Best Shot(s) Monday--Trying New Things

One of the challenges as a photographer (and for any artist for that matter) is trying new things so that you don't get bored. And lately, I must admit that I HAVE been bored. So this week, like I posted over on Shutter Sisters yesterday, I decided to break a few of my own rules. Like in the photo you see above. For one thing, it's not in vibrant color. It's also got a bit of grain to it, which is something I normally try to avoid in my photos. And it's just a tad blurry. I don't have a problem w/ blur, but usually when I go for blur, I make it clear that I was going for blur so you wouldn't think it was just cuz I couldn't keep my camera still. I basically cranked up the ISO to 800 (which is high for me), shot in a moving car at night, and didn't worry about it. And you know what? There's something about that photo that I really love.

And here's another one taken about the same time through the back window of the car. Normally, I wouldn't have put the back windshield wiper in the frame, nor would I have taken a photo through such a dirty window, but I think those elements add a genuine dynamic to the photo that I really like.

In this photo, I totally chopped off the dude's head, and that wouldn't have been a normal choice for me for a shot that was framed w/ so much empty space. But it totally works for me and makes the image that much more interesting to not know what the musician's face looks like.

It was another busy weekend, and I'll leave the recap to another post, but it was really exciting for me to take photos in new ways, pushing past my comfort zone, and ending up with images that I just absolutely love, regardless of whether other people will "get it" too.

Don't forget to go see more folk's Best Shot's on Tracey's Mother May I.

Breaking the Rules on Shutter Sisters

I've got a new post up on Shutter Sisters called Break the Rules. Go check it out if you have a chance. Hopefully, I'll get my act together for tomorrow's Best Shots post.

P.S. That shot is of Cadence at Nichols Park in Hyde Park on the South Side. We were in the neighborhood Friday night for a benefit show.

Stuff I've Failed to Mention in the Past Couple Weeks

#1--I had a new post up on Shutter Sisters the beginning of the month. You can see all my past posts on Shutter Sisters by clicking here. I post every 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month, so I'll have another one up this Sunday.

#2--I got to see the band Frisbie at the Taste on the 4th of July while Cadence and I were on our mini-vacation. This was a big accomplishment for me as it was actually on my list of things to do that day. I almost missed them because they played 45 minutes earlier than I thought they were scheduled to. Luckily, I was foraging for food near the stage around the time they started playing, and I recognized their music right away and hurried over there. Cadence fell asleep after the first song, so I shot the entire set of photos sitting down at a table with Cadence in my left arm, and shooting w/ my zoom lens with my right.

#3--I took some really fun photos while on our mini-vacation. There was so much to see. I'll spare you the clicking to Flickr with a Pictobrowser (sorry if you can't see this in your feed):

#4--I made Cadence a new dress. It flippin' ROCKS. This was a t-shirt Ted used to wear back when we first started dating. It doesn't fit any more. Now it's a dress.

#5--Last last Saturday (the 5th), I had the honor of photographing The Maplewood Summer Olympics. Cadence was in the medal round for the Short Jump at one point. It's really harder than it sounds, even when you're half the size of everyone else. Lots of craziness ensued that night, including a bit of a SNAFU involving Cadence and vodka watermelon, but it's all good. Again, I'll resort to good old Picto to paint the picture:

#6--Cadence and I went to the Shedd Aquarium last Monday with my our friends Amy (the mom), Rudden and Jack. We had fun, but Cadence did run out the door with a stuffed penguin at one point (because I wouldn't buy it for her) and there were at least a couple major meltdowns. We survived, though. Fortunately, Amy is one of those friends who I know won't judge us in the present or hold this against us in the future.

#7--The day after Ted came home, we had a BBQ at our friend Yvonne's whose condo building has this ginormous patio overlooking their private beach. We really like Yvonne's neighbors and friends, so it was a good time. I had fun taking photos of the kids, and the lake and sky were just gorgeous.

