Thursday 30 May 2013

Photography Fun


Many years ago, when I was at college and doing GCSE retakes (I wanted a higher grade in Maths but we won't digress into that subject :-)), I got the chance to take some new subjects that weren't on offer at Secondary School.

One of those subjects was Photography.  I remember those years with great fondness, it was such a great subject to take at that age, we spent many a happy hour 'on location' taking photos with our manual SLRs and then we got to spend time playing in the dark room processing and editing the images we had taken (whilst larking about and grabbing peoples ankles under the dark room tables - lots of fun lol).  OOhhh the excitement of seeing if what we had shot onto the film was the image we had in our minds eye.


Roll on a few years, a hubby and three children later and I had lost my creative flare.  It was sitting dormant inside me waiting to be rekindled.


Then about 3 years ago I set a New Years Resolution to get back my creative side.  I started with sewing and baking and then fell back into photography.  I bought myself an Olympus digital SLR with my Christmas, Birthday, Christmas money ......


I started taking snaps of family life .....


But was drawn to taking photos of nature and in particular flowers.  Probably something to do with the fact that they don't run away when you are trying to take a photo and tend to stay still when you ask them too (unless it is a windy day of course).


I can lose myself for hours, looking at flowers and playing with camera settings to get the photo I want.


I do miss the excitement of using a dark room but love the way I can take lots of images of one flower without worrying about running out of film.  There is then the excitement of uploading the images and editing them.


I do sometimes feel guilty that I am now spending time creating for my own enjoyment rather than creating things with the children and feel maybe I need to re-balance that slightly but I am so glad I have got the artistic me back :-)


6 comments:

  1. It is very important to have something for yourself so DO NOT feel guilty about this not involving the sqids. I think your photos are amazing and genuinely have potential for making you some cash. Go for it. They are fabulous. Love 'em.
    Ax

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  2. Wonderful photos. As you know, I've just bought a DSLR and I'm looking forward to learning more about photography, I know very little at the moment. Eleanor has taken charge of my bridge camera and isn't as all bad at taking a photo, she's keen to learn more too, which I'm keen to encourage. You need some time for yourself so don't feel guilty about that, it's one of my motherly downfalls I'm afraid.

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  3. I love your photographs! I too did photography at college and have recently bought a DSLR - It's great for my short attention span! My subjects of choice (other than my work which is why I bought it in the first place!) are also flowers (and the cat when she will sit still!) and hopefully one day I will be as good as you!

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  4. Such stunning photos, Zoe! They are really gorgeous! And don't feel guilty about enjoying some creative time separately from the children, it's good for you, and good for them too :)
    Helen x

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  5. Thank you for sharing your amazing creative flair - I love your photos x

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  6. I'm with many above in that you must make time for yourself and guilt free as well, and your photos are lovely. I often think I really need to take time out to get to know how to use my camera properly (it was my husband's but became mine when I got a new one and I've never really known how to use all the settings). Enjoy your 'me' time :) Beth/thelinencat x

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Thank you for spending the time leaving a comment, it really does make me smile :-)