Picture Everyday
by Stacey
The other day, I ran into a friend who I haven’t seen in a long time. I miss seeing her because when we do get together we talk about good books, our favorite writers and what is currently inspiring us. As soon as I saw her (in the library, of course!), I commented on how long it had been since we had talked.
She laughed and said, “Well, I feel like I see you everyday!” It turns out that she is a regular blog reader and therefore, felt like we had been visiting over her cup of morning coffee each day. And then she said something so interesting. She commented on how my pictures have changed and she wondered what I had been doing differently. At the time, I responded by telling her about the amazing photography class I had taken this fall called Picture Everyday at Big Picture Classes with the fantastic Tracey Clark.
As I was thinking back on our conversation, I realized that she may have thought that Picture Everyday was about technique. About aperture and lighting and focus. In fact, there was next to no conversation along those lines. While Tracey has plenty of knowledge in these areas, her approach to photography is much more simple. She encourages her students to truly picture the everyday. To take pictures of the simple and mundane parts of our lives for it is truly these little things that our, in fact, our lives.
In looking back through my recent pictures, I realized how much my photography has changed since taking Picture Everyday. I take pictures of things I would have walked by the month before. I have stopped to notice things that would have escaped my eye without the reminder to pay attention. I have actually signed up for Tracey’s latest class called Picture the Holidays which I am sure will be filled with much of the same goodness. Really though, I have probably already learned what I need to know.
Stop. And pay attention. It really can be that simple…
Wow, sounds like a great course and I like the sound of the holiday one. Enjoy.
It was a super fun class! I can’t wait to see what happens in the holiday one!
Great post–so timely for the holiday season when things like that can get overlooked. I love capturing the mundane. And it’s funny because I look like the crazy woman getting the shots of “nothing”. Like at my nephews’ birthday party, which was at a fire station. Of course I got the obligatory faces of kids, but I also got close-ups of the hoses, the gleam of the fire truck bell, etc. and I am sure people were wondering why I was getting those shots as well. But when I gave my sister in law the collection of photos, it far better told the story and see all of that detail that often gets overlooked in the craziness of parties (and life in general). I need to up my game though — I am in the dark about how you and others get those quotes to imprint on top of photos. Is it an app?
Kristen- I love that you take pictures of all the ‘extras’ too. It really is a totally different way to look at the world! I used http://www.picmonkey.com to create the collage above. It is free and super duper easy!!
Thank you! I’ve heard other people mention PicMonkey but I had no clue what they were referencing. I will definitely go check it out. 🙂
Love this — as always! Great job on photography — AND THE TEXT! 🙂
Thank you Kathleen!
I wish I did more of this type of photography. Reading this post makes me want to take that class. Of course, since I just signed up for the December 30 Days of Lists, my plate is probably sufficiently full for the month. I’m definitely keeping the class in mind for the future though.
Shana- I think you would love Tracey’s classes. Keep it in mind for the future!
I love it when I find out a friend reads my blog! Sometimes I feel like in just putting stuff out there into thin air, so it’s a great feeling when I hear that someone who already knows and likes me is reading! I really enjoy photography but I am pretty clueless about what I’m doing — technical stuff AND composition. I do take more photos than I used to, though, because I never know when I’ll need a picture or background for something blog related.
I always find it so funny when ‘real life’ friends read my blog! It’s like I’ve had a one sided conversation with them and I’m the one who has to catch up!
I like this post a lot, Your picture mosaic above is very nice too. I have a few of Tracey’s books and you are so right about how she teaches. I have yet to take a class by her but I do enjoy the books I have flipped through and read by her. How neat about the connection with your friend at the library.
Thanks Tracie! It was really fun to create!