Saturday, February 8, 2014

What Inspires Me to Create? Who Inspires Me to Create...

Many times I get asked by my friends and other photographers "Who inspires me to create or what inspires me"? Well, I wish it was a simple answer. Mainly it just comes from within. I have a strong desire to always see what I can make today and who I can touch today with my work or inspire them.
Self Portrait by Julie Everhart

My favorite artists will always be Van Gogh with his unique brush strokes and heavily painted canvases and bold colors.  But  I also enjoy the soft pastels of Monet and Impressionism. Then again.. there is always Picasso with his crazy and unique style that I relate to. I have tried to mimmick these artists at different times over the years and tried to figure out how they did what they did. My home is like a museum with these attempts. By taking the time in doing so I realized that its not about being like someone else or doing as they did but you can incorporate styles and colors into your works to show your respect for these masters.
Self Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh
Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh





What is considered Fine Art? Good question! To me its the hand full of works that you have created that get the most comments, faves or views. The ones that make people go "WOW, how on earth did you do that?" My answer is.. I don't know, lol. I simply played with colors and shapes until it made me like it and it passed my own "wow factor". If it is something I am happy with then  maybe others will like it?  Many times when I create a photograph or digital artwork I have no idea how it will be perceived by the viewers until I upload it.  Then when it gets attention I go back and study that particular piece and try to see what they really like about it. From there I may try to recreate it or its style or the colors that are in it and make a series. Sometimes I take the same image and change all the colors or re-edit just to see if that too will get response.

Below are a few of my works that have received many views in a short period of time online. The first one has received over 2000 views just this past week.

 Winter Pinks 2 by Julie Everhart
Winter Pinks 2 by Julie Everhart

When we as artist ask for your comments we really are asking you to help us create art that you want to see. We really do want to know your thoughts and help us fine tune our work. That is what helps guide us towards evolving in our creativity and passion to create.  It doesn't mean that  we can change the artist in us and change the unique style that each of us have but it can help us grow and change for the better.

Many times people do not know what to say to me when they view my work. They are in awe of how did I make an image look this way? Or why in the world would you make trees pink? I am just only expressing myself and sharing with you the world as seen through my eyes. I love to escape to a land that only exists in my mind and share it with you. 

I hope you have enjoyed my post today.  Feel free to come on over to my Flickr account and take a look at today's newest upload titled : In The Pink Park.

Have a great weekend!

Julie





Friday, February 7, 2014

What is MotoPhoto? How is it done?

What is MotoPhoto? It's actually a made up term by my husband and photographer Bob Blankenship for photos that you take from the car. You know that shot that you wish you could just stop the car for but really don't have time or you can't figure out how to get to that road along the highway?   Below are some photos that I just couldn't help myself, I had to roll down the window and just get a quick snap. Sometimes they turn out better than I thought they would and other times they are not so good. In these photos I actually did not get any motion blur but I did get good clean still shots from a moving vehicle.

















In the 2 photos below you can see the moving subjects and still subjects in the same frame. These were not taken from the car but were photos taken in December of 2008 with my new then Canon Powershot SX10. I was following the moving subjects to see what my camera was capable of capturing in a single frame.























Below is a shot I found of me taking a photo from the car of a house. You can see me in the side mirror of the car( my earlier days of taking photos). There is not allot of motion in this particular shot but I wanted to find a photo of me taking photos from the car.


The image on the right shows some motion blur in the trees and the house sitting still. Not an easy task to do from the car with wind blowing in your face and having just a a second or two to take the shot. ( click on photo to enlarge image).


Harper's Ferry, West Virginia as seen from the car.














As you can see its not always bad to pick up your camera as long as you have a responsible driver and take a few shots from the car. Sometimes you get a good shot and sometimes all you get is a memory. Either way its a good thing. You never know what you are going to get until you  give it a try.






Thank you for reading my post today and I hope I have showed you a little bit about panning and motion blur images. After doing much searching through my thousands of photos in my archive today I realized that I have gotten pretty good over the years from the car. I wish I had better blurred/panning images to show you but I just couldn't find many.

If you would like to read more information about Photography check out Bob Blankenship's Blog.

Hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.

Julie


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Have you ever wanted to do Photography? How do you begin?

Taking the first step to learn photography is a very big step.  The camera can be a very tricky object when you have no knowledge of what it is capable of doing.  Thankfully today there are many cameras that are point and shoot or point and click and the settings are all done automatically for you.  If its a person you want to take a photo of, then you set the camera to Portrait. If its a beautiful sunset or cloudy day, you change the settings for those types of photos and click. Figure out what your surroundings are and the style of photography you are going for and go from there.

