The Simple Flavors of a Shoe Bistro

Ahhh...can you smell the aroma? Tasty isn't it? Now, of course shoes may have an odd smell to them, but there is also a beauty that extends far past the exterior of the item. Each shoe represents our souls personally.

So, over the past few weeks I have been trying to come up with ideas for this project. Honestly, it was quite difficult. I feel this whole project isn't going to be easy; which is good. I enjoy it when things push me to think or to attempt to do things differently.

This is my first entry, so let me explain a little bit why I even chose shoes in the first place. For a quite a while (longer then three years, maybe even 5) I have been shooting photographs with themes in them. Before three years ago, I didn't even notice they were themes, but when looking back, its apparent that all the photos of a certain time usually centered around something.

Well, here we are. Its Sunday Feb. 27th, 2011. I am a Junior in Paier College of Art, and I am working on this project for a class. So far, like I mentioned earlier, this project has been off to a tough start. Shoes have been done before, quite alot actually. So I want to try and stay away from the more normal looking shots. This will be a even bigger problem in the future, but for now its still in the back of my mind. The first few pictures I took were boring. I actually didn't like them at all, but I kept them just in case.

I'm glad I took those awful pictures though, they made me realize that I need to work harder then to just place and take. It has to be more about a plan and understanding of the environment I want to take a photograph of.

Also, just a side view, I hate the snow. I really do. Most pictures I first thought of for this project involve grass and wild life...all of which are gone at the moment due to the lovely snow outside. I even attempted to a take a photograph of one with the snow...that failed.

Okay, here's the first 3 photos of the project, hope you like them :)

First picture for project.

 Okay, so this is my first picture (above). Its sad, I feel this picture is still cliche, but I don't have the heart to get rid of it quite just yet. I'm not quite sure if it will always be part of the project or not, but for now, it is. The red of the shoes are very vibrate against the gray fence. I love the color contrast. Also, I love the shoes, and the fence. The shoes were the first pair Jackie bought me, and the fence has been part of my life since I was 9; so I'm kind of connected to it. There's been times where it fell on me, or I've gotten hit in the face with poison ivy right in front of it. I have had to repair it quite a few times, and in all honesty, its worth it. Its an old fence that really fits the house it surrounds.

I enjoyed the sort of strange cropping.

 Second picture: This is the first one that took longer than 5 minutes to take. I played with this concept for quite a while. At first, the blurry feet were not part of the composition, but as I progressed I realized there was something missing. So, as I was taking the picture, I purposely stood in the arrangement. I found I liked it a lot better.

Favorite So far... :)

Third Picture: This was the first picture that was completely premeditated. This is also the first picture my mom has helped me with in quite a while. She is the blurry figure, and everything in the photo is hers. So in theory, this is a portrait of her. I enjoy the color scheme and the motion added to it.

What two out of the three photos above helped me understand is that shoes and motion blur go together quite well. Perhaps its because we relate the two to one another. Who knows, but in any case, for the first three photos, I think I'm off to a good start. It might be difficult, but at least I'll get something out of it, a grade. :)