Flickr

I just joined Flickr! It's really about time I did. I think I tried to a long looooooong time ago, but it didn't work thanks to faulty internets, or something. Well, my nets are in much better shape these days and I thought that as a photographer maybe I should start hanging out with some other photographers. Flickr is pretty cool. You can browse other people's photos and I swear there is something for everyone. You can use it to organize your photos. You can upload photos so you have access to them if you want to publish them in your own blog or something. I think it's pretty great. I already spent waaaay more time than I meant to browsing over there tonight. And, check it out, I have a little link to my photostream in my sidebar now. And. you make a nice easy to say the name of URL (sort of). Mine is http://www.flickr.com/photos/foolsgoldphotos/ or if you want to see my profile and not my photostream  it's http://www.flickr.com/people/foolsgoldphotos/. Yeah. It's pretty cool.

And for anyone who is waiting for more photos (what is the point of a photog blog without the photos?). No worries. They are coming soon!

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Spring is my Favorite Season

 

I took this photo several years ago, but I always think of it around this time of year. This is the time when I'm ready for the snow to melt and the sweet spring green bits to start popping up and peeking out. This photo was actually taken in April to be completely honest, but it's what I wish it looked like in February. I grew up with early springs (odds are good that my mom will be admiring crocuses soon where she is at and I'm jealous!) and I guess I just got used to them. My clock says it's time for spring! I guess the clock around here is set a little differently. This is one of the reasons I love photography. It's like an itty bitty reminder that warmer, greener times are coming soon!(ish.)

Frozen

The 27th of January I drove all morning through freezing fog. The kind that sticks to everything coating it all in white crystals that beg to be photographed. But I didn't take any pictures that day. I was driving for work and I don't feel especially honest stopping to take pictures while I'm on the clock (it's not my clock after all). I've also heard somewhere that it's not safe to drive and take photos at the same time and so I have no photos to show you all how wonderful it all looked. It broke my heart. But I guess God loves me because the very next day we had freezing fog again, so I hurried out before work, froze my buns off, and took some shots in the time I had. Here are some favorites.

I learned a couple things from this shoot. One is to wear layers, but you probably already knew that.

As far as the photography goes I learned first to be flexible. I went out with fantastic frost covered trees in mind, but when I got out there I found I was most attracted to man-made things. So I guess it's good to go out with an idea, but it's definately cool to let that idea morph into something else, if that's what strikes your fancy.

Second I learned to take the opportunity when it presents itself. January 27, I spent the whole morning pining for my camera and it got me nowhere. The 28th, I knew I had a really limited amount of daylight hours before work and that is kind of a road block. But it's better to go out for 5 minutes if that's all I have than to go out for no minutes. No minutes = no photos.

So what do you guys think? Which is your favorite? Why? What would you do differently? Inquiring minds want to know!

A Fool and Her Treasure

My Grandma once showed me a picture she has of me taking a picture. We were visiting the tulip fields near where I was raised in Washington and I was holding my mom's precious film SLR catching what was probably a mediocre image of the ocean of flowers there every spring. My mom was always willing to let me try my hand at it, even though I was probably better at wasting film then getting good pictures back then! She did of course have some limits. I had to tell her what I was going to take a picture of before she would even let me lay a finger on that coveted piece of equipment. Sometimes she obliged my request and sometimes she didn't. At the time I wasn't really excited about being told no. (who is?) But it did help me become more discerning about what I even asked about. I would walk around composing pictures, and gradually I started recognizing the pictures that I knew she wouldn't let me take. I didn't ask so often (but, oh, how I wanted to!) and slowly but surely I started learning how to make photographs.

I'm certainly still learning. It's been said that "The more you know, the more you know you don't know" and boy is that a fact! I'm trying to keep learning to improve my photos and this seemed an excellent place to document that. Fools Gold is a place for this silly old fool to keep track of her treasure.