How do you know if you have the "eye for photography"?  That's a very good question! Just like did Van Gogh know his work was good?  I don't believe he thought it was. But he kept painting as that was his passion.  If you have a strong desire to take photographs then I recommend you get yourself a good little pocket camera and take a walk around a public park or nature preserve and see what grabs your attention.  Don't try to be to fancy with angles, just try to get the most clear and clean shot you can get. The key to good photography is having a very clean image with a good subject matter. Start simple, a flower or a big tree. Something that is stationary and not moving.  Try you best to center the image in  the frame and steady yourself and click.  Take more than one shot.  Almost none of us get the best shot by taking only one shot. You will learn that it takes much practice to get the best shot. But don't give up!

Coneflowers by Julie Everhart


You can see a high resolution of this image here. This image is also available on Google Chrome Themes. http://www.themebeta.com/node/74325

Once you get home open up the photos on your computer and look for the best 2 or 3 images.  If you are happy with them try sharing them with your friends and family on Facebook first to see the response you get. If they are getting good reviews there then open up a Flickr account and share them there.  Don't be shy!  Not everyone online is a great photographer and those of us that have been taking photos for years still work to improve and learn more about photography. No matter how good you think someone is always know that they too are inspired by better photographers and wish to improve. I  know I do. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. Have a great day and hope you start clicking! You can always see more of my work on Flickr or 500px.com.

If you have any questions or comments feel free to post them below.

Julie


Wednesday, February 5, 2014

My New Google Chrome Theme: Lotus in Bloom

Google Chrome Theme:Lotus in Bloom by Julie Everhart.

Try out my new Google Chrome Theme of this gorgeous purple lotus flower in bloom. Photo taken by me at the botanical gardens in Vero Beach, Florida. 

Remember you can Like it and Vote on it...:) I hope you enjoy it!

Get it here: Lotus in Bloom Google Chrome Theme (screenshot below)


500,000+ views to my photos on Flickr!


I reached a milestone today! I have had over 500,000+ views to my photos on my Flickr account.  I am so thrilled that I finally got here!  And I now have over 1,700 followers too.  Its been a long road but well worth the travel.  There is nothing that makes me happier than taking photographs and creating art with them. The world is a beautiful place and capturing beauty around every corner is what I will continue to do.

The photo pictured here is my most recent upload. Titled At The Park by photographer and artist Julie Everhart (me). This is my 4th photo on Flickr's Explore this week! I would love for you to stop on over to my profile and have a look at my most recent work.


Alone in a New World by Julie Everhart
















Boardwalk in Paradise by Julie Everhart




Thank you for your visit..:)
Have a great day and keep on clicking!
Julie





















Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Can This Actually be Florida? See For Yourself!












Over the past few days I have been adding my Infrared photography to my Flickr profile and it has become very popular on Flickr's Explore. Today, Feb 4th, 2014 the photo above titled : Swamplands in Pastels( click the link title to see a high resolution view) by photographer Julie Everhart (me) is currently in the #18 position on Fluidr.com or Flickrs Explore.  It has received over 10,000 views and over 350 favorites in the past 12 hours and still climbing by the minute! The photo was taken on January 28th of 2014 in Brevard County, Florida with my Nikon D70.  The is actually two photos stitched together using Photoshops Automerge feature. This is my third photo to be featured on Explore in the past 4 days.

Feel free to check out the photo along with the others from today on Explore. If you have any questions or would like to use any of my photos on your websites or blogs just leave me a comment below. Of course this would have to include credit to me and a link to the photo on my photography profile.  All of my images are available for purchase. Thanks everyone for your visit and have a great day!

Monday, February 3, 2014

A Florida Swampland That Never Looked So Beautiful Before






Vibrant Swampland by
Fine Art Photographer :
Julie Everhart 








Since I decided to start making Infrared Photography I have never been so pleased before with the warm welcome it has been receiving. My friends and fans have become so fascinated with what I can do with a camera.  Never of course really understanding why these images are so interesting to them and what makes them so appealing.  Quite honestly, its the color in which you can obtain and/or false colors that it produces.  The surrealism and dreamy appearance makes one want to be the one in my position with camera in hand viewing this location.  If only it really looked that way in real life, we would all be there!

The photo above made it to Flickr's Explore on Feb 2nd, 2014 and has had over 45,000 views in just 2 days!  It has been a honor and pleasure to be featured on Explore 2 days in a row and I can only hope my luck will continue.

Thanks for taking the time to read this article.

Julie