THE EYE AND MUSES

Very Old House On AR 126 We Pass on Way to Church.
 It Is Typical AR Pioneer Home. AR Is Known For Lots
of Rocks. It Does Not Have Historic Designation. It
 It Appears Exterior May Have been Altered Which Is
Not Permitted in Historic Registries. If You Look
 Closely There Is Reflection of MY Car and Front
Fence In Window.

Persons engaged in visual arts whether for vocation or avocation, often refer to themselves or those they admire as having an "eye" for the subject/object of their vision at any given time; those engaged in the art of writing to create a visual image--much more difficult in my opinion--often refer to the Muses, who may abandon their creativity, more commonly called mental block.

The words sent me to Wikipedia for definition of The Muses. I think I read a book before I finished all the definitions of the Muses in the ancient world. Actually, by the definitions I read, persons in the visual arts may have influence of the Muses, too.

However, the "photographer's eye" is a bit more clouded. Some believe it is an intuitive, innate ability; others believe it is, or can be, learned. I found this definition at this site: "The photographic eye is simple. It is recognizing situations where the elements of art come together in a frame. It is opening your eyes a little wider and really paying attention to the details of the world around you."-Stacy Christian 

Front Door & Screen. There Are Many
Old Homes, Structures, Barns and
Scenes Everywhere, But Parking On
Narrow Easements Is a Hazard. I
Am Not Craving to Be Road Kill for
a Great Photo.

If you have time read the paragraphs containing the quote and following. One idea that struck me was many who come to photography may have had interest in, or studied other subject matter that contributes to a seemingly natural ability to see esthetically pleasing subject(s) within the confines of a viewfinder, usually square, portrait or landscape shaped.

A trick I once used, as I rambled around was to form a rectangle with my thumbs and index (fore) fingers, to imagine or frame a scene or composition. Usually, I was just training my "eye" without a camera viewfinder. The large LCD viewfinders I find annoying and still will not buy a camera without a tiny viewfinder. I know---I am crazy.

Most blogs contain acceptable photography; some are only photography, all visually pleasing even if the WOW factor is not there. The thing that got me to thinking about "other interests" is the blog on my bloglist by an artist who is equally talented in several painting media and photography, so if you have time visit mysteries. At any given time she may have photos from which she derives her inspiration for painting. Her photography is also very good.

napples notes, who is a poet, occasionally has done some amazing vignettes using Microsoft's Paint program with which I have never experimented. I have used it for some simple transfers.

Cotter Railroad Trestle Still in Use (I think) This Is What I Call
a Record Shot. It would have been SOOC (Straight Out of the
Camera) except My Haze Filter Did Not  Overcome the Haze. I
Have a New Set But Taken Before I Received It.

There are two bloggers, one of which is Abe Lincoln, who has been a journalist, writer, teacher, photographer, and a number of other talents with many accolades. The other blogger was an English teacher, artist in several media, photographer and writer who had to completely withdraw from blogging and FaceBook because of harassment, subterfuge and possible plagiarism. sad, Sad, SAD to quench the joy of sharing.

All of us write because we love to tell a story. Some of us are humorous. Some of us impart knowledge. I consider all of you far more talented authors than I. Some of us share our lives. I do a little bit of everything.  Thanks for putting up with me.

This Is Another Record Shot of the Cotter Bridge Which Has A Historic
Designation. In a Good year in October I can Imagine the Hills in the
Background Ablaze With Orange,Yellow and Red.
Probably NOT This Year!

 All of you are remarkable wordsmiths and in that respect I learn from you. Even though I considered majoring in English, I figured I would never make much of a living there. I piddled in art, music, snapshots, and many hobbies before I settled on counting pills for a vocation and photography for an avocation. Oh yeah! and marriage for a life-time, I hope.

AND MAY THE "EYE" AND THE
MUSES FALL FAVORABLY ON US ALL!

Rear of Neighbor's SUV Across the Steet

Here are two shots of the same subject: rear end of a car with cloud reflections on the rear window. I am nuts about reflections and bananas when I miss one. I had been watching for some huge cumulus clouds which I had seen earlier.

But I captured this one for now. Do you like the one to the left which is cropped very slightly, or the closely cropped back window below right?

These decisions are where I waffle a lot. Altough the same picture, the cropped clouds are not as distinct, or so it appears. However, cropping and then enlarging, reduce the resolution of any given digital photo. We generally all take in *.jpg because of portability. There is a a file extension call RAW, Nikon calls it NEF but same thing. A good editing program can convert a Raw Photo to JPG after editing. I save my originals on a separate disk and copy to hard drive. IF and when I get the new camera am going to start using RAW so as not to lose data. I may decide it is not worth it.

Close-up (Cropped) Rear of Neighbor's SUV Across the Straight

And my very most favorite
sport season has finally started so I have football almost every night at some level: high school, college/university and my preference if a choice: NFL!

I watch 'em all, and have several favorite teams but as everyone knows, I am a Texan originally. I remember  the Dallas franchise announcement and the first team with Tom Landry and Roger Staubach who went 1-15 their first year. Coach Landry still remains in my mind as their classiest coach. I respected Roger Staubach who fulfilled his military commitment to the Navy before he ever hit the football field. The Dallas Cowboys saved a slot for him.

Dog Football Concrete Yard Monument
I modified with help of husband
who found the helmet.

It and many other franchises lost respect over the years, but the game keeps us watching. In high school I was in a marching band. We made every game, in and out of town. I learned the game, because we sat and watched, until it was our turn to perform. However, I did not fall in love with the quarterback, or the uniform--I was wearing one myself. It was the game.

Dog Football Concrete Yard Monument
I modified with help of husband
who found the helmet.

Dallas won their first game this year; their 3rd string quarterback looks like a winner, eventually. He might even move up to 2nd string if he continues to play as he did the last game.

Tonight (Thurs)I am watching Dallas rival, Philadephia and Pittsburgh Steelers. I can't believe how out of synch Philly looks. Bet they are in shape when they met Dallas! I think there are games Fri., Sat. and Sun. too.


A Decorative License Plate Posted at the Platform Landing of Our Handicap Ramp



Those Naughty Naked Ladies Which Mark One Side Lot Line
[Note mid-line focus- another trick that somewhat failed here.]

*************

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

"God On The Mountain" words and music by Tracy G. Dartt