Anatomy of Creating

 As I finished up a jewelry piece the other day I wondered how it came to be created.  Sometimes I start out with something in my mind and it happens, or it develops on its own based on my intuition about it.  The latter is usually the case.  They just create themselves.  I am only the hands that try to work as fast as the ideas come.  

I believe the state of mind is called "the zone", a place where runners, musicians and artists often are.  Time flies, in fact we're not even thinking about time, we're too deeply connected to the task of creating.  

I love taking photos for the same results, I'm just guided by the scene.  In jewelry it's a little more hands on than seeing through the lens, and there are also other things to consider, like textures, weight, and materials. 

 Jewelry pieces can take days, even weeks to create.  I may find the muse has gone and have to leave it on the workbench until I'm inspired again, but it never disappoints me as I'll come back and finish with the same enthusiasm.  Sometimes I'll see it in my head first, or get an idea as I'm first waking up - or going to sleep.  That's another thing, we're obsessed with our art!  

Anyone who considers themselves an artist at any medium, knows the passion and obsession that drives us to create.  We - just - can't - help - it!  It's in us, in our core.  Nothing can remove it from us.

I tried working jobs when I was younger that were behind a desk or in a shop or factory, but the mundane routine drove me mad!  Even now I struggle a bit to get to work and perform the tasks - but I am self employed, it's my own business and I have much more flexibility than those other "jobs".  I'm also very active at work, so the time flies by.

Sometimes I worry I haven't made enough money, but honestly, I'd be dead had I worked behind a desk!  Fulfillment is far more important to me than money.  As long as I can pay the bills and have time to create, I'm completely satisfied.

I don't know where the muse comes from, if it's outside of me or part of me, it is indeed a mystery, but I am grateful for its presence in my life.

 

More Shopping Options

I have finally decided to get more professional with a "real" website, e-commerce and all!  

I'm using Shopify.  I've had my eye on them for years and this year decided it was time.

It's perfect for me because I offer several different products, all hand made or done in house at least.  I can offer my fine art prints, handmade cards, calendars and books, all on one website!!  I'm so excited!

I have used the same URL that used to point to my Fine Art America site:  www.jenigrayphotography.com .  Please visit and have a look around.

I've also created a new way to have art in your home or office.  I've created leased collections that are great for real estate staging and vacation rentals.  Rent by the month, rotate with a new collection.  More info is available on my site, or schedule a phone consultation, right from my site.

A new ad came out in the summer edition of Tracing the Fjord and they also did a nice Artist Profile on me.  My first customer was a local realtor who needed a framed piece for staging a listing.

This is going to be fun!!!

A new tripod called to me this year too.  I have drooled over those ball head types for years, finally one became available in my humble price range and is now proudly set up in the living room.  

I hope you're following me on Instagram @jenigray.photography and Facebook @jenigrayphotography.  That's where the photo sharing has been happening. 

Early Morning Photography

A photographer friend of mine recently did a podcast on why he gets up early to shoot landscape photos.  I completely resonated with this concept for all the same reasons, which lead me to do this post for my take on it.

Almost every year I can get away for a few days to the coast here and I always try to make it to Ruby Beach as early as possible.  Mostly it's so I can shoot wide shots without people in them but the air is cleaner and often there's a lovely fog rolling off.

There's a peacefulness in all this too.  What a gift to have this amazing stretch of wilderness all to myself!! 

In 2018 I got these shots about 8am.

Photoshop is Overrated

Happy New Year!  Wow, it's 2020, sounds futuristic, yet here I am still creating in an old fashioned way.  Yes, I shoot digital now along with film, but I'm not over processing or over editing the images.
I really do like to keep to as natural and organic an image as possible. 
I know, I'll never be famous this way, but that's not why I do it.

Remember what attracted you to photography in the first place?  Was it twenty years ago?  Thirty?  Forty?  It was even longer ago for me.  I just loved art, mostly black and white photography;  landscapes, portraits, abstracts.  I wanted to create that.  So I got a camera and did it.
Back in those days the art of photography required a working knowledge of the camera settings, film and if you were really creative, the darkroom process.

Evolving into present day and using a digital camera, I still like to use the camera settings, filters and exposure techniques to get what I want.  There are still some post editing tweaks that I find necessary but I'm not using PhotoShop!  I had it once, CS6 I think, but honestly, it just left me flustered and confused.
I use Paint Shop Pro and AfterShot 3 Pro from Corel.  It's still a little daunting but all I need are some light editing effects.  I want a truly organic image that I can be proud of.

