Moving Pictures

Hi-dee-hi, Blitz Pack! Everybody thinking about the Poe/Pho Project? ("Poetry/Photo" for those who are joining the class late.) We'll have that Facebook page set up for posts in a couple of days, so start working on them. We're anxious to look at some new pics! Speaking of which...

Think back a couple of days. Remember how we told you to start looking at pictures for inspiration? Well, one category was left out: Film. Movies. The Grand Cinema! Or as they used to be called, "Moving Pictures".

Yes, back in the day, all movies were actually shot on big, huge, gigantic reels of film. A series of consecutive, still images that were projected onto a screen, giving the viewer an illusion of continuity. But, in reality, they were a series of separate images. Just like what we shoot with our still cameras.

Even though "films" are mainly shot digitally nowadays, the basic idea is the same: a stream of moving images are presented to a viewer. So it stands to reason that viewing a well-shot movie is good PhotoBlitzing inspiration.

This brings me to The Banff Mountain Film Festival, which I caught on Thursday night. The fest, sponsored by National Geographic (the heavyweights of PhotoBlitzing) is basically a touring short film exhibit, which travels around the world, exhibiting some of the most awesome outdoor flicks you will see. The San Gorgonio Wilderness Association sponsored the tour's Redlands, CA stop. Eight short films, ranging from four minutes to forty-five, were shown that evening. Were they any good?

OH, YEAH! They were so cool! Not only were the films beautifully shot, but I was totally inspired by the ingenuity and courage of the film subjects. Though the flicks highlighted different sports, the athletes and adventurers themselves demonstrated so much talent, I sat there just thinking of how I could bring that sort of passion and excitement to what I'm doing. See, it's not about what people do, but about how they do it. These folks were committed to their callings and just went for it. One of the films that showed how a crazy idea could be brilliantly life-changing was, "Take a Seat". It chronicled the adventure of a young guy from Britain who decided it might be fun to ride a tandem bike from the top of Alaska, aaaaalllllll the way down to the bottom of Chile. Wow. Really? Oh, indeed. It was an epic quest and it was A-MAZ-ING. It's the kind of thing that helps you find the ooomph to begin, or continue, your own epic quest with a huge shot of energy. And that is what the best moving pictures do.

Click here to check out where the Banff Mountain Film Festival will appear. Hasta later, Blitzers. I'm going to sleep!

Happy National Poetry Month!

"Where am I standing, if I'm
to stand still now?"

(from The Broken Sandal by Denise Levertov)

Greetings and salutations, Blitzers! In honor of National Poetry Month, we've come up with a special project for you. ('Cause why should we have to do all the work?) Here it is: Take an awesome photo to illustrate a line from a poem, or, -- if you wanna get really crazy -- an entire poem. (Whoa! You are on fuego!) Have it ready because our Facebook page will soon be set up. Then we'll let you know when you can post your project on the Wall. Thrilling, isn't it? Oh, yeah. So get thee to a library and find a poem with all speed! (Or just check out the Poets.Org site by the Academy of American Poets to look one up.) Have fun!

We Like Books With Lots of Pictures

We like pictures.

Photographs, paintings, pen & ink drawings,...you name it, we'll study it. I particularly like magazine photography. (Ready Made and Budget Travel are two of my faves.) Tim enjoys fine art and photography. (Big David Hockney fan.) What do you pore over? Ads? Fine photography magazines? Goodnight, Moon? Great! It's excellent food for the PhotoBlitzing brain. All good visual art will help you develop a sense of design, color, composition, and your own aesthetic. So, if you haven't been studying pics, you should start. Start now, in fact.

How was that? Did that trigger a little tickle in your brain? How about this?

Okay, granted, these are just our own photos. And our stuff isn't hanging in the Getty or gracing the pages of Vanity Fair. Still, it's not a bad idea to look at other people's pics. See what they're doing. See what they're not doing. Then look at your own work and see if there's something you can apply -- or, avoid like the plague. Also, you must check out the work of renowned photogs and professionals. Really study their pics. (Hint: They're great for a reason.)

Sound like work? Nah! It's fun! You won't even need the reading glasses. And all this study will help you. Almost magically. Because these images will sneak in and lodge themselves in your gray matter, influencing your photo chops, to whatever level you decide to advance. They will increase your ability to "see", in a mental/visual sense. (Though you'll probably still need reading glasses. It's not that magical.) The result: You may find you like a certain perspective. You may decide you want to try a different style. You may ask yourself, how do I work this? You may ask yourself, am I right, am I wrong? You may say to yourself, my god, what have I done? [Note to self: don't blast Talking Heads while writing.] Anyway, the point is this: You will find your own vision by looking at the visions of others.

Thanks to our friend, John "Danger" Mills, of Capture the Moment, for suggesting this article from the Digital Photography School: How I Use Inspiration Shots from Other Photographers. It's a short piece by Elizabeth Halford on, well, just what the title says. Read it. Then go look at pictures.

Letting the days go by, into silent water, Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground...