Art is subjective

I've learned a lesson recently. Art is 100% subjective. And you know what... I'm not a subjective person. If it doesn't have objectives and I can't accomplish them, I don't feel satisfied. I'm a goal getter. I love to-do lists because I enjoy crossing things off. I love science and technology because its fact based. (I do understand there are theories as well, but I choose to ignore those, well, because they are subjective!) I like to write research papers, not essays. I love cooking because I can follow the instructions precisely and come up with something wonderful.

I'm mostly venting here because I feel that I lack what it takes to make someone, subjectively, like my photographs. Now, plenty of people do, that's why you happen to be reading this post, but I just can't seem to get my mind to understand that it can be objectively (technically) perfect and still not be pleasing to someone. Why people! Can't you see it... its definitely A+ work!

I love taking photographs and I love sharing them. I don't have aspirations of being a career photographer. I'm a hobbyist, and a novice at that. I have a lot of things still to learn and I feel like I'm failing at learning them. I understand the concepts. I understand the lessons. I understand that in the end, its all still subjective.

Golden

This week's POTW theme is Golden. I knew exactly the photo I wanted to share for this theme.

Woody hasn't gotten enough love lately. Mostly because its been too hot to play outside at night, so we haven't had many oppourtunities to share our hobbies (me and the camera, him and his frisbee)

Well, here are the two together, in one Golden photo.



Woody loves his frisbee almost more than he loves me. Hehehe...

"Cousins"

Gene an only child, so JJ is limited to the number of extended family he has. However, Gene's grandfather was one of thirteen, so when you branch out the tree, there are tons of kin-folk. One of Gene's mother's cousins, lives behind us and their grandson is a year older than JJ.

They do a lot together, sports, church activities. They will grow to become great friends.

We told them one day they were cousins and they have called themselves that ever since. (I mean, they kinda are, is a strange way, but there are some "steps" in there so it gets tricky).

Here is JJ and his "cousin" Jackson watching a soccer game before theirs starts.

They watched with such intent. One of the boys on that team was a cousin to Jackson from the other side of his tree. This is how life goes in a small town. :)

Here are some more from Saturday's soccer game...

I'm sharing the black and white photo as part of The Long Road to China's Black and White wednesday. Hop on over to see more fabulous Black and Wite photos!

Smirk-I Heart Faces

JJ has a hard time with the camera being forced in his face. Most of the time you get a cheezy smile. Which, he thinks is a pretty smile. This summer, on the way home from vacation, we stopped at the New Found Gap lookout and I saw the oppourtunity to cram the camera in his face on last time. He was more worried about me, or Gene, pushing him over the edge than smiling for the camera.

I was able to capture this smirk while Gene was telling him we would not be even joking about pushing him over the edge.

Make sure you check out more Smirk photos over at I Heart Faces...

Snack time

I will say I don't see myself as much of a snacker. My co-workers might think otherwise. I have an entire desk drawer devoted to my "snacks". I have to lock this drawer when I go on vacation because they will eat everything in there. But, I don't consider myself a snacker because the drawer isn't full of junk. It has gum, some crystal light pouches, a baggie of cookies, and some chocolate bliss candies (which I only eat one a day, if that).

But, when I'm having me time on a day off, I do like to get myself a fun snack. Sometimes its the overly salted popcorn at Target, or Butterfinger bar at the gas station. This weeks Raw (e) challenge is snacks.

This was my snack on our trip to Atlanta....

I couldn't help myself... they gave me a $2.00 off coupon that morning when Gene and I got our coffee.

I splurged with the whip cream... it was Non-fat, why not have some fun with your snack!

Enjoy an head over to Raw(e) and see more snacks.

My Favorite

This weeks theme over at Two Mom's Made a Photo Challenge is favorite shot. My favorite shot, I took several years ago. Its the photo I have framed on my nightstand. Its been there since I took it. The one in the frame is fading from the sunlight, the reds are bright pink now, but I still love it.

Here... I dusted it off and gave it a little face lift.





I took this photo at a college football game. It was the first one we attended as the three of us. I'm surprised I got any good photos of JJ at this game because he was so into watching the players, he didn't want to be disturbed to take a picture!


