our world | day one

It's so hard to believe that twenty-thirteen is quickly coming to a close. This year has been amazing in so many ways, but the days have absolutely flown by -- and continue to do so!! And with that, I could no longer ignore the fact that I hadn't taken enough photographs of my children this year. While I can't take back the previous months, I decided that I could do something about it now. After talking with my dear friend Rowe, who just happened to feel similarly, we decided to team up on a photo project -- one that would get our focus back on capturing the everyday of our families, while also fostering personal growth. After quite a bit of brainstorming, we decided on a fabulous photo project:  two friends living oceans apart. sharing 30 days of images, inspired each day by one word.

Without further ado, the first photograph from our joint project...

OUR WORLD | OCEANS APART:  HOME

© deb schwedhelm

© rowe timson

taking a risk

honored to have been asked to participate in THE CHORUS this week -- sharing a photo and thoughts on the subject of risk. this is what i shared...

my journey i tread along this path of comfort this route of familiarity then i see it as i had so many times before "NO CROSSING" the sign demands but this wondrous space ahead it calls to me full of longing i ache for it this unknown mystery magic in the distance could it be? i see the the lingering trail of others do i take the chance? go where i haven't gone before only a fool would enter, a familiar voice whispers yes, only a fool my heart races my palms sweaty maybe tomorrow always tomorrow but tomorrow may never come and i remind myself... you never know what will happen you never know what you will find so i venture in slowly bravely step by step and suddenly my feathers ruffled my wings are spread and just like that… i am free to soar! [deb schwedhelm, 2013]

so many more beautiful images and words, on the topic of risk, shared HERE.

grow great minds

as i do every year, i've been working on my kids' class auction projects.  i do a book for both sky's and ryder's classes, which includes a portrait, writing and drawing from each child (along with a variety of other photos from the kids and classroom).  their school theme this year is 'growing great minds'.  sky's 4th grade class wrote about 'if i were famous...' and ryder's 2nd grade class wrote about 'i am special because...'. this year, i decided to write a poem for their books, based on the school theme...

Go. Read all you can. Open your mind and... Welcome curiosity. Immerse yourself. Never give up or forget to be... Grateful.

Goodness and kindness will... Reward you. Enrich your life. And feed your soul. Trust those who are willing to teach you.

Make each day the best. It takes time, but your hard work will pay off. Nourish your creativity. Dream big and... Surround yourself with people who will lift you higher.

and here's my two book cover photos (both shot on the school grounds)...

i'm grateful that i can do this for the kids each year, but i sure wish the auction was at a different time of year.  a november 3rd auction date makes it super tough!!

let the season begin

super excited that the season for underwater shooting is about to begin. i actually was already underwater with cheryl jacobs during her film inspires! workshop.  but this shot -- mostly above water -- happens to be my favorite from the afternoon.

but how i love this one too.  red-haired CJ with her ziploc-bagged holga.

and a couple of my holga shots from the workshop, taken while walking around the neighborhood where the workshop was held.  hopefully more fun film shooting in the near future.  maybe even some home-developing too.

p.s. more exciting raffles being announced very soon!!

lensbaby | interview and info

so fun to see my lensbaby interview reposted on the lensbaby blog yesterday.  not sure if i ever shared the interview here...

i get asked a lot of questions regarding shooting with a lensbaby (i've actually received five emails over the past couple days).  most often, it's inquiring about my favorite lensbaby products or which products i'd recommend. so i thought i'd share a bit about that here (lensbaby makes for a great christmas gift).

first, you need a lens.  i have both the composer and composer pro lenses. the composer pro is definitely more solid / sturdy feeling.  and for a $50 difference, i'd go with the pro.

then you need an optic (or two or three...). i started using a lensbaby years ago, with the double glass optic. some are discouraged by the fact that with the double glass optic, you have to internally swap aperture rings.  however, honestly...i rarely swap the ring. most of the time i'm shooting with with the f/4 ring in.

not long ago, lensbaby released the sweet 35 optic, which is awesome because you can adjust the aperture on the outside [versus having to insert a new aperture ring in the optic].  the sweet 35 is an awesome optic; however, for me personally, i've become so used to my double glass optic (some habits are hard to break) and i seem to be more of a 50mm shooter than a 35mm shooter.  so i still seem to default much of the time to using the double glass optic.

i have almost all the optics and wish i could share more thoughts on the other optics but i haven't shot with any others -- YET!! it's definitely one of my 2012 goals; experimenting and playing with the other lensbaby optics.  anyone want to model for me?

here's a few of my favorite lensbaby photos shot in 2011...

and i'm so honored to have this shot grace lensbaby's sweet 35 optic box.

it's that time of year

...to finish and upload my family's annual book. makes me teary as i look through our family photos from this past year and put together our book. and i so love that my kids look through the books over and over again, giggling as they flip through the previous years' books.  they just happened to be flipping through the books today -- showing me all the pages that bring back memories or simply make them laugh. :-) mmmm...i treasure these books more than i can even express. worth every bit of time it takes to make them!! not to mention, they make fabulous christmas gifts too.

here's this year's layout...

[larger version HERE]

and here's a few of my favorite page spreads...

makes my heart so very happy!!!