three six five

yesterday i started my three sixty five. what's that?
it's when you take one photo each day for a year. three hundred and sixty five days, yes.
i sort of started it off an impulse. i was looking about on flickr and kept coming across photostreams that were so full of emotion. i like it when photography is like a mirror - when it's realistic. and i don't take enough risks like that to make it realistic. i only take photos when i'm comfortable with it. i've been back and forth all day long (yeah.. day two) but i decided i'm going to keep going.
last time i did a three sixty five all my photos were horrible and i couldn't stand it and gave up when it became hardest. but after today i remembered, like they say in the stories, only the best things come from the hardest of circumstances.
i'm not sure how this is going to turn out, but i want to take more initiative. don't get me wrong, i'm not overly concerned about making an important life for myself down here. God has what He has in store for me, so i won't worry, and besides, heaven is my home. not down here. it doesn't matter if i become famous or rich down here.
but then again, there comes a time when we all have to take a step up. so here i come.

(i'll post my photos to my flickr.)

the art of sooc.

what is sooc? it's a photography term. it stands for straight out of camera. an unedited and unaltered natural photograph.
how is it an art? well think of it this way.
photoshop has taken over photography. wherever you go, almost every photo you see has been photoshopped in some way. even though it's a cool idea at times, taking a photo and making it look different and nearly impossible, i sometimes get a little tired of it. what happened to photography being real? if you pull apart the word "photograph" it literally means "light writing." ("photo" means light, and "graph" means writing) in a photograph, the camera is taking all the possible information it can from what the light it showing in the sight that you're taking a photo of.
photography can mean different things to different people, but to me it's saving a moment. it's not about creating something that's unreal. that's why lately i haven't been editing my photos at all lately. not even altering colors.
besides, photography isn't about being a good photographer. it's taking a moment and keeping it for yourself or to show to others. i think that's why we say "take" a photo.
and that's also why i'm not interested in making photography a job. weddings are lovely, taking photos of families is sweet, fashion photography is really cool. but i'm afraid that if i did that for a living i might as well explode. it would be taking the same photos over and over again, just different people. there's not much adventure in that, to me.
my conviction might change but as for now this is what it is.
my name is jenna cleveland and i take photos not because i want to be a good photographer, but because i want to
(and now, here are some sooc photos. they're better large, so click on them.)

p.s. if you're a wedding/family/fashion/any other sort of photographer and i've offended you at all, don't listen to me. :) i'm sure you have your own opinion of photography and you are fabulous at doing it.

where have you been, jenna cleveland?

oh, where have i been? i have been sitting here looking majestic and sad in front of windows. and doing too much homework and not too much photography. where have YOU been?