Fast Photo

Fine Art Photography It's not one hour photo. It's not even mail-in photo. It takes hours. It takes effort. It even requires talent. In this respect fine art photography isn't any different than basketball, marriage, or teaching. The difference is that everyone else expects those things to be hard. Photography- that's supposed to be easy. Painters started that rumor at the inception of the Daguerreotype.

This weekend I was on a roll. I did several prints over a four hour period, but there have been days when I've worked two hours on one print. Days when, no matter what, I could not produce a decent print. My short time in the darkroom gave me time to reflect. I frequently think about upcoming photo students and how they expect photo to be the "easy" art class. For some it is. I am one of the lucky ones, and seem to have some instinct for producing a print. Not everyone does. Many cannot even grasp how to produce a full tonal range. They may not even be able to discern what the full tonal range should look like. It was this train of thought that got me to this point. There is a reason I charge what I charge for my photos. It just isn't one hour photo.

All that Glitters...

I've been thinking about this post for a while. It keeps popping up, and I'm having a hard time finding the right words. The truth is, nature sparkles! I usually notice it when dealing with water. The first time I thought of it was when I was irrigating. The sun was glinting off of the water surrounding those little grain plants. Today I noticed it again as I drove my tractor through the creek. The water was shedding off of the tread, and while there was not a large amount of sun involved, there was still an indescribable sparkle to the motion of the water. The other day I was fixing fence and looked out across a field of flowers. It too had a gleam.
Driving tractor gives a person plenty of time to think. I am beginning to believe that everything we do in the name of cosmetics is a poor attempt to catch the sparkle that occurs naturally. Little kids are drawn to glitter. What was the original inspiration for glitter? Water perhaps? Flowers are used in many special occasions. Some people are more overt about trying to bring nature in. Some may have to look a little closer, but I am quite certain that most of what appeals to us aesthetically as humans has a strong foundation in nature and that almost imperceptible gleam that it consistently projects.

Critters and Children

I have an Australian Shepherd and he hates to have his hair brushed. He loves to chase sticks. So today I spent a large amount of time alternating between brushing him and throwing the stick. The job should have taken an hour. Instead I got three quarters of the job done in three hours.
A few weeks ago some distant relatives asked me what career path I was on. They were shocked to find out that I was a teacher. They seemed to expect something far more "western." They claimed it was a long way from roping and wrestling calves. I informed them that it was all the same. They responded with laughter, thinking I meant keeping my students corralled. In truth they couldn't be farther from the truth.
Shortly after beginning my student teaching, I realized how similar ranching and educating really are.
-It takes the same type of patience to vaccinate a struggling cow as it does dealing with a difficult student.
-When dealing with a classroom full of children or a volatile horse, don't let them know you are nervous. They'll pile you in the dirt.
-Hard work pays off.
-If you want your dog or your students to do something for their own good, you can't just plow through things. Alternate between something more enjoyable and the difficult task. You'll both come out in a better place.
-When things aren't going right, turn to God and someone more knowledgeable than you.
-If you care for your students and your critters, they will be much healthier and happier.