Or, Same Workshop, Different View

As mentioned in Part 1 of this series, when WordPress went to a new version, we lost our rating widgets, so please leave a quick comment at the end of the blog so that we know you enjoyed the images we shared.

Continuing with the favorites from each workshop that Arnie and I picked (the bottom half of the mosaic at the end of this installment), the theme of Same Workshop, Different View rather than the usual Same Place, Different View prevails.

In mid-April, we were down on the coast, our backyard in a sense, for Springtime on the Outer Banks. Arnie and I love the sea, the salt water, the sand, the light, and the endless photographic opportunities this area has afforded us and others over the years, and for me, decades. It is interesting that both Arnie’s and my favorites from this year’s workshop are of water. His is a wave gracefully and forcefully curling over. Mine is a high-key abstract made in the early morning.

We returned from the Outer Banks on a Friday in time for the opening of our exhibit “Belize: Mayans in Transition”, held at Through This Lens in Durham, North Carolina. Three days later on Monday, we were on the road heading to Asheville with friends for our annual driving-the-wonderful-twisty-roads in the Blue Ridge Mountains, tops down, of course!

We returned on Thursday, then headed back to the Outer Banks for the annual Duck and Wine Festival celebrated with friends. Home Sunday, then on Thursday, back to the mountains for Blue Ridge Mountain Magic, revisiting some of the locations from two weeks previous! I did say in the last blog that our schedule is a bit unusual!

For the favorites, I selected a closeup of a Magnolia fraseri blossom that I call “Ode to Georgia” in honor of Georgia O’Keeffe, while Arnie chose one of late-afternoon light beams sneaking in under the clouds and adding to the mood of the layers of the Blue Ridge.

Just about every year, we head to Europe, and this year was no exception. We started in late May in the Inner Hebrides of the Scottish Highlands. Located on the northwest coast of Scotland, the Isle of Skye is a place we love, not only for the rugged scenery, but for the warm, friendly, hardy people we meet there. Arnie’s photograph shows a lone, white house with a commanding view, evoking the isolation of some parts of this island. My image shows a different view of an oft-photographed landmark. The light came in under the dark clouds and lit up patches of the velvety sides of the crags.

We traveled with a couple of our participants who also joined us in Paris, and we had extra, fun times with them before the actual Paris and la Féte de la Musique workshop. Again, Arnie and I each picked an image from the same location in Paris, one we love to visit because of the music and dancing every Sunday.

Every time we go, we see a couple who, we have been told, dance almost every week, come rain or shine. They are not married to each other, but they dance as one and with such style. The audience is always entranced. I loved the way their feet moved and her skirt swirled and worked to capture that in my image. There is another regular, an accordion player whom we enjoy every time we visit. He also recognizes us, as we share our photographs with the dancers. He likes to pretend he is a grumpy old man, as in Arnie’s photograph, but we know better and laugh at his thinly disguised efforts. He never can keep the grumpy expression for long.

So, it is fun to review your year in photography, the treasures you found, the experiments you attempted that succeeded, the different ways you approached things.

Next: Part 3 of 4.

If you enjoy our blog(s) …

Please SUBSCRIBE. It’s easy to do by clicking on the appropriate link at the top of the right column.

Comments on the blog are always encouraged and welcome.

We also hope you will LIKE this and SHARE this blog with those interested in photography by clicking on the buttons below. We also hope you will check out these links:

• Barefoot Contessa Photo Adventures Website
• Facebook
• Google+
• YouTube
• LinkedIn