The work of it

Gordon McGregor has been reading some interesting books. I follow his reading list somewhat surreptitiously. The other day he wrote a short post about resistance. After following the link to the book, The War of Art, I decided to pick up a copy. Actually, I asked my wife to pick up a copy for me as a birthday present. What can I say, I’m a cheap date.

Also, worthy of a read or two, is Anita’s post about SoFoBoMo 2009 and the things that she fast last year and this year. It’s certainly worth the read.

The War of Art is a pretty small book, 165 pages, consisting of many very small essays about resistance and procrastination. In my opinion, others have done it much better, but this book is decent. My two favorite books about creativity are:

• Art and Fear
• Steven King: On writing: A memoir of the craft.

Mind you, all three books talk about work. In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield talks about being a professional. A professional is not necessarily someone who does his or her art for pay, but one who faces their fear, shows up, and does the job every day. A professional is one who is there 7 days a week practicing their craft with no expectation of the outcome. An amateur is the weekend warrior. The professional is the one who sets aside some amount of time each day to practice the craft. Steven King mentions, in his book, that this is how he writes. That time is inviolable. He must park his butt in that chair for so many hours per day and do the work, even if it is pure crap. The work must be done.

The professional knows that the Muse shows up only when she is working. The professional knows about Resistance (Notice the capital R) and, therefore, excepts no excuses. No matter how they feel. No matter how badly the day went. No matter what, the work must be done. If one procrastinates today, it’s twice as likely that one will do the same thing tomorrow, etc. Soon, weeks, months, years have passed.

Oh, how many times have I seen this in my own work. As much as I love photography, I can distract myself from the work of it. Sometime last year, probably 8 – 10 months ago, I decided that I was going to learn about lighting. I had it planned. I was going to start with one light, then two, then three. I purchased a couple of stands, shoot-through umbrellas, and Nikon SB600 units. I took them out the first day, played with them a bit, then put them back into the boxes. As a matter of fact, one of the SB600 remains unopened. Still factory packed.

Mind you, I could give you a host of excuses and tell you that I lost my job, had to go to Charleston, family members got sick, my dog pooped on the carpet, Tony had too many games, etc. Even though this might garner a bit of sympathy from you, I’d be standing right and the mirror and lying to myself. For certainly, I could look back and ask myself: How many episodes of House did you watch during that time? How many fiction books did you read? Are you trying to tell yourself that your day was so busy that you didn’t have an hour to play with the lights? For those of you who may decide not to participate in this year’s SoFoBoMo because of time constraints, ask yourself, honestly, is that true? Are you really so busy as all that? OR are you letting the fear win? Are you not showing up because it is more comfortable that way? If you don’t try, you cannot fail! Well, you cannot overcome, either.

This is not to say that I should have no leisure activities and that I should be productive 100% of the time, but it is to say that this thing, photography, that I enjoy so much, should be at the top of my list of things to do even when I’m feeling highly resistant!

Back to the light. I love subtly lit scenes, especially portraits. There’s something appealing to them. I wanted to learn how to light like that. Yesterday, I dragged out one umbrella, stand, and flash unit. I created a makeshift studio, if you will, in my living room, and started taking pictures. I took about 110 photos, of which I deleted about 105. Of the remaining 5, I found one that I really liked. It captured the type of lighting that I dreamed of. That’s success. I didn’t even think that I would be able to pull it off, but, somehow, I did.

The light setup is still there. I’m staring at it from the couch. it’s time to put in more work right now. Believe it or not, even after writing about this, the resistance is still there telling me that I can do it later. Resistance does not like to be faced, at all. It prefers to bask in the imagined light of ‘tomorrow’, for today, we need to relax.

OK. Enough distractions, time to get to work!

Clueless

Anita said:

I am consumed with curiosity about your project. You have mentioned some quite intriguing possibilities along the way, and I look forward to seeing what you decide on. I will interesting to watch you top your 2008 project

In response to that, I say: So am I! I’m not being modest, either. I really don’t know. I’m not sweating it, though. I only know that whatever it is must be easily accessible for 30 days. That’s all that I know. I could be taking pictures of peppers or onions … perhaps onions and peppers! They are easily accessible, after all, after I purchase them!

