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À La Carte Taking Better Photographs ...

Shoot A Project

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

by Steve Marshall

Are most of your photographs similar to most of your other photographs?

You can change what you are photographing by going to different places or deliberately choosing different subjects. And one way you can stretch your photography is by focusing on one area – one photography project. This does not have to be exclusive. Not all your photography has to

be focused on the project, but enough to ensure it makes you work at it.

The subject could be almost anything. It could be a series of similar subjects from teapots to churches, from shoes to skyscrapers. It could be scenes from a regular walk or journey, or the same place every day or week. It could be a deliberate documentary record of something, perhaps a place or person.

It could be people – yourself, your partner, your neighbours or unknown people in the street. And a word of caution. Copyright laws in France are not the same as in the UK. In the UK if you are in a public place you can photograph anything you can see. In France if the subject of your photograph is a person then strictly you need their permission, and they have a right to require you to delete any images of them. And you should be particularly careful about photographing children – however innocent your motives others may assume differently.

Other possibilities include – pets, birds or animals, objects in your home, a particular form of water – such as mirror surfaces or when it is moving, historic buildings, empty roads, a sport, hands, activities such as someone cooking or working, food, documenting your day, gardening and gardens – both full shots and close up, reflections, black & white, a particular colour, clouds, shots through windows,

doors, dawn and dusk, patterns, night-time, and the list goes on for ever.

I suggest shooting a project because it is all too easy to leave your camera unused, especially with lockdowns and masks and that there is always too else much to do.

A project makes you take photographs. A project also helps you break the habit of just taking photographs because something looks nice. It is easy to stroll along, see something, raise camera, take shot and move on. It is harder and more productive if you have an aim in mind, an intention. A project makes you look at your own photographs and try and work out what you could do with a particular subject.

Because everyone has a camera in their phone the number of photographs being taken has increased enormously. They seem to fall into three broad categories. The first is the traditional snapshot, the record of a person at a time, a particular event or place. The second is the recent growth of providing evidence that you were at a place or event or with someone, often defined by the selfie. And the third is where what matters is the image – not the person or the place but the shape and structure and colour and composition of an image.

A project pushes you toward the last of these. The results do not have to be nice or pretty or safe. They might be but they do not have to be.

The project illustrated in these photographs came about by accident. I had been taking photographs with some friends in Parthenay and realised I had a variety of shots of doors and windows. This evolved into collecting images on the broader subject of ‘entrances and exits’. This allowed gates and paths and stairways also to be included.

The grey stone of many local buildings drew me to reduce the colour saturation in some pictures. And the vibrancy of foliage and sky pulled me to emphasize the colour in others.

These are a mixture of DSLR pictures and mobile phone shots followed by some relatively gentle editing.

Some are very much taken in a moment because the natural light worked for me. Others were considered more than once and taken when the colours seemed right, even if I subsequently desaturated them.

A project does not need to be long term but I think it works best if it is something you do not regularly shoot. You chose a new subject and set a goal of at least a dozen and see where it takes you.

If you would like to meet some fellow photographers please drop me a line at stevemarshall128@gmail.com

Do you fancy having your picture published here?

I am considering writing a column or two on portrait photography and thought this would work best with a model.

If you would be interested in being a model for this then please get in touch on stevemarshall128@gmail.com and we can discuss what could work for us both.

Taking the stress out of Christmas

by Catherine Bailey

It really is just one day out of the year but preparing for Christmas can take days or weeks, especially if you are the host. This festive day of celebration spent with family and friends is supposed to be joyful, but it can become extremely stressful if you put too much pressure on yourself. Don’t get caught up with what we are told Christmas holidays are supposed to be like and how you’re supposed to feel. With a little forethought and some detailed planning, your Christmas Day will be more enjoyable for your guests and give you time to enjoy both the preparations and the day itself.

Keep your expectations modest.

Don’t try to live up to that picture-perfect greeting card, it isn’t real! We’re conditioned to have a certain vision of Christmas based on nostalgia that has been used to sell literature, advertising and social media to name just a few. We are under pressure to do more, buy more, decorate more, give more, eat more. More lights, more glitter must mean more joy, when in reality there is potentially more stress and more disappointment if you feel like you’re not living up to it all.

