Thinking outside the box.

Not to belabor the point, but right now I have to stay around the house, to take care of my wife. She is improving well, but it will likely be a few months before I am free to go spend time on outings. I have recently gotten back into photography, and want to take pictures, I have lots of time on my hands, but am, for the most part tied to the house. I am comfortable with going out in the yard for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, but longer trips have to be coordinated with my daughter, and right now I am saving those for necessary trips.

Anyway, I was watching some Youtube videos from the Photographic Eye. The ones I watched yesterday talked about looking at everyday objects that most would completely ignore as subjects. His approach is to look at them in new ways and find striking images based upon shape, texture and color. This is something I have been learning from my daughter, as she has a natural tendency to shoot like this. I've always been a more conventional photographer, and so my pictures have usually been more run of the mill. This is what led me to give up the hobby, years ago.

So I went out in the back yard and started looking at some objects with an eye towards making some interesting images from mundane subjects close to hand. I had some limited success, and thought it might make an interesting discussion and exercise here on the forum. I will post the three best of the handful of images I took and invite honest criticism, good, bad, indifferent. The point is to learn and grow, not stroke egos.

I would also encourage some of you to try this exercise for yourself and report back, and post your own results. Here is the link to one of the videos, if you want to watch that before trying it out, or just for your information.


This is an old cast iron lapping plate. It came first to mind when thinking about this exercise. I like the shapes and textures. Thinking about scattering some leaves around it to change the background. I find the image somewhat appealing, but not quite there. I probably aught to try some different compositions as well to see if that will increase appeal.



Like a lot of images, I'm not sure if I like the color or B&W version better.



This is not necessarily outside the box thinking. I have a similar, but better picture I took last week. My biggest issue with it is comparing it to that one. A macro lens to close in on the seed head would also have been helpful. My daughter should be getting her 105 this week, and I will be able to borrow it from time to time.



I hesitated to post this one, as I'm not sure it works all that well. Thinking about reshooting it at a smaller F stop to increase depth of field. It has a mood, but seems to lack something.



I am not holding these up as good images, but merely as jumping off points for discussion.

First, of course, my best wishes to your wife for a rapid and full recovery. Being a caretaker isn't easy, and I give you a lot of credit for doing your part without complaint. Good luck to you both.

I have to admit I'm not a fan of the Photographic Eye channel. I've seen a number of his installments and while his technical advice seems sound, his personal style comes across as sanctimonious to me, which I find off-putting. I'm more of a Gavin Hoey fan. His "15 minute photo challenge" series was something I got hooked on when I was recovering from my own surgery, and fairly immobile for a while. But all his instructional videos are concise and combined with an engaging delivery, a combination that really resonates with me. But to each their own, of course. I've you prefer PE's style, more power to you.

As far as your photos, I think it's great that you're looking with a photographic eye at otherwise mundane things and trying to make the best pics you can. And those three examples are certainly mundane. Good job! (I personally prefer the color version of the textured tile, but both are very good.)

Do you have a macro lens? Mine got a lot of use during my convalescence. It was fun making interesting pictures of very, very tiny details. If you have one, I highly recommend it as a worthwhile time suck

And again, all the best.

I don't currently have a macro. My daughter is supposed to get her 105mm macro this week. It is an FX mount that will work on my Z5 with the FTZ adapter I have, or the D3400 that currently languishes in my camera bag. It won't be part of my equipment, but I will be able to use it anytime she isn't. I will check out Gavin Hoey. Yes, there are things about the presentation of Photographic Eye I don't particularly care for, but the idea behind his presentation is well worth thinking about. If nothing else, it motivated me to go out and take some pictures.

I may go out and try taking a few more pictures of the lapping block this evening. Changing the composition, and perhaps a layer of leaves to change the out of focus background. Again, the purpose in this is not so much a great photograph, but the knowledge gained trying to get there.

Best wishes that your wife recovers soon. Unfortunately, I recently lost my wife and know only too well what you are going through.

I have hundreds of failed experiments, but I continue to study images that appeal to me and try new techniques. Maybe one day a light will go off, and I will get it. :shame: