Assignment 4

Moodiness, moments, light, joy, sweetness, simplicity, love, place, quirkiness, humor, irony, childhood, beauty, faces, nature, storytelling, focus, clarity, centeredness, peace, feeling, emotion, perspective, unique vision, art, creativity, myself reflected in others/in the scene, others reflected back to me.

Enjoying the journey!


Blogged for the class: Finding Your Eye .

Assignment 3b

Oh my what a difference a few hours makes!  I'd lost the nice lighting and my new subject had some ground rules which involved staying put on the couch playing on the computer, so I had fewer angles from which to shoot.  And, then, I zoomed in with my lens in her face and we burst out laughing.  The laughing continued for most of the 57 photos.  It was that kind of stop-tickling-me-I-can't-breathe laughter that had us both moving all about, so it became hard to focus.  While we had a rip-roaringly fun time, I wasn't certain I'd have any photos to use.  Much to my surprise I captured some great moments.  I had a harder time narrowing these down to two or three.  I love this first and most untraditional of the set:

To my eye, I captured the vibrancy, energy and feeling of the moment here.  

Thirteen is awesome!  Cutie, freckle-face!  Her "deep-down-from-the-tips-of-her-toes" smile is so pretty caught on camera.

We finally settled down and were still for a brief second.  Here I'm shooting from on top of a nearby stool.  Somehow the quirkiness still comes through.  I noticed in this one, the colors in her t-shirt provide a balance that makes her face pop more.

And, of course, it's personality that pops here!  Ah, Emma, my love!
(I had to do a bit of convincing to be allowed to post this one here.)

Much of my reflection on Annie's photo shoot applies here.  Plus, with Emma's what I got was not at all what I expected.  Once I gave up my preconceived notions and just laughed along with Emma it was really a lot of fun.  Of these photos, I like most the ones with movement and energy.  They have a sweet beauty and authenticity to them.  I would love another chance to photograph her in a quieter mood and in the nice lighting of the earlier day, but I really am very pleased with this set!

Boy she is really trying hard not to crack up in this one - and she's d.o.n.e!

These photos - and the memories of the shoot itself - will be treasured.

Again, thanks, Kat! 



Blogged for the class: Finding Your Eye .

Assignment 3a

As it turned out, my youngest was home today with a tummy ache.  I had work to do from here and she helped out by highlighting a big stack of papers for me.  For which I paid her.  And, during which, she was the proverbial sitting duck.  I got in a good 39 photos before this one:

Even though she agreed to the photo shoot, she can only tolerate so much.  Love it!

I approached Annie from all different angles, including from below and from above.  I also worked with the lighting, as she was seated at the dining room table and the diffused, cloudy sunlight was streaming in.  Of the 40 photos taken, I do so love that first one with her hand up, but these are the three that rose as the creme of the crop for this assignment:

I noticed changing the angle from where I shoot makes a big difference.  Here I'm standing on a chair over her.  Sweetness!

Here you see the impact of the lighting.  I've seen (and coveted) other photos I have come across with this feature, and here, I did it myself!  It adds beauty, warmth, and softness in addition to the gorgeous highlights.

And, then, there's this.  This could be one of the best photos I've taken to date.  She fills the frame, her head is angled slightly, her smile and expression are natural and relaxed, the coloring - between the eyes, the freckles, and her skin tone - are softly rich and beautiful.  The hot pink and lime green of her jammies and hair wrap just make her face pop even more.  I'm just so, so pleased with this!

I was interested and excited while shooting (could have done it all day long) and couldn't wait until after lunch to see what I had captured!  I lost track of time while both photographing and editing.  The end result makes my heart swell with joy, pride, and gratitude.  My favorite photos remained the same throughout capture, review, and edit.  It was easier to cull the best than I thought it might be.  I was only frustrated later when the subject interrupted me and rushed me a bit during the editing and basking in the glow phase (tummy acted up again and it was time for snuggling).  Oh, and the darned dog is driving me nuts while I'm writing this reflection.  (Hmmm, "artist Aimee" is pretty self-centered and not very nurturing!  LOL!)

I loved the feeling of having time and Annie's permission to get in close and keep shooting.  I liked being able to work from different angles.  I enjoyed the surprise of the sunlight as it entered my shot.  I didn't worry about missing a moment or have a feeling of chasing after a shot.  There was no pressure from a changing dynamic, it was a fairly static situation with Annie sitting there working and me moving around her.  

I do hope to have a similar photo shoot with my other daughter this afternoon.  We'll see if she tolerates it!  I may have to sweeten the deal for her too ;-)

Thanks, Kat -- I didn't know I had these shots in me!




Blogged for the class: Finding Your Eye .

Assignment 3

So, I've created and reviewed my inspiration file to find what familiar thing/person/place I am drawn to capturing with my camera.  It is clear that I love to take close ups of my children.  I just explained to the girls that for my next photo class assignment I have to take 50 photos of them.  My youngest turned from her task and I wish you could have heard her tone as she said, "What?  50 photos of us?"  They do tire of me constantly snapping photos of them.  This should be an interesting assignment!  Here's my oldest being camera fed up shy from this past weekend.

