Reflecting Back on my Love of Photography

Images from a long time agoI was looking back over some of my old photographs from when I was a teenager, back when I first got interested in photography. I created this image almost 50 years ago, can’t remember the girl’s name. I have that info somewhere (yes I got a model release).

She was working at a mall, and I noticed her, and asked her if I could photograph her. We went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens. I shot a lot of photos.Pentax KX We had a great time.

I was shooting with a Pentax KX SLR film camera (they, of course, were ALL film cameras back then).   Photography was still relatively new to me, but everything about photography just felt “natural” to me.  I loved it.  I loved all the ways I could capture a beautiful moment in time, or a beautiful scene, or a beautiful person. I loved how it was a mix of art and science because that sort of sums up my interests pretty well, art and science. Using photography as an excuse to go out to a park with a beautiful girl had nothing to do with it. (Okay, that is a total lie.)

Kevin Gourley Photography

Anyway, on this day after Thanksgiving, I was reflecting on how thankful I am that my parents encouraged me in my photographic endeavors way back then. They bought me that first Pentax KX SLR. They always encouraged me in whatever my pursuits were in life.

Well, why am I writing this, on this today?  I guess I just wanted to remind YOU, in your pursuits of photography as a hobby or career, never lose touch with what you LOVE about photography.

In this age of the Internet and social media, it is easy to get caught up in following the latest trends, striving to just do whatever is currently popular, and gets the most “likes” on Facebook, etc.  OR maybe you get discouraged because you see other photographers posting images that are “so much better” than yours.  DON’T WORRY ABOUT THAT.   Despite the countless photography contests you see out there, I really encourage you to not see art as a competition.  It is just too subjective.  If you start striving to just create images using styles that you see other photographers doing, you might just lose your individuality in the process and your images will start looking like everyone else’s.

Photograph whatever you love to photograph. The person you should “compete” against is not someone else… it is YOU. Just strive to be better than the photographer you were yesterday.  Work on your technical skills, but don’t think that is all that matters.  Your artistic skills, composition, use of light, etc. all matter just as much.

Just always try to improve in one way or another over time. Enjoy the work of other photographers, but you have permission to be YOU. Be different. Be bold. Be creative. Be silly. Be serious. Be you.

If you are not doing photography because you love it, then make some changes. Find the part of photography YOU love. You may not have even found the part of photography you would love the most, so try different things.  If you are a landscape photographer, try dabbling with something totally different like studio photography. If you photograph babies, try photographing horses (or anything else)! Shake things up a bit. Challenge yourself, but BE yourself. As you do this, you will discover the fun in photography.

Almost 50 years later, I am still having fun.  I hope you are too.
One thing I love to do is help others find their “love” of photography.

Kevin Gourley
KGPhotoWorkshops.com

P.S. If you are feeling a little “burned out” in your photography, you might consider taking my Photography: Finding Your Way – Creativity and Inspiration Workshop

 

Share

Thanksgiving is About Giving Thanks

What does the topic of “Thanksgiving” have to do with photography?

Well for many folks there are family gatherings and that often means some family photos will be taken, capturing those special memories. And then of course there is the infamous “Black Friday” where some of you might be out hunting for some great deal on camera gear you’ve been wanting. But I wanted to send out this post to mention the importance of “gratitude” in photography.  It’s about “giving thanks”.

Sometimes we overlook the mundane, the things and people around us all the time that we simply take for granted.  When we take things for granted, we sort of become blind to the beauty around us and to the many gifts we have been given in life.

I know if I focus on what I DON’T HAVE, I start to overlook all that I DO HAVE.

Researchers have found that when people just focus on what they don’t have, they are less happy and satisfied by life. Want to be happier? Shift your focus. Intentionally make yourself aware of all that is good in your life, even the small things.  Maybe even make a “gratitude list” and actually write down all that you are grateful for. The more  you work on that list, the more you may discover the list will get quite long. You may even discover you have an abundance of gratitude items on your list.

This indeed applies to photography also. If you look at a place or a moment in time with a focus on what is “not good about it” or you just don’t see anything to photograph there, it might be that you just haven’t taken the time to pause and take in the small details that ARE beautiful.