Make sure to stop by TMMAPC and see what others have chosen as their favorite!

Signs, Signs, Everywhere there's signs

This weeks theme at you capture is signs. I did happen to take a photo or two of some signs when I was walking around downtown Atlanta. I'm sure people thought I was really weird taking photos of the street signs.

I took this photo because I'm always intrigued by the push to walk button. I'm impatient and you'll often find me just running when the road is clear and not waiting for the signal. I've never lived in a big city, or really in any place that needed signals for street crossing, I guess that's where my impatience comes from.

Check out some other cool signs at you capture...

Its Wednesday

Time to link up with Leigh Ashley and tell a little about me....

{one} what was your first pet and how did you come up with its name?
I had a goldfish when I was 5. I named it Goldie, because it was a Goldfish. Goldie took a nap one day and didn't wake up. :(


{two} do you like your ice crushed or cubed?
I like crushed with my fountain drinks. But I hate crushed out of the fridge at home because it takes too long and makes a mess.


{three} do you believe in love at first sight?
Absolutely! I think you can get a good feel and read of people by a first look. I felt it with Gene, but I've also felt it with friends.


{four} do you have any nicknames?
Oh my... most of my college friends call me Little Lisa or LL. I'm petite, so I accepted it. Gene has a few for me, but I'll keep those hidden, for now. I did an internship one summer and the nurse called me Wendy. She said I looked like one and couldn't remember my name, so Wendy I was.


{five} what movie do you never get tired of watching?
I love Charlie and the Chocolate factory, minus the freaky part in the boat. I don't know why I love this movie, its really weird. Oh, I like the old version better.


{six} how do you like your eggs cooked?
Over medium will do. I like to eat all the whites and the carefully watch the yoke erupt when I poke it.


{seven} are you named after anyone in particular?
No. I was suppose to be a boy, although that was just a hunch. My parents only had boy names picked out. They say they just thought of it and liked it. I don't feel its very original, but at least I could find my name on things as a kid.


{eight} what are three things that you would like to do that you haven’t done yet?
hmmm... I dunno about this one. I don't really have a bucket list. I would love to see the grand canyon. I would love to be snowed in at fantastic ski resort.


{nine} what one thing always brightens your mood?
I have to agree with Leigh Ashley on this one... I love bear hugs. My grammy gives the best bear hugs. You can't help by laugh when someone bear hugs you.


{ten} what five things will you always find in your purse?
My keys, lip gloss, flash drive, a tampon (because you never know when you might need one), and my ID badge for work.


And just for fun... I'm adding in a recent photo of me. This is me and JJ a few weeks ago in Nashville.



Hop on over to My Leigh Ashley and check out a little bit about some others....

Bloopers

This week over at Trendy Treehouse, the theme is all about Bloopers! What a fantastic theme! I can't wait to see all the entries.

This is JJ last spring warming up for a baseball game. Thankfully, it was just during warm ups. He would have been so embarrassed to do this during a game. The kid is such a great little athlete. He puts it all out there all the time. I hope you can see the expression on his face. The squinched eyes, the tucked in lip, the straining muscles in his neck.... Too bad he totally missed the ball.

Coming out of the funk

I've been in a funk lately. Just all around funk. I haven't posted much because I haven't photographed much. And the things I did, didn't meet my high standards. I took a break from challenges because I was getting too hard on myself. I wasn't "winning" and I was getting WAYYYYYYY to upset over it. I was being childish and pouting.

But, after guest judging over at Sailor & Co for her Raw E challenge, I learned how hard it was to choose a photo and how really subjective it is. There are so many photos that you love, but you can only choose one. And without "rules" its a free choice by the viewer. I'm competitive, but I just didn't realize how competitive I had gotten with these challenges.

I did learn myself a lesson with my self induced time-out. I learned that I love to share my photos. I find myself now taking photos of random things and wondering what type of challenge it can fit into. I'm much more creative with my photography now. I've still have plenty to learn, technically speaking, but I've spent some time developing, or rather letting the creative "me" come out.

Stay tuned challenge entries being posted momentarily....