Blogged for the class: Finding Your Eye .

The Thrill, too!

I take photographs for the thrill of capturing a scene.  I follow Marcie Scudder's daily photos and am enchanted by her ability to capture beautiful misty scenes.  (I try not to be discouraged by someone's abilities and rather be inspired by them.)  This morning, I took a break from preparing breakfast and packing lunch to grab my camera and catch a "Marcie" shot.  It is such a thrill now, after the kids have gone and the house is quiet to take a look at what I shot.  I felt such excitement as my photos unloaded from the card onto my laptop.

That "look what I did!" feeling is such a rush.

These were shot and posted as is...no editing.

And, then I played around with processing.

Processing the photos is part of the art for me.  I like seeing what I can tease out of an image.

Fun times with these photos today!

The feeling of achievement when I've captured and created something that speaks to me -- I love it!



Blogged for the class: Finding Your Eye .

Oh, and!

Oh, and finding beauty in unusual places...the old, rundown, forgotten, broken, decaying...that's another reason I make photographs.

Blogged for the class: Finding Your Eye .

Why...

Most photos shown here link to other posts that further illustrate my entry.

I started taking photos for all the wrong reasons (or I suppose, precisely at the time when I needed it most).  I was in a really negative thinking pattern, caught up in feelings of inadequacy and jealousy.  Full of resentment, discontent, and with an “I’ll show you” attitude, I picked up my camera and started a blog.  I see now, there is great healing power in art though, and she worked her magic, turning wrong into right, difficult to comfort, challenge to blessing.  By August of last year, things had begun to shift for me.

Old ways of thinking and being cracked and crumbled and fell away – some quietly and some not so.  By December, making pictures had become more of a way for me to make sense of things and shine my light into the world and less of a need to prove my worthiness.  This year, making pictures has become a powerful tool for coping and self-expression, throwing open the door to possibility, wonder, and joyfulness.

What I’ve noticed about why I make pictures:


I'm highly sensitive and easily (and often) overwhelmed.

Making pictures helps to break things down into more manageable bits.

Making pictures gives me a container to hold waves of emotion and sometimes grief.


Making pictures provides breadcrumbs to find my way away from depression.  I’m a baby-step sort of person, and find that first small step to be the hardest.

When it feels like nothing is working, there’s too much to do, things start to whirl and swirl and I’m adrift, just doing one thing can help.  Often now, that one thing is taking a photo.  Making a picture anchors me.  It helps me be in the moment and to see that moment differently.  I am able to bring appreciation, gratitude, love, acceptance, and thankfulness into the moment, upping the happy and lowering the desire to depress.  Each day I make time for myself and this creative endeavor and these brief moments rain blessings on the rest of my day.

The daily practice piece, my 365 projects, has been transforming.

One example is my awareness that I tend toward wishing instead of doing and accepting.  Doing and accepting brings a whole lot more happiness than wishing things were better, different, more, less.  Blogging a photo each day has let me practice feeling alright with imperfection and letting go of needing things to be complete and better and the best.  Doing something imperfectly gets a whole lot more done than not doing anything because it can't be perfect.  Making pictures has given me a chance to make mistakes and completely suck and still be OK.  Remarkably, that makes my spirit soar.

Making pictures gives me a chance to shine beauty and light into the world. 

Making pictures allows me to capture time, especially where my kids, family, and the changing seasons are concerned.

I’m also able to fiddle with the concept of impermanence and letting go, with trust and a sense of it is going to be alright.

Making pictures allows me to tell a story, show a feeling, share it…name it.

Making pictures fans my still small (but ever growing) inner fire of creativity.  I can learn at my own pace, developing confidence as I go.

It insulates me from the outer critic and quiets the inner critic.  I'm healing past wounds my budding inner artist suffered.  I have permission to just go ahead and give it a try.

The process of working with color, form, composition, storytelling, light, emotion, time, and setting is very powerful.  It is my art.  With it I can go deep or find lightness.

Making pictures has a social piece.  Sharing my photos in person, through my blog, on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter, provides me connection to others and some distance at the same time.  

 

It gives me a way to participate socially while honoring my challenges with vulnerability and commitment.  It can be scary and exhilarating to put myself “out there” in this way.  Photography is my path both in and out of that situation, and I get to decide which direction and when and how much.

Making pictures allows me to work with the concept of validation, external and internal.  It gives me frequent practice coming face to face with my need for external validation and shows me that happiness and peace come from internal validation.

Sometimes external and internal combine and I make a photo that resonates deeply in me as well as others.  That can be a heady feeling.  However, making a photo that speaks to me, and no one else, is absolutely A-OK.  Making a photo and not sharing it with anyone else can be rewarding in its own powerful way.  It doesn't need to be seen to be real.

And, more and more, through making pictures I continue cultivating wonder and joyfulness.

Wonder and joyfulness, joyfulness and wonder - coping, expression, focusing in, being in the moment, telling a story, getting lost in the flow of creativity, of capturing moments and light and beauty and finding the blessings in peace and in pain...that is why I make pictures.

Blogged for the class: Finding Your Eye .