Blue sea

Mid-winter does not seem to stop some people from leaping without thought (well perhaps a little thought) deep into the ocean blue...
Despite the chill, the shortest day last week brought out a few who just could not pass up an opportunity to show (nearly) all and get in the water. I stayed safely on-shore, wrapped up warm, and shot a few photographs.

No matter what the weather the sea is a temperamental mistress, restless and merciless to those who don't respect her. I've never lived far from the sea - couldn't bear not to be able to get out to smell the brine (or the ozone), touch the sand, feel the endless variety of textures, and enjoy the changing patterns across the sand and water. Something rather peaceful despite the restlessness of the water and wind.

I don't know what it is about a beach, but even when the wind is blowing and the waves are crashing there is a peace and an insulation from 'the world' for me. Something about being involved in the energy and change that is constant and permanent...

Very zen.

Zen

Zen is a strange concept. For me it's more than 'simplicity' which seems to be what most europeans view it as, it's much more like being timeless/now/suspended...
Here are some photographs that feel zen-like for me.

Podcasts

There are heaps of ways to learn new things on the 'net.

One of them is to find podcasts - and once again, there are heaps of them!

Two that I would really recommend are:

http://www.radiantvista.com/

tutorials and reviews and a daily critique! brilliant stuff...

and the second:

http://www.photowalkthrough.com/

Excellent podcasts going from raw image/camera shot through the post-processing and on to the completed product.

The thing that makes this special for me is the relationship between John Arnold and 'us' as viewers - through Flickr it's possible to have some of your pix critiqued, on occasion see your work featured on a podcast - and it's a very friendly (although with robust discussion) group.

And the other place I like to visit for thoughtful commentary and inspiration/motivation is

http://howardgrill.blogspot.com/2007/01/motivation.html

Howard's commentary and links to other places are thought-provoking, and inspirational, and have a great spread of topics. He posts almost daily, so always something new to read.

Having said all this, and after reading/watching - there is nothing like actually grabbing the camera and taking some shots and putting them up for discussion and critique (critique that provides solutions, not just points out the problems!). To help the reviewers it does help to give some idea of what you are trying to achieve or communicate in your shot - sometimes I forget this!

But the photo attached to this post is quite simple: humour.