Seven days in November

I simply could not have picked a more appropriate week to chose "grey" as a prompt. In fact, I think my doing so might have brought on these biblical rains. Here are seven grey and soggy shots.



099:365




100:365 Not quite a murder. A manslaughter, perhaps?




101:365 Friday night at Victory Meat




102:365 A still from Carol Shields' Departures and Arrivals




103:365 My nightly ritual




104:365 Sodden love





105:365 The tree across the street

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In case you haven't seen it, Painted Maypole celebrated her 100th photo by sharing a list of what she's learned so far. I started a comment over there today in response to her and Mary and Gwen, but I ran out of time to finish it. I've clipped what I said over there and pasted it here before adding a bit more on the end. Here then, is what I've learned so far:

"'I do, however, still fall into the trap of mostly taking pictures of my kid and pretty things in nature that strike my fancy.'

Yup. Uh-huh. I also agree with your next statement about those shots not always being selected as my picture of the day.

Let's see, what have I learned?

Like Gwen, I still rely too heavily on words, but if I could only be more like Gwen in my reliance on words, then I would be happy with how those words shape my photos b/c I do envy the way she yokes the two.

I use my DSLR regularly now. I can tell you why a 50mm lens is da-bomb. I have played far more with depth of field, shutter speed, manual focus, shifting focal point/weight, manipulating light with ISO and white balance settings, taking continuous shots in order to capture a moment, and shooting in black and white than I ever had in the past. I've learned the rule of thirds but I usually forget to apply it.

I now know what bokeh is and that I kinda like playing with it a lot. My results have not yet been ideal, though. I've also come to realize that I am drawn to extreme close-ups to the point where I fear my year will look myopic. Honestly, I must force myself to stand back from the object I want to shoot if I want to bring variety to this collection. I also realize that when I go back over my shots, I tend to prefer the long-shots because they are such a welcome relief in what is a never-ending stream of close-ups.

I've learned to lie down to get shots, or alternatively to stand on chairs. I've learned, sometimes not always, to notice where the sun is and why that matters. I've come to realize that there is no good interior light in my house to shoot by. I've also learned that I lack courage--the courage to shoot strangers, the courage to simply pull out the camera wherever/whenever and look like I am perfectly entitled to do so.

I walk down the street now seeking out the visual, whereas before I was always trapped in my wordy thoughts. I've learned not to feel anxious first thing in the morning that I won't get a shot in that day. I have learned to feel a bit defeated when by sundown I still haven't clicked the shutter.

I've come to realize that the people around me are really beautiful and dynamic in ways that I'd never really noticed. I've also learned that I like to take pictures of people even though I'm usually too much of a coward to do so.

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One of the things I had hoped to achieve from this project was a slowing of memory loss. I don't know if that's working for me, but given that this week is supposed to be all about remembrance, I think it's high time I had a prompt that dealt with that concept in its broadest possible sense. So for this week, feel free to tackle memory.