The Black Dog’s PhotoBlog

The Earth Laughs in Flowers
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

This will probably be my last flower post until next spring as many of my flowers in the garden are starting to fade.

These last few weeks of August the weather up here in Minnesota has been beautiful. Nice sunny days, gentle breezes and warm (not hot) temperatures. You can tell that summer is coming to an end and fall is just around the corner. Fall is my favorite time of year and I’m looking forward to the season change. I love all the changing colors, apples, hay rides and cool evenings. But winter and cold always follows for us Minnesotans. I really will miss the flower garden until next spring.

“Bread feeds the body, indeed, but flowers feed also the soul.” – The Koran

As I reflect on the past 10-years, I’m also looking forward to the coming 10-years.

Every day there seems to be new inventions, new technology and many improvements to existing things. I’m looking forward to what the next ten years will bring in photography inventions and improvements. There really has been big changes in the photography world in the last 10 years with the invention of digital and it does have me curious what surprises the future of photography holds.

I’ve recently picked up a new lens. It’s called a Lensbaby 3G. For all of you who have never heard of this lens, it’s a really unusual looking thing and in a world of automation, this lens is all manual. One of the coolest things about this lens is it’s flexibility and it’s demand for creativity on the photographer’s part. It has a very limited focal point that you can move to any point in the photo by bending the lens (yes, the lens bends.) Once you figure this lens out you are rewarded with some amazing photos and there is a endless amount of possibilities that open up to you. I’m really looking forward to using this lens more in my portrait and nature photography.

10 Beautiful Roses taken with my new Lensbaby 3G lens.

The remains of some echinacea flowers in my front yard taken April 17th.

After a few days of yard work, picking up fallen branches, cleaning up flower beds and trimming back shrubs, I have to admit I’m excited about spring and the upcoming season. Even though my little corner of the world is just starting to turn green and the flowers are just beginning to bloom, I am excited about some new landscaping ideas and the new direction my studio will be taking. I’m anticipating the individuals who will come into my life looking for that special portrait.

A new step for the studio this year is that I’ve decided to discontinue the indoor studio and focus my time and talents on the outdoor studio. Besides photography, I’ve always had a love of nature and the outdoors. I thought why not combine the two and focus on what I feel I do best. As I recently read an article titled ‘Greenspace’ in my latest issue of Professional Photographer magazine I was so inspired to take this step. The article was about Chris Lommel Photography and talked about his surviving his battle with cancer and his outdoor studio in Big Lake, MN. Life really is too short sometimes. I think it’s best to enjoy it while I can.

Dryed Black Eyed Susans in my front yard.

A little bird’s nest I found in my back yard while on a walk.

This photograph of a yellow spider mum was taken a few years ago. It was in the midst of a floral arrangement sitting on my sister’s kitchen table. She thought the flower was so beautiful and asked if I thought I could take a picture of it for her to keep. So with only a tripod and the chandelier light I snapped off a few pictures for her. She kept one of these pictures hanging in her kitchen. That’s the best compliment I could ever have received.

As Natalie Norton says in an article I recently read titled, ‘Blog Power – Why You Should Consider Setting up a Photoblog’, I’ve always thought of bloggers as being somewhat narcissistic. That’s not really how I’ve wanted to portray myself to the public. But she also goes on to list some very good reasons why a photoblog is a positive thing for any photographer.

I’ve had a few friends and colleagues recommend this to me when I was inquiring on how frequently they update their website with new photographs and announce new products and promotions. They do most of this through their photoblogs. I’ve read a few of my friends’ blogs and I’ve been impressed. So I’m thinking it’s become time. So this is about to become my spot on the web to blog and keep everyone up to date on the Black Dog’s Photographer. I can’t promise you that this will be a daily thing but I will keep it regular.