I found Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit through my husband, as I find lyrics important, also the tone of his phone speaks to me, this band is one of my new favorite finds.
I myself am not prone to depression, but I know several people close to me who have been effected by it and this song speaks to me in that way. Worth a listen. One of my favorite songs from them is is cover me up.
Whereas his most recent records have been credited to Isbell alone, this latest effort has his longtime crew, the 400 Unit, front and center, not only on the album cover, but throughout the proceedings. Shires (Isbell married singer-songwriter and violinist Amanda Shires),also makes her contributions known, particularly on “Anxiety,” a composition that addresses the effects of mental illness. This rare co-writing situation was something Isbell felt necessary to capture the nuances of this malady, particularly how people suffering from it also have to grapple with other people’s perceptions of what they’re going through.
“I don’t have a clinically diagnosed anxiety issue or these sort of crippling attacks where I can’t function,” Isbell says. “But I did want to cover that and represent that aspect of things in the song. So I went to my wife, who has more experience with that kind of stuff, and we co-wrote that song. I wanted to be specific and describe people’s experiences when they have these sort of moments where they’re disconnected from reality and things get overwhelming. So I went to her about that.”
sitting alone
Michael Jason Isbell is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is known for his solo career, his work with the band The 400 Unit, and as a member of Drive-By Truckers for six years, from 2001 to 2007.
Isbell has spoken about the importance of his northern Alabama roots: “I definitely don’t feel like I would be the musician that I am, or the type of songwriter, had I not come from that particular place,” he says now. “The soul music that came out of there, and a lot of the soul-influenced rock and roll and country music that came out of the studios in north Alabama in the 1960s and 1970s had a big influence on me.” Isbell said that working at FAME Studios was “everything” to him, that it was “a gateway towards the music that he wanted to play”. In addition to citing Neil Young as a big influence, Isbell is a fan of singer-songwriter Ben Howard and guitarist Blake Mills.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
Rod Stewart I saw in Las Vegas 2019, I enjoy the rasp in his voice and many of his songs. He is a great entertainer.
The song I chose goes with the header photo I chose. I think this song has a message of compassion for all people, which is something we all should have.
Sir Roderick David Stewart is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold over 250 million records worldwide.
The song tells the life story of Georgie, a gay friend of the narrator.When young Georgie reveals his sexuality to his parents, his father asks, “How can my son not be straight, after all I’ve said and done for him?” Georgie, cast out by his parents, heads for New York City where he becomes successful and popular in Manhattan’s upper class, “the toast of the Great White Way”. The narrator visits him in Summer 1975, when Georgie tells him he’s in love; the narrator is pleased for him. Georgie attends the opening night of a Broadway musical, but has no interest in lingering afterward so he leaves “before the final curtain call” and heads crosstown. He is attacked near East 53rd Street by a New Jersey gang of thieves that was waiting in a car on a “darkened side street” and one thief inadvertently kills him. The narrator remembers Georgie’s advice on living life to the full while young, before it ends. The second part of song has the narrator pleading that Georgie stay.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
“Common People” is a song by English alternative rock band Pulp, released in May 1995 as the lead single off their fifth studio album Different Class. It reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming a defining track of the Britpop movement as well as Pulp’s signature song.
I took her to a supermarket I don’t know why But I had to start it somewhere So it started there I said pretend you’ve got no money She just laughed and said Oh you’re so funny I said; yeah I can’t see anyone else smiling in here Are you sure?
Good thing I have pictures of supermarket 🙂 to go with this song.
The idea for the song’s lyrics came from a Greek art student whom Pulp singer-songwriter Jarvis Cocker met while he was studying at the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Cocker had enrolled in a film studies course at the college in September 1988 while taking a break from Pulp. He spoke about the song’s inspiration in NME in 2013:
Cocker has said, I’d met the girl from the song many years before, when I was at St Martin’s College. I’d met her on a sculpture course, but at St Martin’s you had a thing called Crossover Fortnight, where you had to do another discipline for a couple of weeks. I was studying film, and she might’ve been doing painting, but we both decided to do sculpture for two weeks. I don’t know her name. It would’ve been around 1988, so it was already ancient history when I wrote about her.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
The first time I saw him was with my sister 1985, and it was the first time I had a crush on a singer, he was in black suit, intensely present, sexy, older man. I was sold. Voice of honey and soul. I was 22 years-old and smitten.
