Over the weekend I was messing around with the camera out in the country, experimenting and trying different things.
As I was framing and snapping and adjusting, I realized I was imitating Karen – realized there were photos of hers I had seen and been intrigued by, and as I looked through the viewfinder, I was semi-consciously trying to figure out how she did that…
And while failing utterly to get the same results, still I found I was teaching myself something via this imitation of a master.
Other moments it occurred to me I was trying to create an image like Sandra Bartocha’s images…
And again, failing completely. Yet in the process, little things were learned out about the angle, the blur, the light, the settings on the camera.
It has been almost 1 year now I’ve had this camera, my first digital camera. We are still getting to know each other.
Mucking around like this in the rain, trying to capture something of the water and reflections and the glistening of water drops, working from an impulse of exploratory curiosity, fun as it was, I found the pictures I was taking bored me in and of themselves…
But the process of passing through these mediocre efforts was part of pushing towards something that might still be fresh and different and unique, that might interest me at least, even if no one else.
So then, back home, staring at the endlessly fascinating fish pond, I tried something a bit different –
Training the hose onto the surface of the water, a process began of exploring the bursts of action and colour, of water as it met water…
And wondering about the possible extremes of abstraction, I became curious and interested again…
follow your nose 