Since I’ve been back living in Columbus and working in at an office job full-time, I have had to find a new balance.  It has not been easy, but I have committed to making it work for me.

Balance is not just finding time for friends and family, time to relax, and time to take an amazing trip.

Balance also means finding the time to BE CREATIVE and TO LEARN.

 

I typically do those things while I’m taking a break from work and traveling.  But I don’t want to feel like I am stagnating when I’m at home (which is where I am most of the time).

I decided to take photography classes at a local college in order to push myself to improve my skills and get out and practice at home.  Photography is also a great way to explore your own city.

I had never taken a photography class before, and I discovered that even though I already know a lot of the material we cover in class, I don’t know it well enough to teach someone else and haven’t mastered it enough to get the result I want every time.

Over the next few weeks, I will share my photography assignments along with a few helpful tips about what I learn.  I hope this inspires you to do something every week to explore your creative side and learn something about what you love.

Photography 101:  Color and Detail

Photo #1

 

For this assignment, I became slightly obsessed with the fire hydrants in my neighborhood.  I took photos of five very different fire hydrants.  Some had lots of peeling paint.  The colors were all slightly different shades of yellow and orange.  These just screamed color and detail.

I chose the angle from above, the shallow depth of field, and filled the frame (but not quite capturing the full hydrant) in order to give interest to an object we see every day.

Photo #2

 

I was on a long bike ride and passed this bright red brick school building.  I framed this so that the green background would make the red pop even more.  One thing I would do differently with this photograph is get close to the brick and make the angle a little harsher in order to place more emphasis on the detail and texture from the brick.

Note that this class requires us to shoot JPGs (no RAW files), and the only editing allowed is adjusting contrast and sharpening.

What I learned about photography

Know the basics of composition.  While there are many more than this, here are the questions I always try to keep in mind.

• Do I have a strong focal point?
• Am I filling the frame?
• Is this angle interesting?  Does it help highlight what I want to draw attention to?
• What depth of field works best for what I want to draw attention to?  Do I want everything to be in focus, or do I want a specific area to be in focus?

Have you explored your creativity this week?  What did you learn?

 

 

Share a link if you have a photo of what you created this week.