Give yourself a break.

Worrying about trivial matters will not add to your festive spirit. Don’t run yourself ragged just to live up to Christmas traditions. Is it the end of the world if you don’t get the lights on the roof this year or use those special Christmas mugs hiding in the loft? If you always get anxious in the run up to the festive season, maybe this year is the time to set some realistic boundaries.

Say No to the things you don’t want to do.

This can really help you to enjoy everything else. You don’t have to say yes to every invitation. Going to a party doesn’t mean you are obliged to stay until the end. It’s okay to just drop by and stay for a while. The hosts will understand that it’s a busy time of year and appreciate your effort. Talk to a friend and arrange to arrive and leave together, you may feel much better knowing you have an ally and a set time to spend. People often feel obliged to keep family Christmas traditions alive long past the point that anyone’s actually enjoying them. Don’t keep them going for their own sake. Think about starting new traditions instead, something that is more meaningful to you and your family now.

Talk about money.

This is a difficult point but it’s not a taboo subject. Others are probably feeling the same way but no one wants to bring it up! One idea is to suggest a Secret Santa approach, agree a budget that everyone is happy with and spend the time choosing the right personal gift for your allocated

name; perhaps the family could agree to only buy presents for the children. Please remember that the value of the gift is not a sign of how much you care for your loved ones!

Make a Christmas budget and stick to it.

By creating boundaries for your spend you can help reduce the stress as you have a plan for your money. Budgeting for Christmas will help you avoid the impulse purchases or spending too much on those white elephant gifts. There’s nothing worse than waking up the day after Christmas worrying where your money went. Plan ways to reduce spending, do you really need any new decorations or tableware. Set time limits too – by making a quick visit to the shops there is less time for temptation. Take only a fixed sum of money with you and leave your credit cards at home. Even if you are tempted to buy more than you planned, your limited budget will stop you. Visit only those stores you need to, don’t get distracted by beautiful shop windows displaying goods you don’t really need.

Don’t cook what you don’t need.

Don’t just make something because you feel you should. If no-one eats the bread sauce why have it on the table. If the family recipe takes forever- find an easier alternative. Keep in mind you don’t have to do everything. Pick and choose which parts of the meal to toil over, then go ahead and cut corners elsewhere by buying ready-made. Leftovers are one of the best parts of Christmas indulging, but as a host you don't want to be left with too much food. Put together some containers, paper plates and plastic bags so that after dinner leftovers can be portioned equally and handed to guests as they leave. Everyone will end up with some food to-go, and you’ll have less to clean up at the end of the day.

Go easy on the wrapping.

We all love a tree surrounded by beautifully wrapped gifts but the additional elaborate bows and ribbons are just going to be thrown away and there is also the environmental cost to be considered. If your gathering is small, you could even forgo the name tags, perhaps using colour-coded wrapping paper for each person. Festive wrappings can be expensive, if you have the time and expertise try making your own labels and wrapping. There are plenty of on-line sites to help you personalize your presents. If you can sew, buy some fabric and make Christmas bags which can be reused. Be original and save yourself a little extra cash.

Look after yourself.

Do the little things that set the atmosphere like putting up the decorations with a little Christmas music. Get out the Christmas oils and candles in the winter spiced fragrances, our sense of smell is the strongest sense and the one most tied to memory and emotion. Don’t forget that while you may feel like all the pressure is on you, your friends and family all want to share the day with you. It’s okay to ask for help with the cooking, washing up or even ask them to bring some pre-made food and snacks. As much as you can, try to keep your normal routine during the Christmas season. Don’t stay too late at parties. Don’t stay up all night wrapping presents at the last moment, losing out on sleep can make your mood deteriorate. Remember to get outside in the fresh air and move. Exercising offers the body a way to process and release stress hormones and being in nature is important for both our emotional and physical health. Take the family on your own Christmas lights walking tour Anything is better than nothing! Being ill at Christmas is the absolute worst—but exercising, getting outside, and resting are all immune-boosting activities that will help you feel strong, peaceful and healthy.

Above all, appreciate the festive period, spend time with loved ones and actually just have a great time over your holidays. As the great song says “have yourself a merry little Christmas” but be glad it doesn’t happen every day!