Done and Done ... 30 Day Photography Challenge Days 25-30

It's nearing the end of the first day of 2014. Woo Hoo!

I have been one busy chaquita! I've finished two fiber-wrapped brooches that have been languishing on my workbench for, dare I admit it, years, and I've revised some acrylic paintings I had previously started, to be more in line with my goal of fearlessness in my art this year. I'm takin' chances, folks! And I must admit that the paintings have a bit more verve and interest than they did previous to my adaptations.

But ... today's post is to wrap up those last six challenge subjects that never got posted. The photographs were taken, but one thing or another circumvented them being uploaded to my blog. In one fell swoop, I'm posting the remaining challenges: Strangers, Close-Up, Celebration, Flowers, Black and White, Self Portrait. Then I be done with this particular challenge (Thank you, Lori Sanstedt) and I can move on to bigger and better personal challenges.

I enjoy challenges such as this when my creativity lags a bit and I need a little something to prime the pump. This exercise helped a lot.

Some subjects were easier and more comfortable than others, but I liked the subjects with which I don't normally work. I've not done much in the way of photographing people and I think in the coming months I would like to explore the human animal a bit more with my camera lens. I cringe at self-portraits and being included in any photographs, but it is a fact of life so needed to get over my aversion.

We're such a color-oriented society, but I liked working with the Black and White subject to get back in touch with contrasts, textures and composition.

Happy New Year!

Day 30 Self Portrait

Day 29 Black & White (Tinman Gallery doorway entry)

Day 28 Flowers (Supermarket orchids)

Day 27 Celebration (Winter Solstice)

Day 26 Close-Up (Workbench Tools)

Day 25 Strangers (Garland Post Office)

There's Graffiti, and Then There's Graffiti ...

Up along north Division in Spokane, set back from the main road is a very large building that appeared to be deserted. However, those large expanses of wall are obviously a tagger's dream!

Evidence of graffiti is all around the building, from ground level to about 10 feet up the walls. Some graffiti is quite sophisticated and attractive, but others are just ugly black marks. Someone is trying to discourage taggers from marking the walls, because all have been painted over, or plywood and paint rolled on to cover the graffiti.

Now, this, appeals to me, because the marks painted to obliterate the tagging offer some interesting compositions and colors. I think it appeals to me because the cover paint is meant to cover, but instead it is essentially another kind of graffiti.

I could add a whole slew of photographs; here are but a few examples:

September 29, 2011

Day 56 of 365 ...

Waiting

Today's photographic image is a view of a lone tree and an empty bench looking northwest across Semiahmoo Bay out beyond the bouy into the Sound. They looked to be waiting. Were they expecting you?

02-25-2011

OK, OK ... you know I can't stop at just one.  This was a really cool metal bin I found behind a building.

II, 3 and 12