Cathy Mackelvey

Wow look at that morning light. It may be cold (-16 C with a wind chill of -24 C) but the trade off is the wonderful light. According to Environment Canada, down to -27 wind chill, frostbite does not occur within 45 min. Lower than that the time to frostbite shortens quickly.

(http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/education/windchill/research2003_e.html)

February in Nova Scotia. If you are outside with a camera for extended periods of time it requires some planning. It's a bad sign when we start looking for the wind chill temperature. Note to self: buy a longer coat. The goal is to not freezing anything. Personally I go for a ¾ length coat with a fur edged hood, warm boots, lined leather gloves. Given that set up, I usually expect to freeze my fingers a little but I can control the camera. I carry the camera in the bag when I am not actively shooting. The pressure of holding the camera restricts the blood flow just enough that fingers tend to freeze. It's a little game we play in the cold. How long can I stay out in this. Hmm fingers getting numb, time to pull them up under the sleeve of my coat for a bit. Cheeks getting numb. time to get out of the cold. With a hood that has a fur edge I can last much longer. The fur extends over my face and keeps it from freezing but I can see what I am doing. Now, I just need to buy a spare camera battery. Cold and batteries don't go together very well Do you make any special preparations for shooting in cold weather?

This week I stepped out of my comfort zone. I've been meaning to check out Aperture Studios in Halifax. I noticed an event on www.halifaxphotographynews.com Halifax Photography Industry Night. So in the spirit of, "if you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got.” I checked it out.

What a high to spend a couple of hours talking to people who are serious about photography. Made some awesome contacts. Spread the word that I 'd like to shoot more. Head shots for the web. People.  Definitely worth the effort to get myself out of my comfort zone.

Maybe I should have called this post, January: Networking

Have you pushed yourself out of your comfort zone lately? Did it help you grow your vision?

Today I am starting down a new path, a blog. A place to share inspiring moments. Making a commitment, in writing, in public, makes it more likely to happen. When I create an image that works, it gives back to me a sense of value, that “Yup I add something of value to this world.” I want to do this. I need to do this, for me. I need a mechanism to focus my attention. This is it. Exchanging ideas, working with other people pays off big time. Time to get going, collecting ideas.

While I was researching web design, I came across Antony Gormley's site, http://tiny.cc/RCvaM. Nice site. He's one of my favorite sculptors. Now if I could capture the essence of a person in my photography, the way he does in his sculpture, I'd be a happy camper! That inspires me.

What inspires you ?