Another Point of View

Psst... want to know a secret?

+Me2 and I have been working together for nine months and have only talked once on the phone. All communications have been through Kik, this blog and an occasional e-mail. If you know anything about communication then you know this is a very limited palette.

Sometimes I think that +Me2  and I see eye to eye and then he posts a piece like yesterday and I know we don't. Don't get me wrong, we have much in common, more than we can both properly express. But we arrive at our mutual love of legography from such different roads it is almost laughable.

I have never worked for Big Inc. the closest I have gotten to a real job was a four year stint in an arts non-profit. I have been out of the corporate work force for so long that when +Me2 starts expressing business concepts I feel that he is speaking another language.

I am really trying not to take offense at this choice bit:

I feel a drive to take pictures and work my "art" but I need the touch with reality and big Inc. to feel that same reality and feel the power balance and not just live in my ivory tower seeking for inner beauty just within myself.

Seriously is this how he views artists? I am sure you can find this stereo type practicing their art somewhere, but I am pretty sure I can lift the lid off any corporate hive and find similarly delusional individuals. They are not limited to the arts world.

Any artist who can count themselves as successful (by which I mean they can pay their bills) has been playing the business game just like any Big Inc. The scope might be smaller, but the spreadsheets, meetings, budgets, advertising campaigns, search for marketshare is no different. We just get the work done without the buzzwords.

Maybe +Me2 and I need to pick up the phone more because something seems to have been lost in translation.

~ xxsjc

After this post I wonder if +Me2 and I will make it another 9 months?
An interesting article on Art graduates and income from the WSJ. 

I was surprised to run into this little Chima bird when I went hiking this weekend. A welcome sight after a tough hike. 

The "Like" Trap

This was posted on G+ the other day by a photographer I follow:

"I may have hit the inevitable conclusion that more I try to find a fit for my photography in other's lives, the more unhappy I become. Social media has inevitably turned from the place of hope to just the typical empty echo chamber that it is. I really need to find a way to go back to shooting for myself and not others." ~ Anonymous

After reading the comments it seems that he is looking for validation for his photographs in terms of "likes" and favorites. It is easy to fall into the trap of having lots of followers who give feedback to feel like you are moving in the right direction. But this is an ugly trap.

Social media, be it Twitter, Facebook, Google, Flickr or whatever, will not give you the feedback you need and most likely crave. (Let's be realistic, we all have egos that enjoy an occasional stroking.) I talked earlier about the sheer volume of photos posted daily to FB and G+ here. With this volume of photographs being posted you need to find your motivation from within yourself or from with the work you are doing. It's near impossible to be seen in this onslaught of imagery. Lets face the harsh reality, more than likely you will be making work that no one really cares about except you.

So stop chasing "likes," chasing followers, chasing the latest photo trend and create the work that makes you happy. If it's photos of babies and cats, then make them the best photos they can be. Be it toys or water droplets it doesn't matter...the only one who is setting the rules is you.

And you know what, if you do the work you love, you never know who is going to start following you. Sometimes miracles do happen.

~ xxsjc

I used an image of a Chima because I have noticed that they usually get 50-100 less "likes" on Instagram than any other image I post. If I was going for the most likes per image I wold post only Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle photos. But I love Eglor and all the characters of the Chima tribes and I will continue to explore my universe with them.

Lemonade from Lemons

I realize I used this photo recently, but I felt it deserved its own post since it has an interesting back story.

In an effort to add a new twist to my photography and set ups I have been making my own accessories. I was inspired by the documentary Marwencol as well as Krash_Override, an Instagram friend.

Lets just say that I have a few things to learn about making accessories for my Lego friends. First is the scale. It is remarkably hard to get the items to scale as well as sized so my little friends are able to hold them comfortably. Second, since my material of choice is metal, the weight and balance point issues are problematic. I guess it never occurred to me that the smallest sword in copper and sterling silver would outweigh a little plastic mini figure.

This particular Chima friend was given a fairly large and weighty double edged sword and found it to be more than he could handle. Not only did it slip out of his grasp, the sheer size toppled him over instantly. As he was teetering on the edge of the rock precipice of our photo shoot, I managed to snap this rather dramatic photograph. Luckily he did not loose control and fall over the edge. I guess it is back to the drawing board for me.

