Monday, November 23, 2015

Simple Stories

Stories always excite me.  I suspect that's because at heart, I am a story teller.  I love to read stories, I love to tell stories, and I am seeing now how much I love to show stories.  I think because I love them so much, I find great value even in little stories, because I believe it is those that make us whole.  The daily, detailed, easily forgotten, sometimes messy, up and down, in and out, stories of our lives.  The moments we will never really forget, but sometimes get lost in the clutter and busyness of life.  The moments we would never think to document, but look back on with tears when we recall them, and wish that we had something to show for them.

So, forgive me while I linger on this story.  This ordinary, single, simple story of a boy learning to sew.  Learning to tie knots one over another with ease.  Learning to push and pull and tighten.  Learning to stay focused and work carefully and slowly and precisely.  And a momma on the other said of the lens, with tears held back as her oldest takes one step closer to not needing her.



Monday, November 9, 2015

Everyday Life (Behind the Scenes)

Something I think is important to capture as a photographer is the daily stuff that doesn't really feel like it might be good enough to make the cut.  You know the stuff I mean, right?  The things you do daily or weekly and even though you enjoy them, it's not something you necessarily feel like you should have pictures of.  I mean, it's not that once a year Halloween costume shot or that Christmas tree hunting picture, it's just ordinary, daily life.  But to me, those are the gems - kind of like the things that make a house a home.  It's the ordinary, daily things that make a family.

So, when I recently posted the question of doing something a little different for a blog post, and my husband's Aunt Sandy said she wanted a Behind the Scenes shot, THIS day and time was perfect.  You see, this, was my "canvas".



It was a normal weekday and my daughter wanted to play with Play-Doh.  This is something we have done a hundred times, and always at our kitchen table, with our place mat that is stuck to the table.  I was checking e-mail and had just finished breakfast, so my laptop and drink were both on the table.  What I think is important to understand is that I feel like pictures are beautiful because they are real life and they tell a story.  To me, documenting this everyday moment that we enjoy regularly was so important - plus, it gave me a great opportunity to get a pull back of the behind the scenes before I shot.

Quite literally, the only things I changed were my lighting (I needed some!) and I got a few things out of the frame that didn't really pertain to the story (my laptop and drink).  I also found the plastic bag to be a large item that I didn't want, but I could have easily left it in and it could have been part of the story.

That's it!  I used the same camera and lens for all the shots you see in this post.  I just let her play and I rotated around her, changing my angles, and kept distracting things (like the basket on the counter) out of the frame- and since I tend to shoot "tight" (up close), that isn't too hard.  The rest of the story wrote itself and I used my knowledge of photography to help tell the story I was both seeing and wanted to tell.

 I included details that were a part of the things I want to remember of this time.  Her little fingers on the rolling pin; the way she pressed soooo hard on the cookie cutters; her excitement when she had a new creation; that HAIR.  ;-)


I like to show her faces, as that is a part of the story in both who she is and who she is becoming.  And even this process here, of her putting pieces in the little pot.  She had decided she was done as I was trying to get a shot of her collection and was ripping up each one and putting them inside the flower toy.  It was a great reminder to me that she is still very much in control of her story and I love to embrace that.  And bonus, she loves dressing up like a princess.  Thanks to Grandma, she now has a few play dresses that we get to see regularly and one was captured here - a great memory I will treasure.

To cap off the story, picking up Play-Doh is just about as fun as playing - using a chunk to go around and gather all the little pieces that fell off - that's something I want to hold on to as my daughter grows.  And as it turned out, that bag ended up being a part of the story after all, as it is what we keep our Play-Doh toys in.

Ok, I hope this was something a little different and was a little bit of an insight into my shooting.  I really do just document our story with photographs.  There's no special lights or studio, just our home, camera, and me.  And if you ever wondered what it might look like to have me document something like this in your life, stay tuned.  While I can't give you any specific time line, I CAN tell you that the photography you see with my family, is what I will be providing for other families as well, in the not too distant future.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

November 5 on 5: All Things Pumpkins

The thing I love most about photographs is the story they tell.  I love to look back and be able to have those same emotions and memories arise from looking at a single image ten years later.  And as a parent of a little and big, I am much too aware that I will soon forget all the little steps my daughter is taking if I'm not documenting them and telling stories with them.

For my 5 on 5 this month, we just recently carved our pumpkins in time for Halloween.  It was a mess and a delight all at one table.  My people were busy planning and cleaning and carving and I loved the intense look we all had as we worked.
Little E. did an amazing job her first time cleaning out that pint sized pumpkin.  She was unsure at first, but as she watched the boys, she decided to work just as diligently as they did.

Pumpkin carving means pumpkin guts - yuck!  And pumpkin seeds - yum.  Good thing that bowl is big!

That face is one of focus and determination.  And still working through that hair.  I love it.

 I even got in the frame!  E. and I checking out her left over "E" after cutting it from the pumpkin.  Thanks to my hubby for taking the shot.  =)

So, it's blog hopping time!!!  Are you ready?  Jen's story is up next:  Jennifer Faith Brown Photography.  I just know you are going to love it!

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