A Little Contest

So normally I don't do stuff like this. But I'm giving it a try because I'm trying to work every angle I can think of to start shooting bigger shows. Meaning a show at a music club or a amphitheater vs a wings bar or pool hall. And I think I've done a good job at making some of my rock photos look like they were NOT shot at a wings bar or pool hall.

Anyway, I'm going to the Soundgarden show in a few weeks and when I was perusing their website I saw this win a chance to photograph Soundgarden. Cool!! So I checked it out and submitted a photo. Thing is, it's not really based on talent or skill but rather how many votes you get. And that's fine, I'm trying to get everyone I know to vote for my photo. It said the winner will be selected with special consideration for the top voted entries.

http://www.talenthouse.com/creativeinvites/preview/a5e306502787d53e5390a13a3c243b0d/208

The other thing is that the contest said for aspiring photographers, which to me means someone who has not had the opp to shoot a big show before. Funny how there's a LOT of entries of Soundgarden, Rush, other large acts, etc... clearly shot at an arena.

I also read the Talenthouse terms ... jees ... for real? My work becomes your property? Yeah, just this once. Sometimes these types of things really get me going. Like on Craigslist, when you see someone posting, hey design a logo for my company and if you win you'll get great exposure. Uh, yeah, how about I design your logo and you pay me for my time. Would you go into the hospital and gather a group of doctors and say, hey, cure my ailment for free and I'll tell everyone about you? Or go into the car mechanic and say fix my car and I'll let everyone know you did it? Come on now!

So anyway, it will be what it will be, but like I said I'm trying to work all angles. Maybe just maybe I'll get enough votes that whoever is selecting will see mine and be like ok, here's our Fairfax, VA winner, even if it's not the one with the most votes. Can't ever win if you never try, you know?

Day 6 - From a Low Angle

From a low angle with the iPhone. It's easier to sneak up on the cats with the iPhone:)

Day 5 - From a High Angle

From a high angle or at least a weird angle. This is some sort of plant in the garden, hubby knows what it is and I shot it from above and kind of crooked with the LensBaby. Used it for all three photo shoots I had this weekend and I'm anxious to check everything out. But this girl's gotta get some relaxation on for just a little while this weekend. So more on those later:)

Day 4 - Something Green

Something Green with a little photoshopping to accentuate the green. This is my Heart Chakra tshirt. Anahata. The energetic dwelling of our love, kindness and compassion.

Day 3 - Clouds

So today's challenge is Clouds. And there was not a cloud in the sky today. When I got home from work I chilled for a bit and then grabbed the camera to get some clouds. And all I saw was blue sky. Today was probably the most beautiful day this year. And after I finish this post I'll be heading out to the patio to hang with hubby and have a beer.

I looked and looked for some clouds and finally found the faintest, lightest, feathery wisp of a cloud way off beyond our neighborhood. But I didn't want all the neighborhood crap in the image. LensBaby to the rescue.

I bought a LensBaby composer and wide angle optic back in April and have just now started to play with it. Sad, I know. But this great little challenge has inspired me. So I grabbed the LensBaby composer and got this shot of the wispy cloud. With the neighborhood blurred out.

This challenge has me wanting to take more photos and get creative and play. And in just 3 days. I've never done a challenge before, seen plenty of them, thought about it a bunch of times. But this one caught my eye. So thanks to Caroline at Constantly Evolving whose post I read about the challenge. Love, love, love her work. And thanks to Kimberly at Human Behavior for putting it out there from a link she saw. And she's posting pics from other folks that have joined her for the challenge, like me:) I love how this whole blog, internet thing works!

This challenge also has me coming back to the whole purpose of this blog, being present with a photo everyday. And I love that.

Day 2 -What I Wore Today

Day 2 of the June 30 Day Challenge is What I Wore Today. Obviously I wore clothes to work and to teach tonight but I also wore jewelry. I wear jewelry everyday, most of it either made by me or that has some sort of gemstone with its energetic qualities.

Today included my engagement and wedding ring, which don't match and I love that. Each ring has it's own meaning and style. A big chunky ring with moonstone and garnet from Sundance. I love their jewelery and would be happy with one of everything. A moonstone pendant on a moonstone and amethyst strand that I made. Moonstone earrings that I made. And two Satya bracelets, one garnet and one smoky quartz, given to me by my friend and boss at Pure Prana. I would gladly take one of everything they have too. I'm doing a lot of moonstone right now because it's the new moon and I'm hoping wearing that stone will enhance the energy of the new moon and my intentions for it.

So while my day to day wardrobe can sometimes be fairly simple, trousers and tshirts, fun shoes (that's another days challenge) and jewelry mix it up for me.

Day 1 - Self Portrait - Post Yoga

So I've decided to do a 30 Day Photography Challenge. I've always wanted to do something like this to spur some creativity. Plus it's my birthday month, so why not do something fun.

As you can tell today's photo came from the iPhone. Let's face it, if there's even the slightest rigmarole involved with something, I'm less likely to do it. After I did yoga this evening, I was like, now would be a great time for the self- portrait. But I wasn't about to get the BC (big camera). And that's ok. Creative stuff doesn't belong just to expensive equipment. And it's not like I want to print this out and hang it on the wall. It was just capturing what was happening in the present moment.