My walk to the post office (with a macro lens)

Luke

Legend
Location
Milwaukee, WI USA
Name
Luke
I've been feeling photographically uninspired recently. Frankly, I don't know what to photograph. And beyond that, I don't know why. But instead of lounging around feeling sorry for myself, Eliot nudged me out of my lethargy. I got up from my afternoon nap (one of my new fave hobbies) and grabbed a Netflix movie that needed to go to the post office. It's about a mile away and I could use a little walk (I could use a lot of that actually, but let's not push it.....it's humid out there). So I grabbed my Pentax K-3 and the Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro lens and figured I could find SOMETHING to shoot. These are all in chronological order and most are processed a bit on the heavy side (it makes me look thinner:coco:). Most of them are cliches of one sort or another..... and maybe that's part of my photographic block. I want to shoot something original, but I just don't know what that is. Anyways...... I hope you find one or two that you like.

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Daucus carota
by Luke, on Flickr

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by Luke, on Flickr

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by Luke, on Flickr

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by Luke, on Flickr

not sure which dandelion I prefer, so you get both....:sorry:
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by Luke, on Flickr

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by Luke, on Flickr

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prepare to land
by Luke, on Flickr

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by Luke, on Flickr

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by Luke, on Flickr
 
Great bunch of shots there, Luke! I've found more than one or two that I like :)

Really like the first one (Have you tried rotating it 90° counterclockwise? I feel it could be even stronger then (?)

The second one made me laugh :) Great spot!

Drops on leaves are always great subjects. (some might call it "cliche", but you could just as well call it a "classic" :) Love the colours of the second one.

And then the landing bird... still has me scratching my head. Did you remove any support there? Or am I just missing something obvious? :) Anyway, nice surreal shot - makes a good pair with the bespectacled tree!



That's what I like about macro lenses. You can always find something to shoot. Play with scale, explore "new landscapes" - without having to travel - and no matter what the weather...
And as to blocks... We all get them from time to time... Probably best trying not to put too much weight on them (easier said then done ;) )

Sometimes it's fun just to shoot without a goal. Get the obvoius shots out of your system first... Then come back to the same place and see if you can explore new angles... Or look back on your previous shots and see if there's any you particularly like (or enjoyed taking) and try do more of those...

Just some random thoughts... :) (Not great with words)

Maybe you could find more of these "quirky" shots (like the tree and the bird). That could be a nice collection :)
 
Love the shots, especially the tree with the specs and the bird. (You going to tell us how you did that?)

When I point at something and think, "It's been done. I try to answer myself, not by me, not today." Anyway, how many shots of Point Lobos did Weston do get the keepers?

Keep on shooting. And - yeah - keep on walking. If you don't when you get to be my age, it will be even harder.
 
One man's cliché... Mate, it's ALL been done before. Don't sweat it. Work on developing YOUR vision, YOUR voice. Think of Martin Parr - some of his work explores clichés to the point of banality or even ubiquity but he does so with a consistently post-ironic style that engages the viewer and makes them simultaneously part of the joke by playing upon their familiarity with the subject while giving it - and them - a little tweak in the tail. Me, I love to travel. How many photos have you seen over the years of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I went, I took the "tourist" shots, then I explored for another angle, literally and figuratively. I found it with a shot of the tower's interior - something seldom shown.

In these shots you have demonstrated technical competence, as I would expect, but you have also let some of your essential "Luke-ness" come through - a quirkiness and wry humour that entertains and informs the viewer. Climb the hills to see the mountains, and snap what you want, when you want, how you want - that way lies personal satisfaction.
 
Luke - everything is a rehearsal for the next one
I think I've proved that to myself time and time again
Cliches are meant to be cliches so get on with it
I like No 4 best
 
That is a great macro combination, Luke. Sometimes the uniqueness is in the ordinary things around us. And you captured that really well (the glasses in the tree arehilarious).

Perhaps Your desire to go out and shoot will be ignited by an alphabet thread with a common theme? ;-)
 
the cheat revealed (it's actually a birdhouse shaped like a bird)....... spot healing tool to clone background over the chain hanger. It was actually how I pictured the final shot.

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by Luke, on Flickr

and based on Tilman's suggestion.... here's the wild carrot rotated to a portrait orientation. I'm not sure it's better or worse, just different. In general because of the aspect ration of computer screens , I tend to present things in landscape view unless the shot demands to be shown the other way. I suppose I should reconsider which way works best for each shot even if it means viewing it smaller.

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Daucus carota
by Luke, on Flickr
 
Interesting article about developing a personal style at LuLa:
Developing A Personal Style - Luminous Landscape
The problems associated with photographic adolescence are more easily overcome with constant practice. At the simplest level taking many photographs on a regular basis will build familiarity with our gear, allowing our sub-conscious to concentrate on creativity not technique or equipment. It’s important to take lots of images and analyze what works for us (and what doesn’t) and why. Not every shot we take will be a masterpiece – in fact the harder we try the more likely it is we’ll fail. But it’s important to learn from our failures – they are our best teachers. Successes only confirm that we can do what we thought we could do!

Finally it is an ongoing journey – one of constant learning and refinement. The day I feel my photographic style is no longer developing and being refined is the day I’ll sell all my cameras. For if we can’t constantly acknowledge the potential for future personal development as a photographic artist then what’s the point in carrying on?
 
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The wild carrot shot was my favorite. It almost looks like an abstract or a painting, because the green stalks disappear into black. It's so perfectly devoid of distractions.
 
Excellent series, Luke! If I were worried about avoiding cliche, I don't think I'd shoot anything :redface:. Like Bill, says, everything has been done before. Forget about it, and just enjoy :dance2:.
 
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