In reviewing a post from last year, I see that I changed my mind at the very last minute … SoFoBoMo Eve. I know myself and am prone to do that sometimes. It’s all good!

So, this year, I have no idea what I will do. None whatsoever, but I’m still excited about it. I think that leaving it open adds a bit of fun/drama to it. The subject will depend on my particular mood, or what’s important, seems like fun, or just strikes my fancy at the moment. Onions? Peppers? Trees? Shadows?

I do have a feeling that I’d like to do it in black & white this year, but even that is undecided. Last year, there was a bit of angst going in. I had never done a book, nor even a project. I didn’t have a clue as to what to do. Reading about the structure of a book was interesting learning, all of which I have forgotten by now. I’ll have to review. Last year, I had no idea if could sustain the energy, and it took a lot, to make a book. I came. I saw. I conquered. I think?

This year, it will be different. I’ll have a template to follow … last year’s book. However, this year, even though I don’t know what it is that I will be doing, I want for it to be different in style and substance. I think that I’ll go with all horizontal pictures. I’ve been taking more of them this year, intentionally. Last year, I shot about 70% vertical, 30% horizontal. This year, so far, I’m right at about 50/50. Not bad.

So, Anita, in essence, I’m flying … again … by the seat of my pants. It’s a fun way to fly. Hmmm, I wonder what I’ll be doing??? ….

I wonder if anyone that did a book decided well in advance and stuck with it. Well?

Chomping at the bit: SoFoBoMo 2009

Well, I might as well help to spread the word. If you’ve not signed up, go ahead and commit yourself to SoFoBoMo (Solo Photo Book Month) 2009. Click here and sign up!

I’m still not sure what my topic will be, but I have at least until May 1st to decide. The only thing that I’ve kind of decided on is that it will probably be in black and white. I’m starting to ‘feel’ black and white again. There are some things that I do know:

• I will, again, use Scribus as my book layout software of choice. It worked pretty well for me last year.
• I will, again, use Pete Masterson’s excellent book: Book Design and Production

I will certainly need to review Pete’s book again as I’m sure that I’ve forgotten all that I learned about book layout and font choice. I may have to do a few practice books before I do my ‘real’ book. I need the practice! I may even print this one this year, but I can only decide that when I get there. No commitments, except to do the book. I so thoroughly enjoyed the process last year and it was a huge accomplishment to see the book! It felt very good, on a personal level.

There are already at least 25 or 30 participants so far and the site just went live yesterday, I believe!!! Give it shot. You’ll be glad that you did!

Behind the bench

Time out
High school basketball offers nearly unparalleled access to the game. All tickets are general admission, so if you can find a seat right behind the bench, it’s yours for the taking. Usually, I will not sit in this area because it’s rather difficult to see the game with the coach pacing back and forth along the sidelines and the players going on and coming of the court.

However, on Friday, I decided to sit with my wife for a bit. Usually, I’m hanging out underneath the basket for a couple of quarters, but decided to keep my seat for the duration. I arrived just before the tip-off and my wife had secured a seat right behind the bench. I was one row behind the players. This photo, barely cropped, was taken with a 50mm lens. I was just that close!

As I’m constantly on the lookout on new areas to photograph, I thought that I’d pay attention to the goings on on the bench. From my view, I could see, and hear, everything that happened during a time out. I could also see and hear the ‘words’ being dispensed by both coaches and players alike when things turned sour. It was quite entertaining. At one point, I saw our coach, pictured here, take of his jacket, slam it on the seat, and resume pacing. I wish that I had been expecting that. It would have been a great shot. He’s normally such a mild-mannered man. I would have never expected, but that just shows what a rookie I am in this regard.

I was actually splitting my attention between the game and the sidelines, but more focused on the game, so I missed some of the sideline action. I would guess that I could get better shots of the sideline when Tony is not in the game. It’s a parent thing! Parent first, photographer second.

