Expectations.



This is one word that can garner a lot of feelings.  This past week one of my photographer friends was lamenting about where the supporters were for his exhibition.  It got me thinking back to when I had my studio and gallery and I wondered the same thing when I had shows.  I could relate as so often the turn out for photography shows at our gallery were always less well attended then for the painters or sculptors. So I started wondering, what are our expectations of others.

 

We all have a need for recognition and attention and when we get praise for our work it feels good.  Often we expect this to translate into support when we put all the effort and money into having an exhibition.  We not only want people to come to view our work, but hope to sell pieces to cover the cost associated with such an endeavour. It can feel like a slap in the face when this does not happen.

 

But is this a realistic expectation?  With all the images created these days it is hard to know what someone will purchase and to find the true collectors. It has always been the case with art and is even more difficult with photography. Perhaps we have to analyze why we show our work first.

 

This can be difficult as we have our expectations on ourselves.  We want to have success, to earn a living and then some.  Showing that we have a vision or talent can be a driving factor in producing our work and the use of the internet and social media allow one to do so.  This is where I feel we have to look at why we do it.

 

For me I have reached a point where I just want to enjoy and create and hope that others enjoy.  It would be nice to earn some income and sell my photographs in one form or another, but I choose not to expect anything at this time.  I do my photography for myself and when I start doing it as a business again I plan to find a model that I feel comfortable with.  Till then I will share and enjoy with no expectations.

 

Here are my photo's of the day from the last 10 days.

 

January 31.  I found this old process lens as I was organizing some of my camera equipment.  I held it up and was able to focus the ceiling light on the wall.  I might try to build a Camera Obscura with it this summer.



February 1.  I shot this photo during one of the classes I teach at SAIT. Andrew had an interesting look with his hat and even as I took the shot I know it would work best as a black and white.

When I returned home my boy's wanted me to take them to the field to play in the snow.  Here they are making a snow chair.

February 2.  The fifth photo in my Sunday Self-portrait series.  I took one of our drinking glasses and held it over my lens.  I adjusted the focus to be on the bottom of the glass and then sat in front of it at about an arms length.  By looking at the base of the glass I was able to figure out the position for my face.

Earlier that day I noticed the shadows of the house plants being cast on the drapes I liked the look and took this photo.

February 3.  On a cold evening I took a quick walk looking for something to photograph and was attracted once again to the neon lights of the Galaxie Diner.

I returned to St. Stephens Anglican church to wait for Cool to wrap up his choir practice.  There was a large bouquet of flowers and I was attracted to the lilies. I pulled one out and just using the available light raised my ISO to 3200 so I could get a fast enough shutter speed to hand hold and then a fairly wide aperture to work with the depth of field.

February 4.  It was one of those long days where it was late and I needed a shot to keep the string intact.  I looked up on one of the shelves and saw these two bowling figurines.  Shot with the 7D and A high ISO and shallow depth of field gave the look I wanted.

February 5.  We had fun with the basic lighting class at SAIT this evening.  Here I had Dani do some leaps and I got down low to help give the illusion of a high jump.

I finished with a nice, dramatic head shot of this lovely lady.

We also had Kendyl come in on  the other side and she had a real classical look.  I created this simple portrait which I like a lot.

February 6.  I had my seniors bring their pets in so we can use them to work with as subjects.  I wanted to work with available light, in this case some large windows with the blinds down.  I did this as I knew my seniors would not have access to other lights so I wanted them to learn how to work with natural light sources.

February 7.  In celebration of the first day of the Sochi Winter Olympics I took one of the mini team Canada Jerseys and held it up in front of the light in my office.  Using the iPhone and then just turning the jersey till I got the shadowing just right on the jersey.

February 8.  I attended the opening of one of my friends of his photography show at Framed on Fifth.  I saw the reflection of two of the people who were attending the event in the front window and included the light switch in the composition to establish a sharp focal point that sets the scene.

February 9.  Week 6 in my Sunday self-portrait series.  I have been wanting to play with the GoPro Hero 3 I received recently.  Knowing it had a very wide angle of view I wanted to create this shot of myself in my office. I was very impressed with the quality of the photo even in low light conditions.