So even though the sword was a bust I did manage to snap one of my favorite photos of the year. The lesson I am trying to impart here is don't immediately assume every mistake is a failure. Because some where in that failure is a success, sometimes you just have to change your point of view.

How do you feel about the Chima line of mini figures?

Grateful (2/3)

I'm sure this one is pretty self explanatory, but I am thankful for my family. I'm not foolish enough to think that I could be taking lego photos, volunteering, running 1/2 of Stuckinplastic as well as 1/3 of Brickcentral (as well as my regular life and job responsibilities) without some serious family support.

Not only do they support my photo antics, they actually encourage them. My husband will buy me unusual mini figs as gifts, my daughter keeps my up to date on the doings at the Lego store she works at and my son helps me build props as well as accompanies my on my photo adventures.

They all know that when we go on a family adventure there is a good chance my Lego friends will be coming along as well. They are all happy to hang out for an hour or more while I take advantage of some interesting local to snap a couple of photos. This past weekend was no exception. We went on a hike and I had some quality photo time at our destination as well as some quality time photographing at the lake at the base of the trail.

It's not easy to be an adult playing with toys. Not having to explain myself to the ones I love is a blessing I don't take for granted. Of course many of my friends fall somewhere between enthusiastic and skeptical, but they are slowly coming around. My parents...now that's another story altogether.

~ xxsjc

How do your family and friends react to your hobby?
Do you have a photographic support system? If so, who are they?

Taken on a gloomy day at the end of a lovely hike.

So You Want to Be an Artist

Congratulations! Like many people you might have the fantasy of quitting your mind numbing job and joining those carefree bohemien artists creating and selling their art. This is an admirable goal and I salute you.

Before you embark on your dream I ask you this one question: do you support the arts yourself? Do you buy from artists directly? Do you attend arts & crafts shows? Do you purchase the music you listen to?

If you want people to support you as an artist you need to support other artists. It's as simple as that.

If you were to come to my house for dinner I will prepare the meal using a hand made knife and cooked in a hand made skillet. I will serve your meal on hand made dishes and glasses upon my hand made table. (If I really like you I will pull out the fancy hand made silverware!). As I am preparing your meal you can look at my walls covered with original paintings and sculptures that have been collected over the years. I might be wearing one of my many hand made sweaters and most certainly some hand made jewelry. Of course since my house is always filled with music, we will be listing to my latest music purchase. While you are waiting you might even browse my extensive collection of band posters, records or books...  all of which I have purchased to support the various artists that I love.

To me this is what supporting the arts looks like and I have a very good reason for living this way. If I buy from artists, they will often buy from me. Artists will often be your first paying customers. If they have money in their pockets they support the arts, because like me they know how important it is to purchase from artists directly.

I'm not saying you have to buy all your gifts and household items from artists, but next time you are out looking for a creative gift, look beyond the mall and you might be surprised at what you will find. Supporting the arts doesn't have to mean writing out a donation check to some semi-anonymous arts institution, it can encompass an entire life filled with hand made goodness.

Simply put, what goes around comes around.

~ xxsjc

Do you support the arts?
If so, how? 
If not, why not?

I do get bored of posting my own pics on this blog. I would be happy to post other members images here as well. If we are not connected through Flickr, lets make that happen. 

How far is too far?

With the prevalence of filters and their relative ease of use, how far is too far?

Rarely do I jump at the bait of contests on IG, usually I'm too busy doing my own thing. But recently one caught my eye and I decided to try my hand. The parameters are pretty simple: create an image using Snapseed's HDR Scape filter. This is not a filter I ever use favoring a more natural look to my photos, but hey, trying new things is good! Right? So I present to you a before and after of one of the images I submitted. Personally I felt I had taken this image about as far as I could using this app, but I was informed by one of the judges I had not taken it to the "ludicrous" level. I laughed and told him I had! Maybe we just started at two different points on the editing spectrum.

Should I take my editing even farther? Where do you stop? Is this even a relevant discussion? 

I'm sure Me2 will have something witty to say.  

~ xxsjc