So... the decision is made - I'm staying on for a fifth year!
My hesitation was caused by the fact that I've found it very difficult recently to find a daily post. I live in a small rural community and I feel as though I have already photographed everything there is to see several times. Then I thought. "Why not apply the hair of the dog principle - what makes you bad, makes you better?"
So being the perverse soul that I am, this year's project is going to focus exclusively on my commune - all posts this year will be taken in Paimpont although the subject could be anything - flora, fauna, people, places. I will also start an 'Experiments' album where I will endeavour to take my photography skills to the next level. The only slack I'm going to cut myself is that although I will post every day, not all images will necessarily have been taken on the day they are posted - after 4 years and 2265 images posted I think I can claim that indulgence.
So here we go with Day 1 of the new project: these are disused estate workers cottages by the side of the Étang du Pas du Houx - the Holly Path Lake.
thats a big commitment Richard, are you sure haha
i understand the small community thing, i have the same feeling of photographic claustrophobia at times, then the sun will come through the clouds just so and the lens i have on does something special and the sea has a mood and i am away again. and as for experiments the challenges available to participqte in on this site are all you need for a bit of a push. speaking of which you really should do get-pushed.. there i have laid down the gauntlet.!
@kali66 Thank you Kali for your encouragement. I've done Get Pushed - I got frustrated by people who seemed to issue the same challenge to everyone week after week clearly not having looked through their projects. The final straw for me came when I was issued exactly the same challenge in three consecutive weeks by three different people who obviously hadn't bothered to spend even 5 minutes looking at my project. I shall push myself - I'm good at that!
Lovely and a bit mysterious! I appreciate your thoughts on needing some new challenges and wanting to go to the next level. I, too, have felt stale the past few months. With the new year, I'm hoping to find many new challenges for myself and get outside my comfort zone, as they say. Good luck to you, Richard! :)
Excellent b&w photo with great textures, composition...It makes one wonder about all of the people who might have lived there at one time or another over the years. Looking forward to your 2018 photos. I need to challenge myself by learning more about photography and maybe purchase a new camera...thanks for the inspiration.
Yeah! Post when you want to. I enjoy the photos of the small village and your church and the day to day life of you and Mrs. S and your friends. this is a nice view of the houses. I like the painterly effect even though typically paintings are done in b&w.
I really like the composition. The old stone houses are beautiful to look at. They have the dignity of a simple, but very tasteful architecture. It is timelessly beautiful. The character and the concreteness of the house forms come into their own through the perspective. The path, the meadow, the forest, the clouds - they convey the mood.
I understand your thoughts about your own development well. Sometimes you need a "creative break". Sometimes you need a little time for a new orientation. A change of location, foreign landscapes, a different light, new colour tones,... can give very invigorating impulses for one's own work; also the viewing of the work of other image enthusiasts can benefit immensely. I also like to look at pictures from the arts. But everyone has their own preferences.
I also suffer from lack of time. The job is stressing me and I may have to leave the photograph aside for a while. I often have a bad feeling that I'm not paying enough attention to the pictures of my dear followers. I would also like to retire already and have free time...
I really like the composition. The old stone houses are beautiful to look at. They have the dignity of a simple, but very tasteful architecture. It is timelessly beautiful. The character and the concreteness of the house forms come into their own through the perspective. The path, the meadow, the forest, the clouds - they convey the nice mood.
I understand your thoughts about your own development well. Sometimes you need a "creative break". Sometimes you need a little time for a new orientation. A change of location, foreign landscapes, a different light, new colour tones,... can give very invigorating impulses for one's own work; also the viewing of the work of other image enthusiasts can benefit immensely. I also like to look at pictures from the arts. But everyone has their own preferences.
I also suffer from lack of time. The job is stressing me and I may have to leave photographing aside for a while. I often have a bad feeling that I'm not paying enough attention to the pictures of my dear followers. I would also like to retire already and have free time...
so enchanting... loving the tonal range and soft light in these... i'm glad you're sticking around - and the challenge you have put to yourself is inspiring... every time i think there's nothing left to shoot and remind myself that i need to adjust my attitude... but some days are hard slogging!
Sounds like an opportunity for going deep. I've been looking at the fields along my road with similar thoughts. This is a shot out of time, could be hundreds of years ago. Happy New Year Richard!
I always love your photos so I am also happy you’ll be staying here and am sincerely looking forward to where your photography takes you. I also live in a rural community, with more cows than people, so understand about that. This image is so striking with the sky, water, old houses and the roadway, composed so perfectly. I love the black and white, too.
So glad that you are continuing. It is tough being isolated and needed to be continually creative. Some days the river of ideas flows and some days it just simply dries up. Hope your New Year is a Great one and gifts you with touches of inspiration on a regular basis.
So glad you're hanging in there ... we'd miss your lovely images. But I also do understand the occasional questioning of staying on for so long. You can do it though, and this is a lovely Day one image!
Fabulous composition and really great in b&w. I sympathise with your feelings about having photographed everything over and over in your little corner of the world. I feel very much the same way about where I live but I'm also going to try again this year ;)
Nice dreamy shot yet not sacrificing any of the clarity of the buildings. I really like this. As I am embarking on a month of b&w I will be looking in for inspiration.
Wow always love your processing in b&w Richard.
So sorry to hear about your fall, and wishing you a speedy recovery!
I'm glad you have decided to stay for your fifth year, I've learnt so much from you!
I love the new goals! I'm working on a new album of 365 photos I didn't get to in the 5 years I've been taking photos--there are so many on my computer because I kept moving forward. I'm hoping to improve my editing skills there. I'll continue taking photos (not daily), but I'm going to edit and get some serious cleaning up done (there are so many awful bird shots I have that I never deleted). We can indulge ourselves at this juncture. Happy New Year Richard. So glad you're staying on. :)
i understand the small community thing, i have the same feeling of photographic claustrophobia at times, then the sun will come through the clouds just so and the lens i have on does something special and the sea has a mood and i am away again. and as for experiments the challenges available to participqte in on this site are all you need for a bit of a push. speaking of which you really should do get-pushed.. there i have laid down the gauntlet.!
I understand your thoughts about your own development well. Sometimes you need a "creative break". Sometimes you need a little time for a new orientation. A change of location, foreign landscapes, a different light, new colour tones,... can give very invigorating impulses for one's own work; also the viewing of the work of other image enthusiasts can benefit immensely. I also like to look at pictures from the arts. But everyone has their own preferences.
I also suffer from lack of time. The job is stressing me and I may have to leave the photograph aside for a while. I often have a bad feeling that I'm not paying enough attention to the pictures of my dear followers. I would also like to retire already and have free time...
I understand your thoughts about your own development well. Sometimes you need a "creative break". Sometimes you need a little time for a new orientation. A change of location, foreign landscapes, a different light, new colour tones,... can give very invigorating impulses for one's own work; also the viewing of the work of other image enthusiasts can benefit immensely. I also like to look at pictures from the arts. But everyone has their own preferences.
I also suffer from lack of time. The job is stressing me and I may have to leave photographing aside for a while. I often have a bad feeling that I'm not paying enough attention to the pictures of my dear followers. I would also like to retire already and have free time...
So sorry to hear about your fall, and wishing you a speedy recovery!
I'm glad you have decided to stay for your fifth year, I've learnt so much from you!