I Can Feel It...

Spring that is.  I don't know about everyone else out there, but if you are like me you have about gone stir crazy at this point.  There have been little teases here and there that the warmer weather might be ready to take hold, only to be whisked away by another cold snap.  This Saturday, for us anyway, was really the first warm day.  It was a beautiful weekend.  Sunshine and a light breeze.  Perfect time for everyone to whip out their shorts and let the paleness blind your neighbors.

Christina and I have been working really hard lately, so she was the first to stand up and say lets go out to the Greenway!  The Greenway being a wonder system built by the town here with roughly 12 miles of path to walk around various parts of the city.  It can, and often times is, a photographers dream.  So we grabbed our cameras and set off for adventure.  Having no idea if we would find anything we set off to be one among the rest of the warm weather chasers.

We get to the park and set off with excitement.  Thinking everything would be dead we starting honing our keen eyes on anything and everything, sizing them up for photos.  I brought in a rather nice hall from the Greenway.  After having our fill for the time, we set back off to the house.

We felt just a wee bit guilty partaking in the lovely weather without our pup Java. So after a bit of a walk around the house scouring for bugs to macro, we set off to our own sanctuary near our home to see what we could find.  We also use this time to let Java run wild.  He is an energetic dog to say the least.

Warm weather + family + cameras in hand = perfection....who knew?  So here are a few of the many pictures I took as proof that Spring is coming.  Enjoy!

The Beginning

I have been into photography for several years now.  I never really got into it for monetary reasons.  It has, and will always, be something I do for therapeutic reasons.  It has always been my way of expressing that creative side of myself and a way to take my mind off of things when necessary.  I'm not the most verbal person in the world.  I think that is obvious by the lack of consistent blog posts.  Photography is a way for me to express myself when I lack the words, or the ability, to actually say something.

Over the past weekend, my wife and I got away.  Well by getaway I mean I was able to tag along with her on one of her out of town art shows.  There were three photographers setup at this show.  I admired all of their work.  They certainly deserved to be there.  It got me to thinking about selling prints of my own work.  Now mind you, I have thought about this before.  There have been several times I have said I thought I could be at one of those shows.  Then of course I always back off of that way of thinking.  I am my own worst critic and I have this horrible fear of failure/rejection.  I love my work, but what if others don't?  What if no one wants to buy anything I have?  These are the types of questions that nag at me and hold me back.

As all of these thoughts buzzed through my head, I had pulled out my phone and was about to look over my flickr stream one of Christina's friends came over.  She started talking about various things and the subject of my photography came up.  She was a fan of my work and discussed a few opportunities with me.  Then another friend of Christina's joined in and then it became a major push between the three of them.  They all encouraged me a lot.  I'm not going to lie; the thought of it all terrified me.

Since the show, I scoured my flickr page and pulled what I felt were the best of my images.  Tonight I started a facebook page for my photography.  Starting tonight, I am selling prints of my photography for those interested.  JWB Photography is officially here.  I thank everyone for their support, encouragement, guidance, and most of all pushing me to do this.  It means a lot.

Seasons of Love

Today is a special day. Yes I know, there are tons of you out there who absolutely despise this day. I was one of you. I use to be the biggest cynic on this day. I despised everything about this day and then some. All I can tell you is that it will and does get better. As long as you always have an open heart and an open mind, love always figures out a way to creep in and find you. I am one of the lucky ones. I have found a wonderful woman to share this day and my entire life with. Love always wins and it always prevails. I'm dedicating this blog post to all the hopeless romantics out there. May you find love and may love find you.

Uncage my heart, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Berry Much, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Shrooming with Love, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Porcelain Heart, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Untitled, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Strawberry Kisses, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Eternal Love, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Imaginary Friends

I love dragonflies.  I don't know what it is about them, but the fascinate me.  They are magical to me.  There I said it.  When I am in a place where I am surrounded by them, I feel like I am in some sort of fairy tale story.  They are so full of personality.  You can see them do a lot of crazy things if you watch them long enough.  There is a stretch of creek near our home that my wife and I jokingly call the sanctuary.  It is a place I like to go from time to time to just get away from the stresses of life sometimes (mostly work).  It was a discovery by my wife no less.  She found the place originally and could not wait to tell me about it.  I go there quite often as it is conveniently close to the house and I can be there and back before my lunch break is over (one of the advantages of working from home).  For someone who loves macro photography, such as myself, the sanctuary is a buggie paradise.  I have seem so many new to me insects.

Though the sanctuary is not the only treasure trove of dragonfly activity around here.  There is also a greenway nearby that our fair city constructed for joggers, walkers, and cyclists.  Taking your camera there can yield some wonderful finds as well.  I don't take my camera there as often as I would like, we generally go to the greenway for exercise.  I thought I would take the time to share a few of the shots I have of them for your enjoyment.

Daydreaming, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

I dream, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Twelve-spotted Skimmer, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Eastern Pondhawk, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Untitled, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

Hide-N-Seek, a photo by CraptasticPhotog on Flickr.

No Joy for Me in Flickr-land

Well the results are in for the first #Flickr Friday, and it would seem I came up a bit short.  However, there were some fantastic images submitted so in the end I really don't feel bad for not making the blog.  For me, I find it nice to participate in something that is a bit of a challenge.  It gets the juices flowing and actually gives me something to look forward to in meeting such a challenge.  I, like I am sure other photographers do, get a bit stale form time to time.  It just seems everything you do is awful and it always seems like you can't snap it.  The harder you try, the worse it gets.  Then something like this can come along.  Sometimes to get out of a rut, you need to shoot something not so much that you want to shoot, but have something to shoot sort of thrust upon you.  It is nice to get some subject put on you and force you to think in that box, which in a lot of ways is thinking outside your normal box.  I am really looking forward to participating in other challenges in the future.  I got a lot of enjoyment out of it.  Here is a link to the blog entry.  You should go and enjoy the selections that made the Flickr Blog.  Here are a few more shots from my photo adventure for the #Flickr Friday group for your viewing pleasure.

A Flare for the Whimsical

Today I decided it was time to go out and take some pictures.  Yesterday morning I saw that Flickr had started a new group called Flickr Friday.  The premise of the group is very simple.  You get a theme supplied to you every Friday and then you have the entire weekend to go shoot something and have it submitted before Sunday is over.  Things like this can help keep me motivated to grab the camera and go shoot.  So after dinner tonight, I hurriedly grabbed my camera and rushed over to my personal sanctuary that is right down the road from my home and searched for something to shoot.  All while losing day light and realizing I was sorely underdressed and would soon be freezing.  I got the shot though.  I give you my first entry to the group.