I have seen Leonard Cohen in concert three times, this tour also came to Helsinki 2008 and 2010, needed to be there also. It is an unbelievable charisma that man had, just simply by standing on the stage and singing he got the attention. A huge arena and he was able to make intimate atmosphere to it. That is something not everyone is able to do.
“Sharon Robinson, a writing collaborator of Leonard Cohen. She recalled to Uncut: “Leonard had most of the lyric done when he handed it to me. There’s a profound honesty in it. He’s exposing something we all know and talk about with those close to us, but not publicly. It says we’re not really in control of our destiny, there are others running things, and we go about our daily lives with that in the background.””
This photo due to one line in the song. Finding photos to go with his poems/songs is nearly impossible.
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking
Everybody knows that the boat is leaking Everybody knows that the captain lied Everybody got this broken feeling Like their father or their dog just died Everybody talking to their pockets Everybody wants a box of chocolates And a long-stem rose Everybody knows
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
I was not broken or wounded when I heard this song, but it definitely spoke to me on an emotional level.
Haunting…” That is how I would describe this song written by bassist and singer-songwriter Aimee Mann. “Save Me”
Mann has gained critical success for the soundtrack of dramatic film “Magnolia”, starring Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore.
“You look like… a perfect fit, For a girl in need… of a tourniquet. But can you save me? Come on and save me… If you could save me, From the ranks of the freaks, Who suspect they could never love anyone”
The words “save me” have been mentioned many, many times in the song that tells of a wounded woman who has been to different relationship and gets out broken-hearted every time. Mmm… a girl in need of tourniquet is quite a harrowing picture in mind.
“You struck me dumb, Like radium Like Peter Pan, or Superman, You have come… to save me. Come on and save me…”
The meaning of this song…?
Basically the world is full of folks who have issues with intimacy–the so-called “freaks who suspect they could never love anyone”. And one day you wake up and realize that you’re sick to death of looking for that one person who’s not an emotional basket case.
She wants the new relationship to work out, but she’s unsure, because her man would have to practically have superpowers to help her forget all shit she’s been through. I particularly love the last verse– because, of course, the universe is also brimming with folks who are so fucked up that the only people they can love are people who don’t love, period.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
What you have to do to get an image for a this song. I like the song, I don’t like whiskey. I asked my husband if he had some at home, well he did. I asked for it, he said in the middle of the day??? and I was Yeah, I need to take a photo. What you do to get a shot. I took ten and still wasn’t happy, but since I took them I am going to share most of them. Sorry! Thought you are getting the idea of my editing to cover the fact that they are not the best of shot.
“Tennessee Whiskey” was first recorded by David Allan Coe for his 1981 album of the same name, and then by George Jones, who took it to No. 2 on the country chart in 1983. This is the version by Chris Stapleton.
Stapleton’s musical influences range from outlaw country and bluegrass to rock and roll and blues, he is a soul singer[with a tenor vocal range with lots of different influences from various artists.
Used to spend my nights out in a barroom Liquor was the only love I’ve known But you rescued me from reachin’ for the bottom And brought me back from being too far gone
You’re as smooth as Tennessee whiskey You’re as sweet as strawberry wine You’re as warm as a glass of brandy And honey, I stay stoned on your love all the time
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
I find this challenge harder than I thought, finding an image to go to a song is harder that I thought. Some of the songs that I like are hard to connect to a photo. This It took me quite some time to come up with an image.
This is singer, I love his voice, he is one of my absolute favorite artists, this man is able to touch every single part of my brain, soul and body just with his voice.
Paolo Nutini is a soul-influenced alternative singer-songwriter from Paisley, Scotland. He grew up listening to a range of folk, opera, jazz, and his father’s R&B favourites. Nutini’s debut album, These Streets, released in 2006 achieved double-platinum status and sent the four singles ‘Last Request’, ‘Jenny Don’t Be Hasty’, ‘Rewind’ and ‘New Shoes’ into the Top 40.
His catalogue has also ‘Sunny Side Up’ as well as 2014 album ‘Caustic Love’ which produced the hit singles ‘Candy’, ‘Let Me Down Easy’
From the corner of my eye To the back of my mind I recognize what you mean to me And though the corners of our pictures Are a long time frayed They still symbolize what you mean to me
You ask me to remember A kiss is but a kiss Like I’d be a fool to want more from you
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
The Box Tops came up as I was looking for a song about letters, I remember listening to this song and completely forget about it and then just wake up with it in your head? Yeah it’s the greatest. It’s like seeing a friend you haven’t seen in forever. It goes so well with todays photo of old letters I received when living abroad. I spent long times living away from my love.
