Swan Dive Wrap Up

1. Ladybug, 2. Rise Up, 3. Apparition, 4. Twilight, 5. In This Moment, 6. Picket Fence, 7. Broken Mirror, 8. rebel, 9. Once, 10. Autumn Afternoon, 11. Song of the Sea, 12. Perspective, 13. Alone With Yourself, 14. Urban landscape, 15. 1000 fishes, 16. By My Hand, 17. Heart of Winter, 18. Indiana Jones, 19. Meditation, 20. The Vigil

Hello! Hello! I have meant to write a wrap-up post about Swan Dive for a few days now. That got sidelined for a couple days as I was suffering (the operative word being suffering) from silent migraines for a couple days. They seem to have settled down today, so here I am.

Anyway, Swan Dive wrapped up about a week ago. I feel like I learned so much about post processing in this class. I had no idea all the wonderful ways I could manipulate my photos to make them into something special. It's like equivalent of mixed media but in digital form.

At the beginning of class, I felt a bit of a pull towards being a purist (meaning I felt like a good photo should speak for itself, with very little editing except for perhaps cropping and colour correction) but I felt that in order to get the most out of this class, I needed to push past that. Fortunately, by the second week, I began to see the merit of experimenting. As the weeks wore on, I became a convert. The potential to be creative and to transform images, using the same aesthetic I use for mixed media work was what got me hooked. I realized that my creative voice translates well to this medium.

As I've said before, I am continually surprising myself. I feel like this is the year I've grown the most as an artist. I feel like I've really immersed myself in taking risks, putting myself out there and making an effort to capture and create work that really reflects who I am and what I love. The pay off for showing up for myself and doing the work has been huge-it's been so deeply satisfying.

The images I've share in the mosaic above are almost all the ones I created in this class. (There were alot and not all would fit!) If you want to see them larger, just click on the photo names to see the originals. 

Vivienne just sent out her newsletter and there's a new Light Hunters: Getting Through the Grey starting in early December. Here's the scoop:

"A second Light Hunters adventure is running this winter, called Light Hunters: Getting through the Grey which is inspired by my pacific northwest rainy winters!  Each Monday for the months of December, January and February you will find an inspiring post in your inbox packed full of inspiration and learning to keep you creating and taking photographs in a season when you might normally find yourself feeling uninspired."

 Winters on the west coast of Canada are typically wet and grey which is good if you're a duck, but not so good if you're wanting to get out and shoot. (Photos, that is, not ducks!) I am going to sign up for Getting Through the Grey. It looks like I will be ending this year the way it begun-learning, growing, documenting and creating. Sounds good to me!