What are your thoughts about PhotoShop?  Do you use something else? 

Better Late Than Never?

Opening a new photo sales venue has taken longer than expected.  I was sure the new year was the right time, but challenges kept coming up.  Finally I decided instead of feeling behind, I would just change the launch date to the first of February!  There, now I'm ahead of schedule.

So many things have had to happen.  Mailing envelopes, backing board inserts, clear archival sleeves and of course beautiful archival papers to print on!  All from different sources of course, but thank goodness for the Internet!  All ordered and over the last several weeks things have come in.

Many thanks go out to Brendon Burchard's latest book "High Performance Habits".  Even for a tiny one woman show like mine, his advice has kept me on target, clear and inspired!  I'm on my second read through by the way, this time with a highlighter!

My portfolio is up and I'm still working on the layout over at Zenfolio, link coming or you can just go there and search for me.  I'm pretty sure this will be my initial landing page for my domain name, then the images will link to purchasing in the new Etsy shop.  Still a few details to work out there.
I'll continue  to use Fine Art America for products and large prints.

Meanwhile, I'm shooting new work and staying in practice.  I had an idea to shoot a short series of trees.  They're so interesting and contrast well against the fog or bright sun at this time of year.
Follow me on Instagram for those @jenigrayphoto.  Here's a teaser for you.

And here's the collection that was accepted on Displate.  They print metal posters, so these should look really interesting on metal!

A winter blog post would not be complete if I didn't tell you that these long dark days are sometimes challenging for me.  I am not inspired all the time!  But eating good, exercising and meditating are my greatest tools through these times.  I hope you're taking good care of yourself as well.

More updates in a week or so.

New Year New Plans

I love to make plans and set goals for the coming year, realistic ones and with a plan.  

I usually make notes for a couple weeks leading up to the Winter Solstice and then spend that day in a ritual of comfort foods, notebooks, lit candles and meditation, always coming out of it feeling rejuvenated and inspired for the coming year.

I've been creating and selling metal jewelry for about five years now.  I love, it's creative, it's a tangible thing, it's abstract and it's art.  However I also need to profit from it to justify doing it.  It's my schedule C income that offsets my main taxes.  

This past year sales have dropped off.  I had hoped to get into more galleries, the one experience I had wasn't good, so I went back to online sales.  Honestly, the supplies sell better.

So I'm dropping J Gray Design for now.  I'll keep the Etsy shop open through January but I'm not making any new items.  I can sell off some of the tools and supplies in my supply shop JGD Supplies .

My main focus for 2019 will be to get back to my first love, photography, in black and white.  I love this medium, it's as close to fine art as I can get.  I'm not interested in portraits or weddings or babies, I just love creating a piece of fine art in black and white, whether it's scenic or still life.  It's challenging, it's fun and very creative.

I have a website at Fine Art America, Pixels actually, which I've used for a couple years.  I have my domain name pointing there now, www.jenigrayphotography.com , but I hope to sign up with Zenfolio soon and that may become my main site.

I'd also like to try some additional Print On Demand sites like Society 6 and RedBubble.

I'll be changing the names of this blog and my Facebook page and make an announcement there.  I'm sure my jewelry fans will be disappointed and they're under no obligation to stay connected.

Moving forward I want to share articles and tips on photography, but from the artistic point of view.  The internet is already flooded with tutorials and technical jargon.  I already have an extensive collection of blog posts from previous versions of this blog.

So hopefully, moving forward, I'll be more content and less stressed about creating and selling a product.  It doesn't cost me anything to create a beautiful photograph, just the sites I host them on and of course cost to print, but that's after the purchase.

I hope this finds you looking forward to something fresh for the coming new year.

Artists Supporting Artists

Over the years I have connected with some great artists online.  The majority are photographers, and mostly in the black and white medium.

We have messaged, shared each other's work and worked through technical difficulties.  It's been a great support system!

Although many of us are still pinching pennies to get by, the desire to support one another is strong.  I try to buy their work when I can afford to, usually in forms of greeting cards or smaller prints.  By the way, I have a great collection of these things from over the years, which makes it even more enjoyable. How many people can say they know the artists personally whose work hangs on their walls?

My most recent purchase is from a well know photographer who has made a name for himself through prints, licensing, and exhibits.  I don't know how he does it, well other than have great work of course, but he's succeeded in all of the outlets I aspire to.

