Thursday, February 25, 2010

SkyWatch Friday

Another week has flown by and, oh my, it is SkyWatch Friday...we scurry around for images and thoughts. Found an image. Still searching for a profound thought.

Click here to see more SkyWatch images from around the world.


Thursday, February 18, 2010

SkyWatch Friday--Nature's Paintings


Nature has many moods and when they appear often I gasp at the variety--the contrast of opposites...energy, then tranquility--warm tones and cool.


SUNRISE

SUNSET

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Jesse With Dog

This is such fun! I may have lost my mind, but what the heck...second childhood here I come. Play is so important. Jesse is perfect. And, he doesn't talk back...well...most of the time he doesn't.
JESS PLAYING WITH DOG
Photograph by Elisabeth Bacon
All Rights Reserved

SkyWatch Friday

MORNING SUN ON SNOW
Photograph by Elisabeth Bacon
All Rights Reserved


Thanks to the SkyWatch team: Klaus Sandy Wren Fishing Guy Louise Sylvia Click on the SkyWatch icon to see sky captures from around the world.

Monochrome Weekly

Happy Valentine's Day!




Thanks to Aileni for hosting this weekly event. To see more Monochrome images click on the icon above.


Friday, February 12, 2010

Meet Jesse!

Meet my new assistant: Jess Dewitt (sounded out is Jess DO IT) Hope you will welcome him as he begins helping me encourage creative people and give helpful hints on drawing, painting and photography.

JESSE DEWITT
Portrait by Elisabeth Bacon
All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bon Appetite!

This morning I had a fabulous time downloading and watching a movie online. Click, clack--it was that simple. Not only did I enjoy the movie, becoming inspired beyond my dreams, but I also learned how to fix my headphones (which decided not to reduce noise because the batteries died) by Googling the maker's name and clicking on the correct instruction manual. Hooray! I can no longer hear "noise."

Okay, back to the inspiration. JULIE AND JULIA is a most enjoyable movie and I was sent to remembering how and why this journal/blog was started in the first place...five years ago...on AOL...(back when AOL had journals). The purpose was to write every day about photography and/or art and to share photos, drawings, paintings and whatever as they were completed. But more than the sharing of images was the desire to encourage you out there to jump in and be creative. Perhaps by jumping in, an ember might begin to glow and you would want to become better at what you love to do.

Somehow I may have digressed from the original plan. I'm not sure about that, but I do know I still want to share and grow along with you. So here we are five years later beginning anew with ideas and instructions on how to be a better artist, photographer or ______.

Let's start with the basics shall we? Desire ranks right up there at the top of the list. Do you love writing, art, photography or ______? How much do you want to be good--really, really, really good at what you love doing? It isn't enough to want it, you have to earn that right. You have to pay your dues. And...how do you do that? Here's how:

1. Do something related to what you love every day. Practice, practice, practice.
2. Look at the work of the Masters (with a capital M).
3. Read everything you can get your hands on. Through reading you will hone your interest and get more specific about subject matter.
4. Determine what you like to shoot, draw, or write about and get busy exploring that genre.
5. Start a journal and keep track of your progress. (If interested in photography, find a chart for exposures and memorize settings, then experiment. Record your findings.)

Seeing is believing so, if at all possible, TAKE A CLASS from an instructor whose work you admire. The reason I stress learning from someone whose work you admire is because you as a student will absorb some of your instructor's techniques and lordy you don't want to be absorbing junk. Right?

Okay, I have given you a few things to think about. Now...go and get busy. Oh, by the way, it doesn't matter what camera you have...what matters is what you do with it. I must admit though having a Hasselblad years ago did propel me to be the best that I could be, then strive to be better. I, do suggest (no matter what camera you use) that you read your manual and reread it every year. Amazing how much is missed during the first sitting.

So, have fun on the journey. Bon Jour!!!

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Recent Ice Storm

Still not back to normal, but couldn't resist the fairytale-like landscape:

Friday, February 5, 2010

Out of Commission

Under the Weather...

SICK

Will be back when better.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Books, Setups and Time Management

Started working on book again and in doing that I realized how much I love not only reading books but looking at and holding them too. Today I will play with setups and see what evolves.

My involvement in Monochrome Weekly has dwindled since the posting time changed. A rhythm was broken. There is a rhythm to each week and what was working for me before isn't working as well now. This week I shall begin a new creative "dance," so images can be made during the week and posted early Saturday morning. I miss doing monochrome and Renaissance setups.

Note: Being snowed in has its advantages, i.e. one can use the secluded time to work creatively.