Tough day so far. First, it was harder to cut the background paper than I'd expected. Cutting off 5 or 6 feet of the paper isn't difficult. But cutting it from 53" wide to 42" wide is hard. When I did it day before yesterday, I put one end of the roll over a cardboard storage tube I had, and cut around the roll with a blade till I'd cut all the way through. It left a ragged edge but that didn't matter. The problem was, the tube was shorter than 53" and somehow the end left an impression - a long vertical line that showed. OK for a trial piece to figure out how to hang the paper, but not ok for a real background.
So today I cut it narrower with scissors. Aargh. I had a lot of trouble getting it the right width. I hope I did. At one point I yelled, "I HATE having to do something that's impossible!" Then I settled down and figured that eventually I'd find an easier way.
The yelling reminded me to start a "6 months from now...." list. I learned this technique from The Inner Game of Music, by Barry Green and Tim Gallwey. (The book applies Gallwey's "Inner Game" sports psychology, to improving skills playing music. It has great application to craft skills as well.)
So I headed up a blank sheet of paper, "If I were hanging background paper 6 months from now (April, 2004), I'd expect to...."
Then I started listing the things I'd expect to do better. Some items had to do with preparation - little helpful prep things I hadn't thought to do this time. Naturally my list includes "have an easy way to trim width of paper."
This technique never fails to calm me down. I'm acknowledging that this is the first time I'm doing this - at least in this space. I'm giving myself permission to make mistakes. I'm expecting to learn from them. Whew.
I've applied this over the years to a lot of things - specific blacksmithing skills, specific bowls, building projects - everything that I've had trouble doing the first time. Often I review the list before the next time I do the same thing, especially if it's been a while. This technique really does help me learn.
After I cut the fresh background paper and hung it, I started assembling lights and light control accessories. This went OK although it was sometimes puzzling. The hardest parts, I'd figured out when I first bought the lights. It does look as if a 12" reflector light will not be too heavy for my mini-boom light stand. It it does work, that will save me some significant money.
Unpacking some of the accessories was disappointing. They all work, but wow, what dust! I was amazed that a photo equipment company would pack their stuff so dirty. I mean, really really dirty! So it took quite a while to clean it all up. I'd planned to store each thing in the box it came in, but abandoned that idea. Every box was full of dust. So eventually I'll need another storage solution. That could be a long time from now, at the rate I'm going.
Well, tomorrow morning I should be able to start trying lighting arrangements. Will take digital shots to learn the best views of each bowl, and to compare lighting arrangements. That means the earliest I can get slides developed is Monday, but I've accepted that. Patience, Cathy, patience....
My idea of painting while slides are developed had to be abandoned too. The space for drying paintings got taken up by photo light accessories. But - I can work in the forge on non-photography days.
It got so stressful today that I put on the tape of Pachibel Canon and other baroque music, that I've used for many years when I do bodywork and stretching. It did help. Still, when I left the studio today I could feel the tension. This "photography stage" of the work is going to be a challenge to my stress management techniques. Maybe I'll learn some new ones.
4:07:26 PM 
|
