Virtual Blog Tour with Lens and Pens by Sally

09 June 2014

Lens:

My Photographic Palette

I. Abstract

1. Red Tulip, Nevada City, California, Nikon DSLR, April 2014; © Sally W. Donatello

II. Architecture/Design/ Street Life

2. San Francisco, California, iPhone 4s, April 2014; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2014

III. Everyday Objects

3. Escape Route, San Francisco, California, iPhone 4s, April 2014; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2014

IV. Dark and Light

4. Tunnel near Marin Headlands, San Francisco, California, Nikon DSLR, June 2013; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2014

V. Nature

5. Granite Boulders Trail leading to Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park, iPhone 4s, April 2014; © Sally W. Donatello and Lens and Pens by Sally, 2014

Let me know which you prefer and why.

Pens:

This post is my second for the day: a most unusual occurrence. Click here to see today’s other lens and pens. Last week Gracie (Graciebinoya.com) extended an invitation to me to join a Virtual Blog Tour. This project is new, and asks each participant to compose a one-time post to be published on a specific Monday. Its purpose is to introduce bloggers through a brief series of questions.

Responses to the same questions are vehicles to introduce a blogger to another blogger’s audience as well as the wider blogging community. Please visit Gracie’s blog and peruse her photography and answers.

Since I agreed to participate, I must respond to these questions as well as invite one or more bloggers to join the tour. I invited two bloggers. Their introduction follows this Q & A:

1. What am I working on?

My blog began as a vehicle to share narratives that are told through my lens and pens. This online life has moved me deeper and deeper into photography by encouraging exploration of new inner and outer vistas. All of my images represent layers of my aesthetic philosophy.

Over the last year I found myself doing more and more nature photography. I also am drawn to street life, and want to delve deeper into its narratives. Mostly, I have found a need to push my own boundaries in black-and-white photography. Additionally, the last year and a half has been another kind of journey. I organized a photo challenge that reflects the influence of technology upon photography. It provides a specific platform for consistent experimentation, and is building a community of participants. Click here for details, and here for an example of the challenge.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

I combine two elements in my work, but so do many others. Photography and writing help me interpret my inner and outer universe. Each post describes through self-exploration an idea that can be inspired by one or a multitude of daily instigators. I remain open. Personal passions (e.g., reading, gardening, nature, research, technology, walking) help me connect ideas that turn into visual and written storytelling. But intuition and serendipity play huge roles.

As seen in the Lens section my photographic palette includes abstraction, architecture, design, nature (my muse), everyday objects, play between dark and light, and street life. I’m drawn to the oeuvre of the early masters of photography that created black-and-white prints with aesthetic and technical precision. This fascination with monochrome influences my world view.

3. Why do I write/create what I do?

The visual language of photography and dimensionality of prose have become my platforms. Each provides an opportunity to reappoint and redefine who I am. In particular photography offers a vantage point to seize the small, unnoticed and unseen: How to exhibit the unusual in the ordinary; How to show another side of beauty; and, How to discover my individual voice.

Photography and writing are two sources of internal fulfillment that is never truly fulfilled. Each completion has no future bearing on satisfaction. It simply spurs the next moment’s desire to capture the omnipresence of the magnificent and struggling universe that we inhabit.

4. How does your writing/creating process work?

Inspiration for photo shoots often comes from the juxtaposition of angles, contrast, lines, reflections, shadows, shapes, and texture. As a lifelong learner, travel inspires my inner spectator to observe and record, but I can as easily be awed by the appeal of an aged leaf or paring knife.

I read, research, watch, listen and respond. I’m an educator, photographer and independent scholar. These parts of me influence how I see my world, and how I share what I observe through my lens and pen.

Two Invitations to Join the Virtual Tour:

As part of my contribution to the Virtual Tour, I agreed to recommend one or more bloggers. Both Lisa Kennedy (http://nwframeofmind.com) and Amanda Lakey (http://uniquesochic.com/blog) will participate in the tour on Monday, 16 June. I am happy to introduce these women to you. They are relatively new to the blogging life. We each live in completely different regions of the world, and yet have been brought together by the wonders of cyberspace. It’s a joy to know them.

Lisa has a marvelous sense of grounded wanderlust. Her photographs are tales about her life in Washington, USA. Lisa and her family explore the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest and so much more. Amanda has a passion for the creative process, which is evident in her photography and other medium that she explores. Her versatility extends to her use of technology, which opens new avenues of her talents. She lives in Derbyshire, England. I hope that you will visit their sites.

Note: As always I welcome any comments about this post or any part of my blog.

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