I wanted to thank him for some behind the scenes help he offered that really saved me.  He's quite humble and says he's done nothing, and happy to help, but it would have taken me hours if not days to sort out some technical issues I was having.

I purchased this set of cards as a small way of saying thank you.  

Keith Dotson Photography is where you can find his great images.  Google him and you'll find several locations for his work.

On my Facebook page Gray by Design, I also try to share as many helpful articles as I can find for all mediums of art, especially in marketing, as we are all diligently working on this every single day.

So I encourage my fellow artists to support your tribe.  If you can't afford to buy their work yet, at least share their page or their works, to show support.

We're all in this together!

Evolution of Photography

Photography used to be a real craft, a skill, something you had to work at to get right.  I spent years perfecting my skills with film and darkroom techniques, and then went to four years of college to learn even more.  

Then digital came out and everyone was a photographer, or so they thought.  A few simple lessons and off they went.  I fought it for years, finally gave in and began to learn the new technology.  It wasn't that easy but the rewards were still the same.  

Post production was the new darkroom, so the effects were still available, through clicks and screens instead of enlargers and papers. 

But when the iPhone photographers came on the scene I was really annoyed.  Seriously?  No need for ISO, aperture, f-stops?  That's the real work.  

Today I changed my mind, I have been seeing new creators taking the medium to new heights, they're telling a story with their iPhone, creating content beyond the images.  They're not just clicking and selling, they're offering advice, inspiring others.  

There are many ways to follow them, YouTube has been a great platform for their sharing, and now they're even getting together with other entrepreneurs and collaborating with them on topics that will assist others, uplift them and support their dream.

Yes, I also finally joined Instagram as well ( @jenigrayphoto ).  I finally saw the benefits of promoting myself there, with a bit of nudging from others, I might add.  Here again, is a platform to give beyond the image sharing, tell a story, share the love, make people feel good. 

So OK, I guess I'm onboard for the future of creativity.

Photography as Fine Art

I love this medium, it's challenging and addicting and unforgiving.  With the onset of the digital format I have found it to be an endless form of entertainment for free!  

I've been taking pictures since I was six years old, but really fell in love with the medium when I first moved to California in the mid 70's.  I got my first 35mm camera and became obsessed with it.  I was close to the coast and forest, so I went there all the time.  I took pictures of boats, people, pets, wildlife, etc.  

I experimented with color, black and white film and slides.  I entered contests and even won a few.  

When I moved back to Washington State I decided to go to college and learn more about art, the creative process, and business, with a focus on photography.

In those four years I explored the many areas I could work with photography;  commercial, portraiture, fine art.  I interviewed working photographers and researched these fields.  I got some experience in portrait photography managing a studio in Seattle after I graduated, and did some weddings and events on the side.  

I settled on the creative field of fine art photography and have been shooting ever since.

Honestly, I don't think I'm that good, not like these guys you see with fabulous sunsets and eagles and far off places.  But I have camera gear I can afford and I'm still doing this part time because I need to work.  I had to start over at 50 and it wasn't going so good even then.  But my love of the art is my ongoing inspiration.

I love black and white, abstracts, textures and collage.  This is where I put my attention.

I have one site where I can offer my finished work that prints it and ships it.  It's a great way for the low budget photographer to be able to share their work with the world.  

You can visit there at this link:  J Gray Pixels .  You can also view all of them right here by clicking on the Fine Art Prints tab at the top of this blog.

In this blog I would love to talk about photography processes with you, share some of my findings and explore this medium further.

Here are a few of my favorites.

**All Images Copyright 2018 - All Rights Reserved**

Welcome!

Welcome to the first post!

Copyright J Gray Photography 2014-2015 

I am going to try something a little different with this blog than I have with previous "sales" type websites and blogs.  

I hope to tell a story with my images, weave a web of interest and delight, cultivate a larger reason for their existence.

Photography has been my main creative outlet for most of my life.  I have taken many images but my aim has always been about the same, to create.  I just want to create.

My images are about the subject matter, the light (or lack of it), the time of year and composition.  I shoot for the artistic outcome; what will it look like in the end.

It's really a selfish endeavor (as I believe the core of all art really is anyway) to please myself.  If others like it, great, you can hang it on your wall as well.

In this blog I shall offer some small size images that I can print and deliver.  I also have a Fine Art America website for larger prints and greeting cards.  You can visit there via the link in the sidebar.

Thank you for visiting!!