Making the most of your abilities...

The Olympic Park
Zoe Bull

Viewing the world on a television screen or even a camera screen is never quite the same as actually seeing the world for yourself. I spoke lightly on the subject on Monday, when I visited Buckingham Palace. I again, visited London yesterday to another iconic place that has been all over the television channels - The Olympic Park. It was fantastic.

I never imagined to be involved in watching the Olympics or Paralympics for that matter but the whole situation of it being in your own country (well, for us Brits) has made it so much more significant. I'd never heard of any of the athletes before August and now they have become like family names and you find yourself cheering after them, even if they don't belong to your country. How bizarre is that?! Brilliant though...

Those who have been to a Disney park in Paris, Hong-Kong, Florida or California may have felt the same feeling that my family and I did when we entered The Olympic Park; the family feel and the vibrant atmosphere of different cultures and the buzzing excitement of all the attractions. Maybe it represented the other kind of buzz...of Rugby and Football and entering their parks for those more masculine hardcore sporty types? Whatever feeling was present, it was certainly a positive one. 

Through a sea of people we queued to the nearest water fountains to fill our bottles and passed the cheery volunteers pepping us up in some (how I imagine) American style Pep Rally. They had that charisma! The one that some us Britons lack in polite yet cold reservation. 

It was exciting to wave the flags and clap until your hands went fizzy and your grin was about to take off once the biggest Mexican Wave I'd even seen filled the stadium with such a cheer. The athletes were phenomenal and as it was an Athletics session in the stadium, they weren't just running with sheer strength like the Olympians, they were turning the wheels on their custom made racing wheelchairs and running with prosthetic legs, throwing javelins at 3ft tall with sheer strength. It was incredible. Not to mention the Long Jump heats with some completely blind athletes who ran towards the sound of their Guide's clapping, jumping incredible lengths. It was out of the world. I feel a bit guilty to have missed it all in previous years because ALL the athletes in the whole London 2012 games have put so much effort into this. They get on with their lives despite being born without legs and losing an arm or being visually impaired and make us think "Why can't we be that strong?" and we can be. I feel that these people have motivated me to be a stronger person and that all these problems we think we have, are really nothing in comparison to what they could be.  

The Olympic View
Zoe Bull

Imagine not having any arms at all...   One swimmer didn't. And swam amazingly, just using her legs. 

Imagine we never know what it's like never to have been able walk, because you have been wheelchair  all your life or never been able to see the rich colours of life, to see your friends of families because your vision is darkness.

We take so much for granted, and when the fire from the Paralympic torch will be snuffed out like it was for the Olympics tomorrow, we may very well forget the strength and power of the disabled and focus selfishly on ourselves, our problems which we deem more important. 

I wouldn't have been able to write this post or take these photos if I hadn't the arms, hands and fingers to do so. You wouldn't have been able to read this post without the ability to see.  

Think About It.

Motivation...

Hipstamatic 365

Starting a post with some positivity is much more exciting and interesting compared to a moan. I find a lot of people including myself can be quite negative. We don't want to see ourselves fail and we complain about it because we think that we will get some sympathy. On some scale, that is ok but if we do it all the time and complain about the same things, it then gets boring.

I can drift on a tangent quite often but I believe that you can have transferable thoughts that can relate to any kind of interest and body of work. It's life. Everyone loses motivation sometimes, particularly if a project we are working on is falling behind, it can be easy to give up, sometimes we just lose interest and want to work on a new project.

I came to writing this post wanting to be more true to myself and to be more positive but in the back of my mind I was writing about how I was going to give up my Hipstamatic 365 project, just because I had hit a few stumble blocks. I have missed about a week in total and I thought to myself that it wouldn't be a 365 project if I hadn't got 365 photos. So what?! I have been trying to tell myself that every photo won't be fantastic and a work of art but what I want to create at the end, won't matter if they are in such a state. The fact is that I would have been more determined and carried on through the rough moments that simply reflect life itself. Challenges are difficult, they are not supposed to be easy and they acquire effort. For too long I have been trying to skip round the effort pole just so I achieve things the easy way when really I would feel like I would have achieved something more if I spent more time on it. I need to get out there and take more photos rather than sitting around hoping that these pictures will find me.

At the beginning of the year, my aims were take photos everyday of the year and select the twelve best ones to present in a slideshow. I may still do that, however I thought a large collage would be more exciting instead. This project is about the bigger picture rather than the individual pictures that I am living through.

Once you have achieved then you can celebrate.

And what a better way with my latest Hipstamatic photos and indulgences from the week before last.

