Artists Inspired Blog Circle | January 2017 – Grey

Desert BW | Scottsdale Photographer | ©CeriHerdPhotography | Family photographer

{Grey} (or {Gray} if you’re American)…

I will admit, this month’s colour had me completely stumped. Unless I really go hunting there is nothing grey here, just the desert. So if it is not here right in front of my eyes, what is it fundamentally? Grey is black and white. I almost said “merely black and white”. But in photography black and white is everything. It is the crux and backbone of it all so I should not say “merely” at all.

With that in mind, I would not be me if I did not take that as an opportunity to try something new. You see, these two boys in this desert location, I would never see a black and white image. I am just not that photographer. Some photographers, some very wonderful talented photographers, see their images in black and white before they have even taken them. To me that happens but only occasionally. These boys to me are life. They are bounds of energy. They are love. They are colour. Similarly, so is the desert. I moved here expecting a barren wasteland but I was so wrong. There is a full spectrum of colour (just maybe not grey) and so much life, I struggle to see it in monotone.

And so I took a walk from last month and made it {grey}. (And I did the conversion in a way I had not tried before, because, hello my name is Ceri and I can’t help but experiment). In the process I had a lightbulb moment. I see texture. I see connection. I see I need to make more effort to love the black and whites in my life.

This blog is part of the Artists Inspired Blog Circle series. Click here to continue the circle and see how talented photographer, Brandi Geoghagan, interpreted this month’s theme. Be sure to follow the links all the way round to complete the full circle.

The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.

Artists Inspired Blog Circle Contributor

Artists Inspired Blog Circle | October 2016 – Pink

©CeriHerdPhotography

Pink. What does pink mean to you? What does it mean to me??! …I’ll admit, I’m stuggling with this one.

I suppose, stereotypically speaking, I’ve always associate pink with little girls; I have boys. I’m a girly girl though; I like pretty things and bags and shooooes. And yet pink has never been my favourite colour. Growing up my life was all about yellow, the colour of sunshine and happiness; and now I prefer cooler tones; sage greens and turquoise blues. So what do I think of when I think {pink}? …Flowers. You can’t beat a pink flower.

I’ve always felt that colour is essential to botanical images; flowers ARE colour. But are they? A month of {Inspired by…} themes at Artists Inspired’s sister page By HeArt, researching different artists, all of whom worked with black and white film, got me to thinking: how much does colour really matter? What difference does it make to floral images? By studying the botanical art of Imogen Cunningham, converting images I would never have considered candidates for black and white, my mind may have been changed. I see form. I see structure. I see light and dark.

“I see more in black and white – I like the abstraction of it.” ~ Mary Ellen Mark

What do you think? Does pink add anything to these images? Is the colour distracting? I will leave it to you to form your own opinion on this one. There is no right or wrong; just preference and personal taste. But I’ll leave you with this quote:

“Colour is everything, black and white is more.” ~ Dominic Rouse

© Ceri Herd Photography | Ceri Herd, Scottsdale Photographer© Ceri Herd Photography | Ceri Herd, Scottsdale Photographer© Ceri Herd Photography | Ceri Herd, Scottsdale Photographer© Ceri Herd Photography | Ceri Herd, Scottsdale Photographer© Ceri Herd Photography | Ceri Herd, Scottsdale Photographer© Ceri Herd Photography | Ceri Herd, Scottsdale Photographer

This blog is part of the Artists Inspired Blog Circle series. Click here to continue the circle and see how talented photographer, Channon Williamson, interpreted this month’s theme. Be sure to follow the links all the way round to complete the full circle.

The Artists Inspired Blog Circle is made up of an exceptionally talented group of photographers from all walks of life, from all over the world. They are wives, mothers, friends, daughters and visual storytellers who draw from their own experiences to create art that is inspiring, unique, beautiful and thought-provoking.

Artists Inspired Blog Circle Contributor

Spring Freelensed Part I | Scottsdale Photographer

©CeriHerdPhotography

Spring in Scottsdale, AZ is a wonderful time to be a photographer. The blooms, the blossom, the outdoor lifestyle, the light. Oh, the light! The perfect time for another freelensed project! A freelensed picture every single day, from the first day of spring to the last.

“Ok but hold up, Ceri! What is freelensing?” I hear you cry. Simples. It is a technique that can be done with any camera that has interchangeable lenses. Detach the lens, hold it close to the camera body and manually focus by tilting and adjusting the position of the lens. Using this technique, you can create really interesting slices of focus, extremely shallow depth of field and amazing sun flares. It takes some practice, believe me it did not come easily to me, but with perseverance your results can be magical!

As I sit here in the sweltering heat of the summer, avoiding the outdoors at all costs, I am finally finally finding time to share a few of my favourites. First up, a blog post dedicated the best of the natural world. Enjoy!

If you’d like to see all of the images from my Spring Freelensed Project, click here. If you have any questions or you’d like to share what you like (or don’t), please feel free to leave a comment.

Thanks for stopping by,

~ Ceri ~

Freelensed Fall Blog Circle

©CeriHerdPhotography

I recently teamed up with a group of amazingly talented photographers, each of us taking a freelensed image per day from September to Thanksgiving. Be sure to follow the link at the bottom to see the next collection in the project. You can see all my images for the project here but for now, here are a few of my favourites:

©CeriHerdPhotography

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Thank you for stopping by! Click here to follow the blog circle. Up next, wonderful images by Kellie of Kellie Brindley Photography.

Crystal Ball Photography

©CeriHerdPhotography

I’ve spent the last couple of days playing in the garden with my crystal ball. It was a gift last Christmas and I had all sorts of plans for it but life got in the way, as it so often does. But when Click{Style} announced the theme {shooting through} I had the excuse I needed to experiment!

I haven’t seen into the future yet (wouldn’t that be a useful side line?!) but I have created some interesting views of our small corner of the desert and had plenty of fun to boot! I’ve got plans to take this further afield (I’m thinking prickly pear). All I need is a child-free time-slot when the sun is not so strong: these things are a fire risk!©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography©CeriHerdPhotography