It was, though, very interesting to see Tony sitting on the sideline, waiting to get in. I could tell that he was ‘chomping at the bit’ because, he had his jacket off, was leaning forward, his legs were shaking, and he kept fidgeting in the chair.

Interesting views from behind the bench! I keep coming up with these interesting SoFoBoMo ideas. I must be ready to go! I need to write this stuff down!

Seeing the light

Last Light (click for larger image)
On Tuesday’s post I talked about the beautiful saffron colored light that I was able to see while driving along the highway. I also expressed a little bit of frustration that I could not pull over and capture it, as I was on the highway and passing over various photographer-unfriendly bridges.

Anita reminded me to be thankful that I got to see that light and I took this both literally and metaphorically. On the literal side, it was an amazing light show. Everything had a yellow glow about it. Even the shadows were dipped in it.

How fortunate am I to own a camera, not just own a camera, but to use it on a daily basis. It is my window to the world. It helps me see things that most people don’t, don’t have time for, or don’t know to look for. No, the camera has no special powers. It doesn’t lock me into a trance and help me see what mere mortals cannot. It is, for all intents and purposes, a reminder to stop and look. Once you get into the habit, it’s hard to not see. It’s difficult to drive in a straight line because all around, to the right, left, and behind you are glorious things to see and capture. Anita, you are lucky to have “The Husband” drive you around. It is with great frequency that I wonder if my fellow commuters are seeing what I’m seeing. I want to scream: “Get off your damn cell phones and look around! It’s beautiful, isn’t it?!!! Look at what you are missing!”

How cool is it to be walking along pavement, near or just after sunset after a day full of rain, looking into the puddles, seeing the reflection of the sky and trees and just being caught in the wonder of it all. Meanwhile, all around you, those who stop to look at you wonder why you are pointing your camera at the puddle. After a brief moment of curiosity, they press on, hopping right over that puddle. Never knowing. Never seeing. Never considering. This very thing happened a couple of times on Tuesday.

Although I was seriously enjoying the light, it is nice to have a reminder to be thankful for it even when you cannot take it with you inside of your camera. Thanks, Anita!

Reticent

I guess that this whole SoFoBoMo thing has left me with few words. I was going to write this post last night, but just didn’t feel like it. Then, I awoke this morning and see that Gordon has written a post very similar in thought to what I was going to write. So, rather than to ditch it, I just decided to write it anyway.

I remember reading about Eckhart Tolle, the author of The Power Of Now, saying that after he wrote that book that we was going to take time off to create space so that he could write another book, which happened to be his current book, A New Earth. I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that, but now, I think that I understand. He was taking a bit of time to relax from the rigors of book making and let the next batch of ideas and writings flow, I suppose.

After the completion of my little book, I was pretty drained. I usually go out and shoot at least a couple of time a week, but, within the last week, have only gone out once, then for only a few minutes, perhaps 10. Above is one of the photos that I took. I was just not in the mood, strangely, to shoot, or to post. I was tired.

Doing the book has been fantastic and makes me want to do more of them. I’ve not gotten up the energy, like Gordon, to turn it into a tangible item, such as a hardback book, but I will get there. I’ll have to do it when I’m ‘feeling it’, but that’s not now.

I, like Gordon, have seen some nice books. I was particularly taken with Paul B.’s book about his walks with his dog. You should have a look when you get a chance. It’s very well put together! Also, there are a number of books nearing the finish line. Please check the posts under the SoFoBoMo heading to the right to see what everyone is doing. Let’s support them!

I’m really interested to know the after effects of making a book. I’ll be doing a lot of reading, I suppose, in the next few days.

What’s Next?
On May 24th, I’ll be heading to Utah. My mind is already starting to formulate ideas for a book about my one week experience and I’m finding that I need to think more of parts of a story, though I don’t even know what that story will be. Will it be about Zion, the small town of Hurricane, UT, the North Rim, Bryce, all of the above? Who knows?