Hipstamatic 365

Hipstamatic 365

Hipstamatic 365

The triple threat: portraiture, still-life and interiors...

I have combined still-life, interiors and a little bit of portraiture and I have enjoyed composing them, even with a few set-backs along the way.  I always found motivation with personal projects at home really hard, which is why I have enjoyed education. I get given a theme and then I can do my own thing with it. Early mornings are never an excitement but at the same time it gives you a buzz because it something to do in your life. The Summer Holidays are creeping up and as enjoyable as they are for a while, you want to get back to the work or even out into the world to do work and start a career. It bothers me that people complain about how little they come in to University for the amount they have paid for but they should have known this when they applied. Why complain over something you have chosen? It's an ironic topic to talk about but then it is something very immature in the first place that would not need to be complained about.

Whatever you choose in life, enjoy it as much as you can

So stay positive.


Want to visit my Flickr photostream with the featured photos in my blog and more then click the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brown_eyed_dreamer/

one year....new beginnings

One day for someone can be completely different to another. I have seen two points of view of Weddings but it never occurred to me, until now, that there is in fact a third. I have been thinking about it recently, as this time next year my sister will be getting married. None of my immediate family has been married yet, only some of my cousins so this really exciting for all the family. I have my bridesmaids dress and Sarah has her ivory gown and it made me realize that a couple getting married have their own view point of the day. Of course that is obvious but philosophical moments just are.

They have been engaged for seven months now, since Christmas day and it will be interesting going to a wedding where I can just relax. I remember at my cousin's wedding last year where my Photography dream was concieved and it is defintly a different story to what I know about it now. I'm happy with it though, even though I have to keep reminding myself that it will take time to know all the in's and out's.

I get impatient about progress and I've probably mentioned before about how I am a perfectionist and want to be able to do things without too much learning. I know for a fact that doesn't help at all and practise does really make perfect and that is the boring part. It shouldn't be boring but whenever you see people doing their perfessions, such as a Photographer they make it look so easy, when in fact they have probably learned a lot too. This is probably why I would never want to be a dentist or surgeon who have to work years on courses to earn that status. It is not just this hobby that I feel impatience about progress, it is almost everything I try. I'm learning how to cook at the moment and bought a student cook book the other week. It has definitely been useful and my Mum has been guiding me through. Every week I pick out a few recipes, write them down and buy the ingredients. I then come to recognise the techniques and the order of sequences and it seems easier. I think there is more to learn with the Photography and I have been disappointed that I haven't been able to use my camera at Wedding Shoots with Stuart. I need to use the learnings skills from the cooking and transfer it to the Photography.

Is life ever fair?

[Photos from the Engagement Photo shoot]

Epiphany

Hmm I think I know what my problem is. I look at these photos I have taken and feel proud but that is because I have been on my own control and used my own ideas. I hate being told what to do but I the thing is I need to listen to Stuart so I can be better than I already am.

Want to visit my Flickr photostream with the featured photos in my blog and more then click the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/brown_eyed_dreamer/

clouds with a silver lining...

I haven't been feeling to motivated to do anything recently. Too much pressure has been pressed against me, with animation projects and final deadlines. The photography front of my course has been a bit in the low light, which is disappointing in some form, but then it's not a photography course. Now I finally finished my work which had to be handed in this week I can concentrate on the more important news.
It had been exactly a month yesterday when I went to visit the photographer.The work experience organizer from my college contacted me informing me that I would be able to do the work experience with him and that now major checks need to be run. I am so pleased, but hoping after contacting Stuart the go ahead is still in tact. On the 24th of April he is holding a photography course for amateurs and that will also count towards my work experience.
I have been lacking in confidence at my photography. I see so many great images on Flickr and that I'm slowly dragging along behind. As photographers, everyone will be at different levels and no matter what job or person we do/are, we are constantly comparing ourselves to the next person. I got my monthly magazine: Practical Photography, flicked through and thought woah, yeah I would love to be able to do all this stuff and all these step to step guides, but they don't seem to help. I think this is where Stuart comes in. He will be able to teach me the basics and the true meaning of being a photographer and then maybe my career will set off. It will be a while away of course until I am shooting my own shoots but its reachable, so i hope.
Despite the fact I'm a first year at college, we have been told to start looking for uni taster days. I am currently thinking of a vocational photography course, which will lead on to a degree, but where? I don't know for sure yet...



Want to visit my Flickr photostream with the featured photos in my blog and more then click the following http://www.flickr.com/photos/brown_eyed_dreamer/