{"id":2179,"date":"2011-11-10T23:01:01","date_gmt":"2011-11-11T04:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/?p=2179"},"modified":"2022-05-29T08:17:12","modified_gmt":"2022-05-29T13:17:12","slug":"706-guest-post","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/2011\/11\/10\/706-guest-post\/","title":{"rendered":"#706 Guest Post – Ottawa Valley’s Kevin Foisy on our Photo Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"
Tweet<\/a><\/div>\n
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Today we have a guest blogger – Kevin Foisy<\/a> – who is exhibiting “Love Through the Lens<\/a>” at our photo studio, Ottawa Studio Works<\/a>, November 25th, 2011.<\/p>\n

Kevin writes:<\/p>\n

“Become a Better Photographer through Sharing.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

We are taught as children to share with others but when it comes to our photos, we sometimes cringe at the thought of it.\u00a0 A photograph is a reflection of the photographer; by sharing, we expose a part of ourselves that might be a bit uncomfortable.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat if they think it\u2019s terrible?\u201d<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>\u201cMy work isn\u2019t good enough,” \u201cOther people\u2019s work is so much better.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These and many other thoughts go through our minds before we take the plunge to start sharing our work on a regular basis.<\/em><\/p>\n

I can remember when I first started sharing.\u00a0 I would email a picture out to a few friends here and there.\u00a0 To my surprise, they were quite kind and offered valuable feedback.\u00a0 I started to see my work through other people\u2019s eyes, learning that everyone has their own perspective, likes and tastes.\u00a0 Other people see my work differently than I do and are generally very kind.<\/em><\/p>\n

With time, I was encouraged to broaden my list of friends and so I scoured through my address book and invited many others.\u00a0 The more people that I added, the better, fuller, richer the experience became.\u00a0 It\u2019s one of the things that I really love about photography \u2026 the sharing and the feedback.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Kevin<\/em>

Kevin Foisy - recent photo work<\/p><\/div>\n

Most of us have stared up in awe at the sprinkled field of twinkling stars that lights a moonless night. In this image, I wanted to capture the sense of spirituality of man and the universe around us, and the idea of these being one, as is claimed by Noetic scientists.\u00a0The image is titled, “Man and the Universe.”\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, how exactly does it make you a better photographer?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The process of sharing invokes more thinking around the photos you\u2019re sharing.\u00a0 It encourages you to tell a story about the photo.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why did I take it?\u00a0 What does it mean to me?\u00a0 What do I see in it?<\/em><\/p>\n

When you share, you are forced to think about these things and that practice makes you better.\u00a0 Soon, you are thinking about these things\u00a0before\u00a0you take the photo instead of after and that leads you to being a better photographer.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/address>\n

As your list grows, you become very aware that what you send out is representative of your work.\u00a0 Soon, you find yourself striving for better and better images.\u00a0 You critique your own work with greater detail when you know that many people will view it.\u00a0 Things that would have passed before, will not pass now \u2026 but that\u2019s ok because you\u2019ll find yourself producing better and better images.<\/em><\/p>\n

There is another bonus! \u00a0Your fans will be there when you are ready to step to the next level with shows and print sales.\u00a0 You now have a following of people that know your work and are excited to see it presented, displayed and celebrated – please <\/em>visit my upcoming show and print sale<\/em><\/a> at Ottawa Studio Works!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen my work is good enough, I\u2019ll start sharing it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I have friend that is a pro photographer; he\u2019s been published in many magazines and has been shooting most of his life.\u00a0 He recently said, \u201cNobody will want to buy my work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

You will never feel that your work is good enough!\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t matter what level you are at.\u00a0 We always look up at the work of others and feel that our work is less and hence, \u201cNot good enough.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s only through sharing that you will start to realize that your work\u00a0is\u00a0good enough.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/address>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Kevin<\/em>

Kevin Foisy - recent photo work<\/p><\/div>\n

The fall colours are warm and vibrant but none that I have seen match the incredible vibrant reds of the burning bush. \u00a0While most leaves have settle to the ground, this bush stands out as though it is on fire. \u00a0Today, it was further\u00a0saturated by rain droplets that settled on these fiery leaves.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, where do I start?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

There are several ways to start.\u00a0 The first and easiest is to start with an email list.\u00a0 Create a group in your email program and add your friends to the list.\u00a0 It\u2019s a good idea to ask permission first because not everyone wants to receive pictures.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

As you become more confident, grow your list by adding more friends and colleagues.\u00a0 Ask your friends if they have friends that would like to be on the list.\u00a0 Before you know it, your list starts getting pretty large.\u00a0 When the list grows large enough, you could consider using a hosted service like Google Groups, or Yahoo Groups.\u00a0 I recently switched to\u00a0<\/em>GroupSpaces<\/em>\u00a0which allows people to sign up to join my list and to also unsubscribe.\u00a0 This allows the list to \u201cgrow in the wild\u201d so to speak.<\/em><\/p>\n

Facebook is a great way to share your work too.\u00a0 I have a friend that is an amazing sculptor.\u00a0 He shares pictures of his work on Facebook and I love seeing what he\u2019s working on.\u00a0 Your friends will feel the same way about your photos.<\/em><\/p>\n

Use a blog.\u00a0 It\u2019s free and it\u2019s simple to setup with with Blogger or WordPress.\u00a0 These offer a great way to share and to keep a history of your work.\u00a0 I post my blogs to <\/em>my\u00a0website<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and to\u00a0<\/em>blogger<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Kevin<\/em>

Kevin Foisy - recent photo work<\/p><\/div>\n

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After a late evening of printing and preparing works for the show later this month, I rose before the sun and headed out to capture the world as the sun rises. \u00a0A very cold night resulted in fabulous frost formations. \u00a0An hour later, my toes were frozen and fingers numb, but I had captured an exciting sequence of shots. In this shot, long crystals of ice cling to these tiny twigs. \u00a0To the passerby, this is a mere coating of frost. \u00a0To the close observer, these micro crystals form shapes that resemble a spruce tree.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut I already share my photos on Flickr.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Flickr, Picasa, SmugMug and others offer great places to setup galleries where you can share your work.\u00a0 Though these are good, my preference is still the \u2018photo a week\u2019 type publication where you\u2019re actively reaching out to people.\u00a0 Having a gallery is great but it doesn\u2019t develop your skills in the same way that a reach-out type activity does.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now go take your favourite photo from the past week and share it! \u00a0Good luck and I hope to see your photos!<\/em><\/p>\n

________<\/p>\n

Thanks Kevin!<\/p>\n

Join Kevin’s photo of the week email list<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Visit Kevin’s upcoming exhibition<\/a> November 25th at Ottawa Studio Works <\/a>– 160 Preston St, Ottawa!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tweet Today we have a guest blogger – Kevin Foisy – who is exhibiting “Love Through the Lens” at our photo studio, Ottawa Studio Works, November 25th, 2011. Kevin writes: “Become a Better Photographer through Sharing. We are taught as Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[91,106,6,76],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2179"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6195,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2179\/revisions\/6195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.harrynowell.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}