#8--So the exhibit and Wicker Park Grace's Rent Party fundraiser were on Saturday. I got lucky that Tim V., who is active at WPG, was there on Saturday during the day when I came in to hang my photos. Tim is an artist and has a lot of gallery experience, so he basically put all my photos up for me.

I was surprised by how many people showed up, including folks who never let on that they would be there, like my friend Denise and her son Zachary. My brother brought a whole contingent from his church. All in all, the evening was a success. Lots of folks showed up to raise money for WPG, and I sold 4 frames prints from the exhibit and 2 more in the silent auction and received orders for a few more. Considering I had 15 pieces total, I'd say that was a pretty good night. Thanks to everyone who came out or who sent me notes of congrats or helped pick photos for the exhibit. I don't think my photography could have come this far without all the support I've gotten from you all.

And that will be my last Pictobrowser for this post. Those are the photos from Saturday night. Alright. I think that's quite enough for one post.

Oh, wait. One more thing. I've started a daily photoblog on my new website. This will be mainly about the photo and not so much about life in general, and most of the photos will be non-Cadence related. Some of the photos will be from the archives--stuff I never had a chance to post here but really liked and want to talk about. If you're interested in hearing me talk just about my photos, you can check it out.

New Online Digs And Other Exciting News

Apparently, putting together a photo exhibit in a matter of DAYS wasn't enough of a challenge for me, so I decided to create a new website as well. Here it is, folks: www.sarah-ji.com. This will be my photography site, and not so much a blog. There will be a blog that will focus on more of my artsy photos, but I probably won't be doing too much talking over there. Oh, and the reason I HAD to design a new website? Because I decided to print up interim business cards to have available on Saturday at the opening/fundraiser. Ted just approved the proofs at Kinko's, so I should have them by tomorrow.

So do you all remember this photo I took a couple weeks ago, the day before Ted left on tour? I happened to enter it into a photo contest on photographer MeRa Koh's blog, and I got chosen as one of the finalists! You can vote on the best photo on MeRa's blog here. And for the record, I'm not soliciting votes for myself. I was more excited about the nice things MeRa had to say about the photo as well as her kind mention of Shutter Sisters. I will totally respect you if you don't vote for me, and in fact I will be happy that you feel secure enough in our relationship to vote for what you REALLY think is the best photo.

Anyhoo, I found out that this photo was also printed in last week's print edition of the Chicago Reader. They told me they were going to print it, but I didn't know it would be so soon, so I didn't pick up a copy. If anyone has an extra one lying around, let me know! It was the daily photo on their web version on Friday June 27th.

Also, this photo was featured on Gapers Block's Rearview last Thursday, and it was the Daily Photo on Chicago Public Radio's website on July 1st. So it's made the rounds of the Chicago media sources I like to frequent, which is cool.

There been so much going on, and I always feel bad when I fall so behind on updating around here, but that's the way it goes for now. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

My First Photo Exhibit!

I've been so busy that I forgot to tell you all that I've got my first photo exhibit opening this Saturday. It's not a formal gallery show, but it's in the space for Wicker Park Grace which is a cool lofty building in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area. They're doing a fundraiser Rent Party with live music, food and drinks for $15 this Saturday in their space at the Acme Building at 1741 N. Western at 8pm. My photos are going to liven up the space for the event and stay up for another month or so. Two of them will be sold in the silent auction, and the rest (another dozen maybe) will be up for sale with 50% of sales going to benefit Wicker Park Grace.

You can read more about it here.

Also, if you'd like to give input on which photos should be included in the exhibit or auction, please go to my Flickr account and leave your comments. If you don't have a Flickr account, you can always email me at shutterbugmama[dot]com[at]gmail[dot]com. I've narrowed down the selection to a couple dozen (thanks to those of you who've already commented, by the way).

Like I said, it's been really busy around here, but the most important part is that Ted's back home. Yay!

And here he is looking more like a trucker than ever. And proud of it, too.