First I thought I would make this post vibrate with the music of Bruce Springsteen – Letter To You , which could have been just appropriate. But as I have photos of letters addressed to me…
Gimme a ticket for an aeroplane Ain’t got time to take a fast train Lonely days are gone, I’m a-goin’ home My baby, just a wrote me a letter
I don’t care how much money I gotta spend Got to get back to my baby again Lonely days are gone, I’m a-goin’ home My baby, just-a wrote me a letter
The Box Tops is an American rock band formed in Memphis in 1967, The Box Tops’ music combined elements of soul music and light pop. As the Box Tops, they entered the studio to record Wayne Carson Thompson’s song “The Letter”. Though under two minutes in length, the record was an international hit by September 1967, reaching the Hot 100’s number-one position for four weeks, selling over four million copies, earning a gold disc, and receiving two Grammy Award nominations.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
Nicole Atkins is an American singer-songwriter. Her influences include 1950s crooner music, 1960s psychedelia, soul music, and the Brill Building style of writing. Love the deep & honest emotion, beautiful alto voice.
Don’t tell me My love’s not the one that I want That he’s not the one that I need I’d rather find out for myself
You’re the one Who shakes at the touch of my hand
Nicole Atkins is an American singer-songwriter. Her influences include 1950s crooner music, 1960s psychedelia, soul music, and the Brill Building style of writing. Love the deep & honest emotion, beautiful alto voice.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
I love this song, it is the magic of this tune, the way Phoebe Snow puts it together sends feelings of sadness reflection and love. I had really hard time finding photos to go with it. But it has certain nostalgia that I thought could go with memories. Hope you listen to this beautiful song 🙂
Tell me what you’re feeling and what it all means. You could be defensive or open up and share your dreams. You can keep right on denying or face me and start crying. ‘Cause this time, when I reach out, it may be my last try. Ooohh baby, I want something real one time before I die.
Phoebe Snow was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, She was described by The New York Times as a “contralto grounded in a bluesy growl and capable of sweeping over four octaves.
We’ll cry until it’s funny, baby. And laugh our selves to tears, yeah. If you’re frightened honey, I’ll hold you through your fears. You see, I’ve had some bad relationships already and I’ve fooled around goin’ steady
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
When I was a teenager, I loved ABBA, and my favorite was Frida. And even at young age due to having lived already abroad I had this restless streak in me. Always wanting to go, loving the journey, seeing and learning new things. This song resonated to me.
Eagle
These photos are also from my archives, from 2013 when I visited Vancouver are in British Columbia, My photography skills have improved since then also my equipment. I was very happy at the time to have captured these eagles.
They came flying from far away Now I’m under their spell I love hearing the stories that they tell
They’ve seen places beyond my land And they’ve found new horizons They speak strangely but I understand
High, high, I’m a bird in the sky (I’m an eagle) I’m an eagle that rides on the breeze High, high, what a feeling to fly (what a feeling) Over mountains and forests and seas And to go anywhere that I please
British Columbia /Canada
Flying high, high, I’m a bird in the sky I’m an eagle that rides on the breeze High, high, what a feeling to fly Over mountains and forests and seas And to go anywhere that I please
And I dream I’m an eagle And I dream I can spread my wings
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
California dreamin’ On such a winter’s day ( a gray November day)
All the leaves are brown And the sky is gray I’ve been for a walk On a winter’s day I’d be safe and warm If I was in L.A. (San Diego)
California dreamin’ ( On such a winter’s day (November day)
This song, the sentiments are what I have during the winter months, to be anywhere warn and sunny. I lived in San Diego years back in 1990’s and I remember warmly the even temperatures during all year round. These photo I scanned from the paper photos. I don’t know if I would want to live in the states anymore, but back then I enjoyed it. The weather there in California sounds like a dream, at least during winter months , certainly worth dreaming about.
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
I don’t know if I have enough music related photographs for a month, but we will see… here is the second one.
As Michael Monroe was mentioned in my previous post, so he s is a obvious choice for my second post. I haven’t seen Hanoi Rock in a concert, but Michael Monroe I saw at business event I attended few years back. I have to say that he is an energetic performer and took these photos with my mobile. Not the best of quality, but it is what it is.
The next song is a “It’s a tongue-in-cheek tale about letting go of the ‘good old days’ and finding the things that make you happy here and now”
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
At the ‘How to Survive November‘ monthly theme we will combine photo and sound. You can select a piece of music to your taste and find a photo to portray the song or you can make a drawing, painting or collage. The picture can be from your archives or you can get it fresh. Enjoy and have fun!
I don’t know if I have enough music related photographs for a month, but we will see… here is the first one.
I took this photo of Stiv Bators in Las Vegas, but I’m quoting my husband’s text, as he had already written it and he is much better with words than I am. Note, I was a girlfriend then 🙂
Meeting punk rock superstars in Las Vegas in 1987. Those were the days… in the 80s you could walk into rock clubs in Las Vegas without a press card. My favorite band at the time, The Lords of the New Church, came to Vegas for a gig and the intention was to do an interview. Since I was a big fan, my girlfriend Ritva and I went outside the club a few hours before the gig to hang out. I even managed to run into Brian James, who was responsible for Lords’ songs, and his Swedish-Finnish wife. We talked with Brian, e.g. about the current tour and The Damned’s gig in Brighton in 1977, which I managed to see during the hot summer of punk. James was previously the guitarist of The Damned. I told Brian that I had interviewed The Damned a few months earlier. Brian James was responsible for the composition of the first ever punk single recorded for a major label, The Damned’s New Rose, and a large part of the band’s early punk songs.
After The Lords’ gig, we even got to greet the band in back stage. Group photos with Brian and his wife were also taken, but unfortunately they failed. After all, Ritva managed to take a few photos from the soundcheck. The Lords of the New Church was a kind of punk super band. Guitarist Brian James had previously played in The Damned, singer Stiv Bators in Dead Boys, bassist Dave Tregunna had played in Sham 69. Drummer Nick Turner was not quite as well known for his previous achievements. Stiv Bators (born Steven Bator) of the legendary band Dead Boys is once again relevant with the documentary Stiv Bators: No Compromises, No Regrets available on Netflix. The documentary is OK, but somehow superficial.
Finland was mentioned anyway, in the form of Andy McCoy and Michael Monroe. of Hanoi Rocks. After all, Bators and Monroe were good friends and also roommates. Monroe has often mentioned Stiv, for example in interviews and in his biography. Monroe is quickly ignored in the documentary, and he is not even interviewed, which I think is a big stylistic mistake or Michael has not agreed to br interviewed? The documentary also lacks a lot of other things, i.e. the music recorded by Stiv Bators for a large part. Again, it must be about music usage rights. Brian James and Stiv Bators were not rock superstars, but their meeting was important to me at the time.
Lainaan mieheni tekstin, hän sen kun oli jo valmiiksi kirjoittanut
Punkrockin supertähtiä tapaamassa Las Vegasissa 1987.Ennen kaikki oli paremmin… 80-luvulla pystyi kävelemään rock-klubeille Las Vegasissakin ilman pressikorttia. Sen aikainen suosikkiyhtyeeni The Lords of the New Church tuli Vegasiin keikalle ja tarkoitus oli tehdä haastattelu. Koska olin kova fani, niin menimme tyttöystävä Ritvan kanssa muutama tunti ennen keikkaa klubin ulkopuolelle ihan bändäreinä hengailemaan. Onnistuinkin törmäämään Lordsin biiseistä vastanneeseen Brian Jamesiin ja hänen ruotsinsuomalaiseen vaimoonsa. Tarinaa tuli iskettyä jonkin aikaa ennen kuin bändin sound check alkoi. Juttelimme Brianin kanssa mm. kuluvasta kiertueesta sekä The Damned -yhtyeen keikasta Brightonissa vuonna 1977, jonka onnistuin siis näkemään kuumana punkkesänä. Jameshan oli aiemmin The Damnedin kitaristi. Kerroin Brianille, että olin haastatellut The Damnedia muutama kuukausi aiemmin, mutta se on toinen tarina.Brian James vastasi kaikkien aikojen ensimmäisen isolle levy-yhtiölle levytetyn punksingle sävellyksestä, The Damnedin New Rosesta, ja isosta osasta bändin ekojen älppäreiden biiseistä.
