From the workshop…some more thoughts…

Kia ora tatou:

Some more thoughts from last weekend’s workshop…

Alan

I enjoyed the weekend at Hanmer immensely, and as a bonus I learned a lot. Both technically, thank you Tony, and about myself. It was great to be with a bunch of similarly inclined people, all probably far more talented than me, wanting to take a step further into creating images of meaning.

Tony, in his usual way, encouraged & cajoled us to take that leap out of our comfort zone into the shark-infested water boots and all. Let go! Then he told us to make a self-portrait, so on the basis that he told us that all the pictures we make are about us, and say something about us, here is mine.

I like trees, and have been making more images of them recently. I find there is something primeval and deeply symbolic about them. Many of our old legends like Robin Hood, King Arthur, etc. feature forests and trees. I have also been a fan of TLOTR since I first read the books in my early 20’s way before Peter Jackson thought of making them into movies, and of course Tolkien weaves them thus into his stories. I had made the image that is the basis of this work some weeks ago and was pleased with it, but also had a feeling that I could do more with it still although I did not yet know quite how, therefore I had left it waiting in the back of my mind to revisit later.

On Saturday night after we all left the pub Roger & I decided to try some night shots and wandered around the centre of Hanmer trying various things. After finishing that I looked up at the sky and thought that it might be worth getting up early in the morning to try some sunrise shots. Sure enough it was a clear morning when I woke up so feeling inspired off I went out of town to catch the early light. One of these is the other main part of this image.

After I had returned home on Sunday night and sat down to look at what I had captured the pieces started to fall into place. Looking down the pathway between the trees I started to make out some sort of hidden figure at the very far end. Was this something I was heading towards, or away from? Maybe that will come later. The colours of the sunrise seemed to represent the new ideas I had picked up over the weekend, seeping up out of the darkness. A bit of blending and masking (yes you can mask in Elements Tony…) some adjustment layers and the basis was quickly there. To anchor the bottom I copied some of Tolkien’s runes.

What does it say about me? I’m not even sure I want to know…

Brian

….a wonderful weekend.

I feel personally that I have grown within myself.

The Self Portrait.

It was interesting to revisit this subject after two years have passed. I first did this at a Seeing with my Own I workshop. Time has passed and I have changed some of my thought processes and aims. That workshop had a profound effect on me. I began to look at what I was doing photographically and how I was approaching my subjects.

My passion is still the South Island of NZ Landscape, but of late I have begun to explore some other areas.

So, here it is. Me at the moment. Subject to change…..

I have felt that for the last seven years I have been at a brick wall, but it has now changed to a cross road, waiting at a Give Way sign for the traffic to clear. As you can see, the arrow is protruding into the intersection, giving me, the shadow, an indication I can now proceed to somewhere down the road… But is is still a cross road and the direction is a little hazy. I am testing the water. The junk behind me, the shadow, (sounds like a comic book character!) is stuff that seemed to entangle me. What it is, I am unsure, and I feel it is now behind me. My reflection, well that is me, still a little uncertain, but ready to move on. The church in the background represents part of the foundations in my life. Interestingly, the Pastor of that church was my Bible Class Leader in my youth. Hmmm..

For me, my past experiences are reflected in who I am, and I know what I am becoming aware of will shape my future.

There were a couple of moments in the weekend which were real ‘yes!!!” moments for me. Loud penny dropping noises.

Thank you Tony for sharing your time, images and thoughts with us all. Thanks to the others on the Workshop. For all your insights and experiences.

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Published on Thursday, April 22nd, 2010, under Thinking about Photography and Art, Workshops and Seminars