Because we’ve been snowed in all week, and we finally got out of the driveway and down the road a few miles . . .

Because I watched all of the wonderful Artist-in-Residence videos by Cynthia Gladis on FRAMES, while snowed in, and was inspired by her graphic design aesthetic . . .

Because I’ve had a migraine for 2 days that no medicine will touch and I thought, what the heck, maybe fresh air will help . . .

Because I get twitchy if I don’t make something at least every few days . . .

I darted across the road, through piles of snow and stood facing the school, remembering when snow days were so much fun.

I love these photos and consider them to be some of my personal best (based on some intuitive rating system that is subjectively objective at best).

I took a break from processing photos and stopped to read a newsletter from Morrow Soft Goods, New Year, Fresh Start. I was immediately drawn to their collage of softly colored photographs, a kind of inspiration board. I liked the layout and the interplay of images. The way some people love puzzles, I love to play with graphic design. I got out my ruler and measured the squares and rectangles and created my version of the layout as a template in Lightroom. Then I went searching for winter images from years past that fit with the theme, design and colors. Holy Moly, this is so much fun! I still have the dang headache, but I’ve been distracted from pain and that’s good enough.

 

My hope is that honestly conveying my feelings and leading you to feel the same through something I’ve made might just open you up.
It may help you to celebrate, or grieve, or give you resolve.
It may help you face your own confusing feelings with more courage because you know others feel just as you do.
It may help you decide to take the inward journey, work out what those emotions are pointing to, and change your life for the better by facing your fears.

—Sean Tucker, The Meaning in the Making

 
 

I finally broke down and decided to join FRAMES. There is always an inner dialogue when it comes to spending more money on monthly subscriptions, and I am very careful about such choices. I like the FRAMES app as an alternative to Instagram (so far, anyway).

Today, this quote on FRAMES from Anja Schultz -

This is the task to which a photographer must be bound, to succeed in sublimating the banality of everyday life, extracting, with the framing of his camera, those portions of the world, insignificant to the inattentive eye, full of significant layers of signs.

Hmm . . . there is something about this quote that doesn’t sit well with me. It’s the part about sublimating the banality of everyday life. Banality—to lack originality, freshness, or novelty; commonplace—carries a negative connotation, and the idea that we need to sublimate banality reinforces this idea. But I wonder if it might be more accurate to say that the work of the photographer is to celebrate, uncover, uplift, or elevate the pieces of everyday life. It’s not about rescuing the beauty of everyday life, it’s about noticing that it was there all along.

As the new year rolls in, I’m having no difficulty sidestepping resolutions altogether. But I am tempted by the lure photography classes and projects, falling prey to the notion that creative inspiration resides somewhere outside myself. For a few moments, I contemplate an online mindful photography course. It sounds like a good fit. But perhaps this is more of what I want, but not what I need.