The Lordsien keikan jälkeen päästiin vielä moikkaamaan bändiä back stagelle tai pieneen luukkuun, jota artistilämpiöksi huonolla omallatunnolla voi kutsua. Yhteiskuvatkin Brianin ja hänen vaimonsa kanssa otettiin, mutta valitettavasti ne epäonnistuivat. Soundcheckistä sentään Ritva onnistui ottamaan muutaman kuvan.The Lords of the New Churchan oli erään lainen punkin superyhtye. Kitaristi Brian James oli siis vaikuttanut aiemmin The Damned -yhtyeessä, laulaja jenkkiläisessä Stiv Bators Dead Boysissa, basisti Dave Tregunnan vyöllä oli pesti Sham 69 -bändissä. Rumpali Nick Turnerilla ei ollut aivan yhtä tunnettu aiemmista saavutuksistaan.Legendaarisen Dead Boys -yhtyeen nokkamies Stiv Bators (syntyjään Steven Bator) on jälleen ajankohtainen Netflixistä löytyvän Stiv Bators: No Compromises, No Regrets -dokumentin myötä. Dokkari on sisänsä ihan ok, mutta jotenkin pinnallinen.
Suomi joka tapauksessa mainittu, Andy McCoyn ja Michael Monroen muodossa.Bators ja Monroehan olivat hyviä ystäviä ja myös kämppäkavereita. Monroe on usein maininnut Stivin, muun muassa haastatteluissa ja elämänkerrassaan. Monroe sivuutetaan dokumentissa nopeasti, eikä häntä edes haastatella, mikä on mielestäni iso tyylivirhe tai sitten Michael ei ole suostunut haastikseen?Dokumentista puuttuu myös paljon muuta eli isolta osalta Stiv Batorsin levyttämä musiikki. Jälleen lienee kyseessä musiikin käyttöoikeuksista. Tärkeimpien bändien Dead Boys ja The Lords of the New Churchin levytetty musiikki loistaa poissaolollaan.Brian James ja Stiv Bators eivät olleet rockin supertähtiä, mutta heidän tapaamisensa oli minulle aikoinaan tärkeää.
This week it’s One Light Source. I’m talking directional light – your subject ought to be lit by light coming from a single source – think speedlight or a shaft of sunlight coming through half drawn curtains. It’s the light source and direction that you need to think of first, before you set up your subject and decide on a composition.
This challenge is all about reminding ourselves of what it takes to paint with light – directional light need not be a harsh burst to produce sharp shadows. You can arrange for soft light to come through for a more pleasing look as well.
Look to place light at angles you’d normally not think of – a full side profile or light streaming down from a bare bulb on the ceiling, maybe a night shot illuminated by a neon sign or the perennial favourite of Silhouette Photography – it’s time to be creative and play with the light.
This was my entry
Well, this is what happens every night. My husband reads the latest news before going to sleep. Once again, I had lots of ideas, but ended up taking the easy way out. I was thinking of what to shoot and there it was laying next to me, mobile phone as a light source, so I took my phone and took a shot of a situation I see daily. How more real can you get, a documentary shot. Thanks babe, once again for being a good sport.
I also took a shot with my grandson holding a candle, and match being scratched
Set-up: Plan your lighting and concept before thinking about the actual composition.
Time Of Day: If you’re planning on shooting using daylight/sunlight as your source, experiment with how the light and shadows will play out at different times.
Modifiers: Reflectors, blockers and light modifiers are going to be key here to help shape the light.
Exposure Compensation: Consider using Exposure Compensation to expose the image as you think fit and not as your camera’s AI / sensor does.
This week we want you to release your artistic expression by having your image Edited By Someone Else. The point of this challenge is to gain insight into the creative process of another person and see how their interpretation would perhaps differ from your own.
Seeing different creative strokes can not only help to broaden our own understanding of other styles, but also help us to grow on our photo journey. I want to thank Pirjo Tuominen as she kindly edited my photo for this weeks challenge.
Pirjo Tuominen edited this photo of me.
Below you can se the original and the three different edits, I am sure you are able to pick the original easily that has no edits at all 🙂 I did not take time taking this mobile phone shot, I had my phone in the position that I have while i read something on it and I took the picture. I didn’t have other makeup than I had done my eyes 🙂 Now that I look at it, a foundation would have made a difference to the skin.
Photography is drawing with light and this week’s Silhouette challenge firmly shows us that. A silhouette is about bringing together contrasts of a well-lit background against a dark subject, making the subject’s shape and outline as the main point of focus. A silhouette balances what the viewer sees alongside the darker toned facets of the subject that are intentionally kept hidden from the light.