If you look with an attitude of anticipation that there IS something great there, you will start looking for what is good rather than ignoring it all.  You might look at a forest that has been damaged by fire, and rather than saying it is ugly, you search until you find a new tree sprouting up, or a bird resting on a branch, or maybe some interesting patterns in the burn marks on the trees.

Being grateful for this magnificent world opens up a new way to see all that is around you. There is an abundance of beautiful photographs to be taken right around you, perhaps at this very moment. It is a matter of changing how you see it all.

Practice a life of gratitude.

And on this Thanksgiving, do some thanks-giving.

And maybe take a few photographs of your family.  Never take them for granted.

Share

Send Your Camera Up on a Kite!

Lot’s of people are doing photography from drones these days, but you can also have fun sending your camera up on a kite.  I did this recently, using a GoPro Hero 3 Black camera and a medium sized kite.  It was a lot of fun!

kite photography

First I found some plastic foam packing material and cut out a rectangular center and taped my GoPro inside.   (I was a little paranoid of the unpredictability of a kite and didn’t like the idea of my GoPro possibly slamming into the ground without a little protection.)

Kite Photography

I hooked some hanger wire through the top and looped it, and then tied it to the kite and then added some tape to firm up the connection a bit so that the camera would not wobble as much.  There are ways of further stabilizing it, but this method worked well enough.  It didn’t look “fancy” but it got the job done.

kite photography

The first launch attempt was kind of wild.  The kite caught the wind and took off, spiraled several times, followed by a dramatic crash landing.

I had the camera set to take a 12MP wide-angle photograph every second.  I found that was not quite frequent enough to get any good shots.

kite photography

In the second attempt, we added a weight to the base, just to stabilize it a bit because the wind was fairly strong.   I also adjusted the rate to 2 frames per second.

As soon as we added the weight, the wind ironically died down and was not sufficient to lift the kite with the weight, so we took it back off. Then we made another attempt, and found success.  Once we got the kite up high enough, it was in a much better steady wind that carried it higher and higher. I just let the kite stay up high for a while to capture quite a few shots. This approach worked really well.

We brought the camera back down to check our results. Of course with the wide angle lens, depending on the placement of the horizon in the shot, the lens added a bit of distortion, curving the horizon.

kite photography

This distortion and camera tilt was easily fixed by having Adobe Lightroom CC use it’s “Transform – Level” and the “Enable Profile Corrections” adjustments in the Develop Module  and things were straightened up nicely.

kite photography

kite photography

With most of my shots, I had the camera oriented so that you could see the kite in the shot.  I like that perspective because it really establishes the unique and fun context of the image.  This isn’t a drone photo. It’s a kite photo!

Kite Photography

If you decide to join in on the fun and send your small camera up on a kite, let me know!  I’d love to see what you came up with!

Kevin Gourley
KGPhotoWorkshops

Share

Finally Solved a Problem with My Apple “Magic Mouse”

This isn’t really about “photography” but a lot of photographers use Mac computers, so I thought I’d share this since it solves a MAJOR problem I was having with my Apple Magic Mouse (the original version).Apple Magic Mouse

I was getting really annoyed with the fact that my Apple Magic Mouse would intermittently stop working for a few seconds and then start working again.  It would drop its bluetooth connection, and then I’d have to wait a little bit and then all would be ok, for a while.  I have another Apple Magic Mouse at my studio and it was having the exact same problem!

I just discovered the solution.  It turns out the design of the battery compartment is the problem.  (I have the original version where you have to insert batteries, not the new version that doesn’t use batteries, but instead is rechargeable.)  Anyway, the problem turned out to be an issue with the electrical contact the mouse was making to its batteries is not well designed.  It’s a little “loose”. So, I took some paper and folded it up and squeezed it in on top of the batteries and then pressed down the cover over it to make it a tighter fit, and that TOTALLY SOLVED THE PROBLEM!  Yay! I can’t believe I tolerated this problem for years and just now found the solution.

If you’ve been having this problem, now  you know the answer!  I did this with my mouse at my studio and it fixed it there too!

Happy mouse clicking!

