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Writer's pictureJeff Monday

#lookuplookdown


Although I'm always trying to find time to write, I also love taking pictures. I caught the photography bug back in my college days while in the Journalism program at UW-Oshkosh. Back then, we had dark rooms and chemicals and red rooms. It was always amazing to watch my pictures slowly appear on blank papers. These days, of course, we all have high-tech cameras right on our phones and taking pictures has never been easier.

Still, it's one thing to snap a pic of a plate of food and quite another to compose a beautiful shot. Now, I'm not claiming to be a great photographer by any means, but my recent photo exhibit has gotten a bit of attention so that's cool.

#lookuplookdown started as just a fun idea I had of using a mirror to reflect the sky from the ground. But I quickly realized that I was saying something about us and the world around us. How many times do we walk past something beautiful? How often do we miss out on the sunlight hitting a rose just so or a shadow going across a leaf in the best way possible?

Since not everyone can get to the coffee shop to see my pics in person, I thought I'd post them here. Let me know what you think! I'm always posting more on Instagram so please follow me there as well.

Wood Chips & Rose

Wood Chips & Rose

I really like the splashes of color here. And the rose is perfect.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers

This was the first time I tried this technique. I couldn't believe how good it looked and so I kept going.

Summer Roses

Summer Roses

The bright blue of the sky with just a hint of clouds. A perfect summer day.

Blue Sky in Shadow #2

Blue Sky in Shadow #2

Caught the shadow perfectly

Summer Slate

Summer Slate

I like the simplicity of this one. Just a beautiful tree on a beautiful day.

Rose in Shadow

Rose in Shadow

Again playing with colors and shadows. Just that little hint of color.

Pokemon

Pokemon

One of the first times I messed with the focus. A technique I have kept using because it asks the simple question "Are we focused on what's important?"

Night Look

Night Look

Taking these types of pictures at night is very challenging. Usually I end up with a black circle but here I was able to use the street lights to give me something to work with.

Bright Autumn #2

Bright Autumn #2

A beautiful autumn day that I had to capture.

Cigs and Sky

Cigs and Sky

One of the few times I use a filter. At first, I didn't know if this would work but it ended up being a powerful image that I absolutely love.

Hidden Flowers

Hidden Flowers

This was a hard one. I wanted the flowers out of focus to emphasize just how easy it is to miss out on the beauty around us.

Where's Your Focus?

Where's Your Focus?

Another one playing with the focus. One of the first pics I took for this project.

Rocks and Leafs

Rocks and Leafs

I love the colors here. That gray and maroon just work so well together.

Green in Red

Green in Red

Such a contrast from the branches to the ground. Fall is my favorite time of year.

Blue Sky in Shadow

Blue Sky in Shadow.

I couldn't have asked for a more dramatic contrast than this. The bright blue sky is framed beautifully by the leafs and is such a punch against the shadows below.

Bright Autumn

Bright Autumn

Beautiful colors. Beautiful sunny day. What more could you want?

Spring Flower Rock

Spring Flower Rock

Ah spring! Everything comes back to life. The sun feels great. And walking through the city is the best.

Autumn Begins

Autumn Begins

I love the start of fall, when there's color in the leafs but still so much green in the branches. The bet of both seasons.

Moss & Red

Moss & Red

This tree was so pretty. And the green moss gives this shot just the right amount of ooh.

Leaf in Leaf

Leaf in Leaf

Fun fact: I rarely 'stage' a shot. I'd rather shoot the world as is. This is a perfect example that nature knows what it's doing. We just need to stand back and watch.

Autumn Sunset

Autumn Sunset

Great colors in the leafs. Great shadows.

Orange Heights

Orange Heights

I got so lucky getting that one red leaf among the orange. And the leafs on the ground are scattered so beautifully. Another example of letting nature show off.

Rose & Concrete

Rose & Concrete

A favorite. Simple yet elegant. And the rose looks so beautiful.

Spring Blooms

Spring Blooms

I changed the focus on this one. Instead of focusing on the bare branches, now we're focused on the beauty just underneath it.

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