While the trip was only for 1 week I was able to post images for months letting me revisit the trip with each image I processed. It was a wonderful trip and I enjoyed being able to share the photos with others. As I mentioned in my post Hidden Treasure I also traveled to new places in my own back yard. I discovered Webb Memorial Park only 20 minutes from my place and have been back twice, introducing the park to my nephew and my parents. I also revisited Florida, Maine and Saquish challenging me to try to capture new images from the same scenery. I even traveled back to 1620 visiting the Pilgrims at Plimoth Plantation.

Over the past year I experimented with flash photography and photographed my first wedding (a gift for my cousin). I was desperately trying to learn how to use fill flash for the outdoor ceremony in a very short time period. With some of the Italy and Plimoth Plantation images I tried to add a little more artistic processing to the images. It allowed me to experiment more with Lightroom which really gave me the opportunity to learn the software better. I created more panoramas this year than last and continue to process some images with hdr software.

After another year of photo blogging I’ve acquired more skills with the camera equipment and photo software. But what I’ve mostly come away with is that there is so much that I haven’t learned. I don’t mean this in a bad way. It’s actually exciting and a bit intimidating to know that there is so much that I haven’t learned. I’ve only scratched the surface of flash photography. It’s actually something I’ve found very challenging but want to keep plugging away at it. I purchased a membership to Kelby Training last January and have been watching a variety of training videos on photography and video production. And, I’ve given a good chunk of my paycheck to the chiropractor and massage therapist to help with aches, pains and numbness from sitting at a computer all day and night. I’m applying the “no pain, no gain” theory to my creative outlet!

Last but not least I’ve discovered that this year I’m much more willing to mention to people that I have a photo blog. While I still try to keep it separate from my work I am more willing to mention it to co-workers and even casual acquaintances. I don’t think it has to do with being more confident in my photography skills. I think it’s more to do with being comfortable with the fact that this blog isn’t supposed to be a portfolio of my best work but instead a journey of where I have been and what I’ve been learning as seen through an assortment of photos and postings.

A big thank you to my family and friends for another year of encouragement and to everyone who has stopped by my blog. Also, thanks to the other members of Pixyblog. Looking through their photos has been inspiring and has helped me tremendously with my own photography. A big shout out to Richard who does an amazing job of keeping Pixyblog running smoothly. Plus, he was so kind and patient when I forgot to renew my membership and I freaked a little when my blog was shut down for a day.

Here’s looking forward to whatever catches my eye over the next year.