Yesterday when I published my update article about my progress on my eighth year of working on my Memory Pods series, I did not discuss something new for this series that I started my experiment/play process with. Up until this year, I have been keeping the background in this series of photographs neutral, or at least the initial composition these have a neutral background before I start my creative developmental processes.
As a result of the COVID pandemic and some personal mental health aspects that came to light in 2020/2021, I started to be open to modifying the background, even looking for something darker as another element to introduce into this series. Thus I went into my experiment/play process, aka ‘screwing around’, with my phone camera system. One of the many things I experimented with is a composition of my subject in front of a dark window that also had some interesting reflected highlights, with this photograph #192128 being one of the first of these experiments.
Later when evaluating what I was messing around with, this particular image really stood out. Maybe because it is such a complete difference from what I had been photographing for the past eight years. This background has been available the entire time, but I really, really did my best to avoid bringing this element into the frame of view. Okay, until now. My best guess is that I was avoiding a darker element that might be a personal reflection on my up and down moods. Seems that I was always trying the positive spin on things, thus, a little more acceptance with my past.
Net result, I continued to use this darker background on subsequent days in 2021, and as a part of my experiment/play process, I also incorporated this compositional element with my full-frame digital Canon and expired film with the Hasselblad when working on this series.
So expect to see more of this element in my series. A continuing work in progress. Who knows, I might have a reason to continue working on this series a ninth year!
Cheers,
Doug
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Book workshop:
I will be leading a Creative Photo Book workshop with the Southeast Center of Photography (SEC4P) later in the Fall of this year. This will be a virtual event on Zoom; November 6 & 7th and 13 & 14th, 2021, 10 AM – 1 PM, EDT (3 hour session each day, with a week between the weekend sessions to work your book-dummy). Registration is now open, and there is a SEC4P membership discount. Just advised that it is SOLD OUT & wait-list has been started. Let me know if you have any questions!
Developing a Creative Photo Book, a virtual (Zoom) workshop I will be leading again in conjunction with Medium Photo with New dates: March 5 – 6, 12 – 13, 2022 More details and sign-up available now at Medium Photo.
Singular Images 
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