Kevin Gourley
KGPhotoWorkshops

Share

New Painting with Light Workshop Added

Painting With Light

Since our December 4th Painting with Light Workshop sold out so quickly, we are adding another one on Sunday January 15th 1:30-6pm.  Register early and SAVE $20!   Space is very limited for this very fun workshop!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND REGISTER

Student Comments:

  • “This was an absolute blast. Kevin’s sense of humor kept us laughing and his creativity kept us in awe. It was wonderful to get in there with the other class members and play with light! He keeps the class size small so we have a lot of hands-on learning and fun.”
  • “Your Painting with Light class really opened my eyes to a whole new way to take pictures. SO FUN!”
  • “Kevin’s “Painting with light” class was a blast. I have taken various classes from Kevin so far and this one was my favorite. It’s one of those classes that promotes creativity, provides hands on experience for each student, and the class is so fun that it ends before you want it to. Not only was it fun to watch the model being painted, but equally as much fun to see what each student ended up with. Kevin is passionate about taking photos as well as teaching photography to others. He’s kind, compassionate, respectable, and displays an abundance of patience with his students. I highly recommend this class to anyone wanting to take fun and creative photos in a friendly, safe environment.”
Share

Rekindle Workshop Just Announced!

Rekindle Workshop

We just announced our first Rekindle Workshop for 2017!  It is a unique and inspiring workshop for photographers.  This will be 5 weekday sessions beginning February 20th, 2017.

Sometimes we reach a point where we just need to pause and reconnect with…
… why we fell in love with photography!

  • You might have reached a point where you feel uninspired, ‘burned out’, or just feel like you have lost that spark of creativity.
  • Maybe you just don’t feel good about the images you are creating, like they’re ‘missing something’.
  • Perhaps you need some fresh ideas to help you grow as a photographer.
  • Or you are new to photography and even though you know the fundamental technical stuff, you want to explore more of the artistry of photography.

This workshop will help you rediscover your love of photography and how you see the world around you.  It will help you work your way past creativity roadblocks you may be experiencing.   Join us for this special workshop.  Register soon and take advantage of our $20 Early Registration Discount!

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO AND TO REGISTER 

Share

Photographing the “Super Moon”? Better Do It Soon!

Hi Photographers!

Many of you have already been out there photographing our rare “super moon” event!

Make sure you join our MyBestPhotography Facebook Group and share your best moon photos with us!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/MyBestPhotography/

The best way to grow in your photographic skills is to go out there and use your camera.  Have you never taken a good photo of the moon before?  Well it’s time to make some changes, and figure out how to do it! I wrote a recent article about photographing the moon that should help you get the settings in the right ballpark.

Have fun!

Kevin

P.S. If you need to learn more about photography, check out my upcoming classes offered in Austin, Texas!

http://www.kgphotoworkshops.com/#classes

P.P.S. If you didn’t see my earlier blog post about photographing the moon, here’s the link:

Supermoon November 14, 2016

Share

New ‘Learn by Doing’ Workshops

I have added a new set of workshops to my lineup of learning opportunities.  I call them ‘Learn by Doing’ Workshops!

If you know a bit about photography but you want to get out there and practice while you learn more, then these workshops are for you!

Go to this web page to learn more and to let us know what YOUR interests are!!  We want to hear from you!

Click Here:

http://www.kgphotoworkshops.com/kgclasslbd.php

Share

Supermoon November 14, 2016

Remember we have a rare event coming up on November 14, 2016!  It will be the largest we’ve seen in nearly 70 years!  Get out your cameras and photograph this rare event.

I recently posted an article on my website with lots of useful information for photographing the moon, and about this upcoming supermoon in particular.  Go here to the full article;

http://www.kgphotoworkshops.com/moon.php

Have fun!

Kevin Gourley

 

Share

Welcome!

Hi!   Thanks for checking out my new blog.  I am WAY overdue in adding a blog to my website, but here it is … FINALLY!   Whenever you create a blog for a website, then it is one more thing to do, one more thing to update and keep fresh.  I have been so busy, this will just make me a little busier, BUT  I want to keep in touch with so many of you who have participated in my classes, I decided this is a good way to do that.  I’ll post information about interesting facts about photography, occasional how-to articles, and updates about my upcoming workshops and classes.  I will also feature the work of some of YOU from time to time.  I want to celebrate YOUR photographic successes on here also!

So, thanks for being here.  I hope you’ll keep coming back!

Follow me on Facebook also at:

http://www.facebook.com/KGPhotoWorkshops

Thanks!

Kevin Gourley

 

Share

Kevin Gourley Photography Workshops, Austin, TX – Austin Photography Classes