News from Diane Le Fevre

Every moment is a fresh beginning. – T.S Eliot 

What we think, we become. – Buddha

To see a gallery of Ocean Lace please click here:

https://www.dianelefevrephotog...

 Photographing close to where you live: why do it?

I love do photography and travel. It is a joy to plan a trip, pack the car and go to beautiful venues where the scenery is awe-inspiring and soul invigorating. Few things fuel my passion for photography like a trip to the Grand Canyon or out-of-way-places on the Navajo Nation or Capitol Reef National Park.

So a few years ago I decided to try and bring that level of enthusiasm to where I live on the coast in California. I am the same as anyone, I became immune to the beauty I saw frequently, the ocean, sunsets, rocky coasts, surfers, the beach town where I live. Boy, was I missing out.

What I needed was a fresh beginning, a new way of thinking about where I live.

Being familiar and going to the same locations might lead to boredom for some. I find it makes me work more creatively and think differently about what I’ve seen numerous times before. I found that this has taught me to let go of expectations of what I had planned to photograph.

When I first attempted this way of looking at where I live as a photo trip, I had my beautiful moments. Colors that were unreal. Scenes that brought tears to my eyes. And sometimes there were disappointments when I was uninspired by anything. At times I came home without taking a photograph.

As I progressed in doing this I had significant shifts in how thought about photography and my approach to it.

Looking deeper into locations where I frequently photograph has has allowed me to explore less-than-obvious subject matter. One of my just-completed projects is called ocean lace. I used a technique which I never had done before, a time-lapse of ocean wave movement.

I wasn’t getting anything I found inspiring using my traditional 35 mm camera. So I pulled out my iPhone and started using different apps to photography the beach. By using a timelapse app I found a new ways to create my art.

Going back again and again to the same spots focuses my thinking to find interesting subjects in the landscape, take that raw material home and make my art from it.

I also use my time at home to practice different aspects of my craft. For example, I used a ‘one lens, one camera approach’ for a couple of months to learn what it was like to use minimal gear. This allowed me to concentrate on really seeing subject matter, rather than worrying about which lens I was going to use. Another challenge was how to use a tripod in different situations. I learned how to quickly adjust tripod height without really needing to think about it. That comes in handy during certain time sensitive situations.

Working like this at my own pace in a familiar environment allows me mastery of what I was pursing and has made me a better, consistent photographer.

Being familiar and going to the same locations might lead to boredom for some. I find it makes me work more creatively and think differently about what I’ve seen numerous times before. I found that this has taught me to let go of expectations of what I had planned to photograph

I now understand I don’t need a photo trip to pursue my photographic art. It doesn’t matter where you live or where you travel, a fresh perspective can give you an endless supply of subject matter.

There is a symbiotic relationship in this approach:s what I do at home benefits me when I travel and what I experience while traveling while enriches my local photography.

To see a gallery of Ocean Lace images, please click here:

https://www.dianelefevrephotog...

Traversing backroads for undiscovered views is one possible definition of a photographer’s paradise.

Earlier this spring I and other photographer friends did just that, wandering unpaved routes for photographic opportunities.

Discovering the backroads of Holbrook, Arizona turned out to be a better-than-anticipated adventure. I had photographed this area before. The weather proved to be temperamental, with clouds, some rain and filtered light. These conditions afforded me some fantastic opportunities for showcasing long open vistas of sky and land, and color.

Coming upon the expected, the surprise of a colorful sky, the long unobstructed view of a road leading to a vanishing point gets my creative juices flowing.

Clicking on photo below will take you to a gallery of skies from Holbrook.

Enjoy!

~Diane

“When your footsteps and thoughts carry you down the same path your heart and soul are directing you, you will know without a doubt that you are headed in the right direction.”

~ Molly Friedenfeld

This is my first blog post, one I’ve been thinking about for a while. So where do I start?

I thought I’d share with you the first image I sold as a fine art print. It’s titled: Copse of Trees. It’s from the Ahwahnee Meadow in Yosemite National Park. An adage in photography is the worse the weather, the better photography will be. That most certainly was the case here, this photo was a taken during a raging blizzard in late January. The park was shut-down for a day-and-a-half because of it.

I holed-up in the Yosemite Lodge during that time, going out as the weather permitted for incredible photographic opportunities.The art piece I’ve shown here is from that January.

It was cold and blustery, I’d spent most of the day traipsing through drifts, photographing for short bursts and and then popping back into the car to warm-up. As I slowly drove back to my room for the night, dusk was falling from an early winter twilight. The snow which had been lazily falling started coming down quicker and was blowing sideways. Not many people were out and I was taking my time along the snow-slick roads.

As I passed a line of trees I noticed the crossways snow and how it added dimension and textural interest to the linear trees. I rolled down my window and shot, hoping I would get something.

I went home afterwards and worked on my Yosemite images. I posted what I had photographed on social media. Much to my surprise I had inquires about purchasing this particular print. I sold my first print to an art collector. I felt validated and heartened, my work was actually going on someone’s wall as art.

Since then I have sold more prints and I appreciate those who purchase them. But this print has a special meaning for me because it was my first.

I hope you enjoy this inaugural blog post.The stories in subsequent posts I have to share here are at times adventurous, fun, reflective, and hopefully informative.

The opening quote about one’s footsteps and heart merging onto a path where the soul wants to go is what I’ve been fortunate to find in pursuing a second career as a fine art photographer. I invite you to share this path and journey with me.

~Diane