Artist Eyes outside -- use a camera to see in a new way!

I happen to enjoy taking photos of beautiful places for fun.  The funny thing is that my phone is so full of photos I haven't actually kept as many of them as I had thought, and my digital camera is pretty outdated.  Still I love doing it...

Rock stacks at twilight by Lake Erie in Lakeside, OH


Fall leaves on the trail in the Great Smoky Mountains

Reflections of trees in the water near a stream in the Smokies

Earlier this year I was asked to take on an "artist date" for one of my Masters classes.  I had to spend several hours doing something artistic.  My husband likes to cook so we teamed up...he was going to cook and I was going to draw the food.  Only half way through I picked up my camera instead.  You see, I LOVE taking photos that make everyday things look unusual.  When you frame your picture a certain way on purpose to make it look more interesting or artistic, that's COMPOSITION.  So I love taking photos with unusual composition:

This is a glass of soda with ice and bubbles up close

This is fennel my husband was chopping to put into dinner.  In black and white it looks really interesting!

This is a Bath and Body Works candle enhanced with an Instagram filter!

This weekend I was in the woods with my family and wandered off to take pictures of trees and all the knots and abnormalities on them.  I cropped them and tried some filters on them when I got home:






The last photo became the subject of my drawing homework:


So the next time your family is out in nature taking a walk, use your Artist Eyes and look for unusual beauty in the trees, the grass, the flowers.  Take out our camera or cell phone and photograph what you find in the most interesting way so people see the beauty you saw in it.  Composition is everything!  

Art related sites for inspiration--

Letter photos:
Food
Alphabet photography Inc
I had an assignment in college -- to take a camera and find every letter of the alphabet on the OSU campus.  If you frame the photo just right, everyone can see the letter as the focus of the photo, even though it's really something else.  I've wanted to do this project at school and send students on a scavenger hunt of the building for letters.  This is a fun challenge your family could do outside OR inside!

Andy Goldsworthy:
land-art-andy-goldsworthy-2
Via Bored Panda - click for link
Andy Goldsworthy is an artist who uses nature to create one of a kind pieces of art that he photographs.  Nothing is permanent (leaves blow away afterward) except his photos.  Check out the site linked to the photo above for inspiration.  Then when you're outside, take sticks, leaves, rocks, or whatever you can find and turn it into something beautiful -- and take a picture!



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