Silhouettes are a great way to tell a story while leaving it up to the imagination of the viewer – there aren’t visible features to express emotion, so your viewer will fill in details depending on the context of the image – use this to direct your viewer’s line of thinking.
Waiting for the rain to stop
This is a lesson in exposure, composition and creativity all coming together. While silhouettes are outline.. Portraits, Still Life, Architecture and Nature typically make for good silhouette genres.
Silhouettes can often convey some kind of mystic story. By leaving the details in the dark, the story becomes compelling and the viewer is more engaged with the picture.
A boy and a fox
I was nearly ready to cheat, until my youngest grandson said he would let me take a photo of him. It was a rainy day and he sat by the window with a cuddly fox. Here was my opportunity to capture a silhouette
It has been a tiring three weeks, but I finally think I have beaten the flu. There seems to be lots of it going around. Maybe I can now get back to certain flow to get may Grete photos posted. But here is just a small summer greeting from my summer place.
Lakeside blues and cool water topped with ice-cream, can you top that? Summer!
Sweet strawberries, the season first for me and they were so tasty and sweet, one of my favorite treats of summer, fresh strawberries and new potatoes.
Andy Gotts MBE MA he is a photographer based in London, England, and New York, USA. He is most noted for his black and white portraits of Hollywood actors and singers, but he has occasional color shots, but even they are in muted colors.
I did not have a anyone famous to take photograph of, but my trusted model stepped up for the challenge.
What?
Whether it’s legendary photographers whose work you’ve come across in a gallery exhibition or cool, modern photogs on Insta (and 52Frames.com), there are so many photographers whose work inspires me. Sometimes it’s just the concept, story and creativity of the composition; at other times, I find the technical aspects to be just jaw-dropping.
Being inspired isn’t the same as a 1:1 copy – far from it, it’s about learning and picking up certain aspects and nuances from a fellow photographer. Look at the tones and color palette that’s used or perhaps the technique that made it a shot for you to recall.
Still not sure whose work you’d like to pay tribute to or can’t choose from your photo heroes? Use our friendly random prompter to help you out with some well-admired photographers and the genres they’re best known for.
Ever feel like you’re stuck in a rut, creatively speaking ? Maybe you’re not feeling it any more ? Well, let’s get our creative juices flowing and get Inspired By A Photographer. Mine is from the friendly random prompter the name that came was Kirsty Larmour.
Beach Moment
Whether it’s legendary photographers whose work you’ve come across in a gallery exhibition or cool, modern photogs on Insta (and 52Frames.com), there are so many photographers whose work inspires me. Sometimes it’s just the concept, story and creativity of the composition; at other times, I find the technical aspects to be just jaw-dropping.
Being inspired isn’t the same as a 1:1 copy – far from it, it’s about learning and picking up certain aspects and nuances from a fellow photographer. Look at the tones and color palette that’s used or perhaps the technique that made it a shot for you to recall.
Still not sure whose work you’d like to pay tribute to or can’t choose from your photo heroes? Use our friendly random prompter to help you out with some well-admired photographers and the genres they’re best known for.
I took these shots of a family enjoying a early morning misty moment at the beach. I took the inspiration from Kirsty by capturing the closeness, natural moment, with out any posing. As Kirsty also uses monochrome a lot, I did also that. I use it a lot so we have lots of common. I need to pick one of these, so once again I am still don’t know which to choose.
My approach to photography is to capture real life – with a little sparkle on top fueled by my obsession with pretty light. I document the little things which might otherwise slip away
Family on the beach
My approach to photography is relaxed and yet emotion focused, and this shines through in the family stories I tell. I want to capture how you laugh and love together and all the other emotions that make up your tales. The tickles and giggles and hilarious family jokes that you share – the things that are unique to you are all to be celebrated. I love natural light, and natural settings, be it your home where you feel comfortable, the beach, or out having a burger. When I join you at a session location I have a nosey around to see how I can catch you and your family naturally and in the most perfect light. I want to find out about you and see what makes you tick; this is how I capture your personalities and true emotions as they unfold.
I want to tell your story.
Kirsty Larmour
alone
Photography is about light and compositions and connections – nothing inspires me more than when I get all three to work together – you’ll often see what my kids call “dancing sunbeams” in my photos as I work with the light to shine on your family and bathe you all in a glow.
Kirsty Larmour
Early morning at the beach in MonochromeHappy family
It is finally here 😊spring! The beautiful new green is pushing through. The birch trees look lovely with light green leaves the grass is fresh green, small flowers are emerging from the soil. I feel myself coming alive. Today is sunny and warm, i am embracing this yearly miracle. T cleaned the dust from the camera, I am ready once again to capture the beauty of this season.
This week, in search for emotion and someone to photograph, I think I have over used my model, so I gave him a week off 🙂 I am full of emotions, I took some selfies as I had no one to else available had a busy week at work and did not getting anything done. No grandkids live near any more, because their expressive faces would have been so easy to capture true emotion.
On to a “creative-led” challenge this week! Really the core of what photography is about, the core of EVERY story – Emotion. Strong photos should tell a clear story and evoke feelings in those who see our shots.
sad, tired …
What could emotion look like? Perhaps the happiness reflected in the eyes of a child, the look of love shared between a couple, the joy of a team celebrating their latest win on the football field or even the pride of a baker showcasing their latest creation. Human emotions run deep and are varied – we can be pensive, or be battling our inner demons – introspective portraits can tell compelling stories.
Slightly optimistic, I will come up with something…
I have been recovering from an oculoplastic surgery, I look like an owl. I have since Thursday been doing cold treatment, eye drops and antiseptic cream in eyes several times a day. So trying to get a shot of any sort of activity has been a challenge.
But we did go out for lunch yesterday so I took some shot then. I actually sat in the restaurant with my sunglasses on the entire time, felt a bit silly, but no way could ruin other peoples appetite by showing my eyes.
This week, in search for An Activity
At any given point of time, we’re all doing something, so let’s capture that this week and shoot An Activity. This week’s challenge is deliberately open-ended and is there for you to make the most of your creative juices. Basically, think of a verb, something ending in -ing.
we do need to eat …
Capture a moment in time that depicts someone doing something. Set the tone of the image to add more depth and emotion to your shot. Think about why you want to capture this particular scene and how you can best convey that to your viewer. How ? Make good choices with your lens, composition, lighting and of course, how you edit your image in the end.
we could go walking
me watching hubby dropping snow from the patio roof..
This week, we’re going low, or at least shooting Low Key.
A low key image is going to have shadows, dark tones and, in a lot of cases, the subject of the photo is the only thing shown off with your lighting.
And speaking of light, there is usually only one source of lighting, but be careful because you could shoot with one light source and still not be hitting a true low key photo.
Low Key
Monochrome profile in Low key
A low key shot draws the viewer’s eye to your subject with no distractions. Think drama, intensity, and moodiness.
If you’re thinking low key is only for studio work, think again! You’ll see in our examples great low key photos of wildlife, architecture, even landscapes.
Low key photography doesn’t mean it has to be a black and white photo. It’s the overall dark you find in the tones, not the absence of color, though that works, too.
“Producing a photographic document involves preparation in excess. There is first the examination of the idea of the project. Then the visits to the scene, the casual conversations, and – talking, and listening, and looking, looking. … And finally, the pictures themselves, each one planned, talked, taken and examined in terms of the whole.”
I did have an idea at to begin with to this challenge, yesterday I was given too many options. If you have read or seen any of my posts you will know, well, I have a dilemma . Drove to Helsinki to check out the beautiful city library, the whole square where it is located is full of reflection opportunities.
Light. That’s the medium photographers create their art with. We usually play with light and shadows but this week we’re going to try something often overlooked – Reflections. Boost your photo’s aesthetic by using reflections – add more depth and complexity with this aspect of photography and see the world in a whole new way.
The first shot is not from there but from my office window as I thought it came out rather nicely.
Office view from my office to a traffic circle in Kirkkonummi.
Be creative and think of using symmetry with mirrors or tangentially, go beyond the literal. Visualize your composition, be patient and don’t hesitate to try new stuff out to get a great shot.
Take time to observe your surroundings for cool opportunities out there or feel free to make your own indoors. Just ask yourself: “What is the light doing here ?”
Support for the current situation in the world can seen in reflection
Music hall and Helsinki sign reflected from the opposite building Reflections on entrance to the Oodi library
Oodi is a striking building with its glass and steel structures and wooden façade, its design a combination of traditional and contemporary flavours. The energy-efficient library is an impressive calling card for Finnish architecture.
Below are reflections on the Music Hall in Helsinki
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography 