In The Mood

For me the creative process is like anything else, I have to be in the mood.  If I'm not, then I am usually just staring in to space or at a generic computer screen and contemplating life, wondering why I ever thought I could do anything with my art.  Either that or I am just sitting playing endless games of candy crush saga.  Then I get disgusted with myself because I just wasted an entire morning.

To get those juices flowing, I usually go for a walk.  By myself.  When I am by myself, I can think.  When I think, I get ideas.  When I get ideas, I start talking to myself about my ideas and then I get more ideas.  I think about where I can go take pictures.  I think about all the other cool projects I saw on Pinterest I want to start.  I even think about the creative ways I am going to pay off my credit card.

Once I tap in to my next photo location, I grab a camera or two and I am off.  I love a good botanical garden.  Longwood, Chanticleer, Grounds For Sculpture and Leaming's Run are a few of my favorites.  I saunter around, camera in hand, looking up, looking down, from the ground, shooting whatever I see that interests me.  Season after season, I head out, because each time you go you find something new.  

I love processing my photos.  

I start by opening all my images in Adobe Bridge.  I go through and select the ones I like.

From there my images go in to Camera Raw, where I tweak them.  I adjust the lighting and exposure, vibrance, saturation and my favorite slide button of all-clarity.

Ultimately, my images end up in Adobe Photoshop where I crop, add filters, change colors, add textures, or try new techniques.  After a week or two I decide if I want to let the world see or think to myself "what were you thinking?"

My hope is season after season, people look at my work, because each time they come they find something new.