home from second-shooting a wedding over the past couple days. trying to catch up on things. and saw this on my dear friend, steph beaty's (lifeography's) blog. originally made for graphic design but so applicable to photography. thanks for sharing steph!! love it...
i'm super excited to share that i'll be holding an online mini-workshop on the bloom forum -- june 3rd through june 17th. this workshop is for bloom forum members only, so if you're interested in participating in this workshop, be sure to become a bloom forum member prior to workshop registration day (this tuesday, may 24th). to register for the bloom forum or for additional information, please click the bloom logo below...
i'm super excited about this opportunity to teach and share. hope to see you there!!
wow, this film seems so incredible!! two filmmakers followed alec soth over a two-year period as he worked on his 'broken manual' project. chills just watching the trailer.
Trailer 'Somewhere To Disappear' from Arnaud Uyttenhove on Vimeo.
i have no idea when or where the film is going to show, but i can't wait to see it when it does.
please take some time to view alec sloth's work. it's so powerful and awesome and genuine and intimate and raw and just wow!! seeing work like this always makes me realize how very much learning and growing i have yet to do as a photographer.
a couple shots i love, from alec's broken manual project...
i think pretty much everyone has now heard of vivian maier. but have you seen the new vivian maier site? i swear i could look at her work all day. and night. it's mind blowing how talented she was. and even more mind blowing how she shot for nothing more than herself and her love for shooting. goodness...her eye. her composition. her timing. so much talent!!
i really would love to own any one of her prints but here's a few of my favorites from her new site.
i've seen this one before, but man, i love it so much!!
and this self portrait. OMG!!!
i can't wait to get her book and watch her documentary (i donated to her project long ago on kickstarter and have both coming my way once they're done). and one day...i will make it to one of her exhibitions.
hats can be short,and hats can be tall. you can wear them to the market, or you can wear them playin' ball.
some people wear their hats to block away the sun. some people wear their hats just because they think it's fun.
the pilgrims, they wore hats, and nurses do too. sombreros are a spanish hat, but that I bet you knew.
hats can be all colors, all shapes and sizes too. like a cowboy hat or a pirates hat in black or white or blue.
magicians use their hats to pull their rabbits from. and a sailor has his hat on when it's home from sea he comes.
there are hats for all occasions and many places too. last night we thought we'd model this hat for you. - author unknown
came across the above poem and couldn't help but share. reminds me of dr. seuss, which we read nightly in this house and...last night, i asked sky if she'd let me take a few photos of her, to test out my new hat. (the poem will also be a perfect addition for my family's annual book.) we didn't have a lot of time to shoot last night -- about 15 minutes in between sky and ryder's gymnastic start times and then about 10 minutes when we got home (until we had enough of being attacked by mosquitoes).
photos shot with lensbaby composer | double optic and nikon 50mm f/1.4G
also, i wanted to share this video series i just discovered and am totally diggin' -- [framed] show, by melissa niu. i watched ryan muirhead's [framed] video yesterday and i can't stop thinking about his closing words...
...find your own voice and the only way to do that is by working. you can't read up on it. you can't learn it. you can't absorb it from someone else. but if you're out there shooting constantly -- on good days, on bad days, when you're feeling creative, when you're not...carry a tiny camera with you everywhere you go. if you do that enough, your voice will find you. it's inevitable.
YES... your voice will find you.
thanks ryan for your ongoing inspiration and the reminder to keep shooting...through the good days and the funks!!
i love this womani am grateful for this woman and all she shares with us she reminds me what it means to be good and grateful and not-so-serious in this crazy, mixed up world of ours
while in kansas, i started a grateful 365 project. to be completely honest, something went off course and i never finished. and then we moved. and then i was sent really off course. but seeing hailey's video has me longing to start another one. although i'm taking the daily pressure off and simply calling it my 'grateful project'. can't wait to see what comes of it.
how can anyone ever go wrong with a project that reminds them of all they have to be grateful for...each and every day.
hope you enjoy the video...
please don't forget to check out their 365 grateful site -- 365grateful.com
last but not least, here's a few photos from my 2010 (iphone) grateful project...
such an interesting article, from 2008, on conscientious regarding what makes a great portrait? is it...
an intangible element luck and patience the graphic elements, framing, lines and light what is said about the image maker what is said about the subject images that make a statement vulnerability and awkwardness a feeling and reaction an insight into an inner universe an element of surprise insightful and engaging a meaningful connection an emotional exchange tension in the moment infused with believability mutual trust a raw and honest exchange the capturing of a state of grace something that rarely happens an unanswerable question
these were some of the thoughts (of photographers, bloggers, curators, editors and gallerists) shared on conscientious.
the article has me thinking (a lot) about the portraits i've taken. what i love. what i don't love. what i've been doing. what i haven't been doing. where i hope to go. it also has me thinking about how much growing i have yet to do. i try and remind myself often that it's only been six years and i still have so much to learn, expand upon and explore. and patience...i must simply have patience. and continue to study and work hard.
after i read the article, i spent some time with my accessible work | portraits. here are some portraits i've taken over the past few years that strongly speak to me for one reason or another...
so, what do YOU think makes a great portrait?
i hope you'll not only take the time to read the article, but also sit with your own work and thoughts for a while.
saw this on cup of jo today. there's a new documentary coming out (march 16th) about bill cunningham. so who's bill cunningham? this is bill cunningham! maybe you knew who he was, but i had no idea. and now...after watching the trailer, i absolutely can't wait to watch his documentary. i wish we had more bill cunninghams in this world. he seems pretty darn fabulous.
and darn it. these cool films never come to tampa. click here to see if the film is coming to a city near you.
although the site does say...
If you do not see your town listed please urge friends and family to request the film at your local arthouse venue. Arthouse theater owners/managers really like to know that their local audience is interested in a particular film. Theater managers can contact our theatrical booker Clemence Taillandier at clemence@zeitgeistfilms.com and we can work out a date to open the film.
maybe there's a chance.
i'm a photographer. and this is my work. some of it is this. and some of it is this. really great photographers can't stop taking pictures. they do it like other people eat and breathe. her whole life is her subject.
two quotes i loved from the video below.
annie leibovitz intrigues and fascinates me on so many levels. i'm so grateful to have attended her exhibition in san diego a few years ago.
i just put the annie leibovitz: life through a lens documentary in my netflix queue. not sure how i missed that it back in 2008. and i think i'll sit with her a photographer's life 1990-2005 book this afternoon, while the kids are doing gymnastics. i guess it's just an annie leibovitz inspiration kind of day.
sadly, i just don't sit with my photography books enough these days.
such an amazing endeavor is taking place right now... crista dix, from wall space gallery, recently launched life support japan -- where photographers from around the world have donated prints (no larger than 8.5 x 11, edition of 10) for (set-price) auction.
these prints can be purchased online at wall space gallery for $50 each!!
direct relief international (for medical) and habitat for humanity (for rebuilding) are the organizations that will benefit from the life support japan print sales. the goal is 100% donation (as long as they can get donation of shipping supplies and financial help towards shipping costs). so far, the auction has raised $10,000...in two days!!
it's incredible the number of photographers, who have stepped forward and donated. new photographs are being added daily, so if you don't see an image you love and want to purchase, please keep checking back.
seriously...such an awesome opportunity to purchase a some art, while also helping the relief efforts in japan. and a special thanks to aline smithson for all her hard work and coordination efforts.
i've offered this 8x8 print for auction...
copyright deb schwedhelm photography | one
ETA: i just read this article. and the pictures. OMG...my heart aches for the people of japan.
and a recent note from crista dix:
Life Support Japan + online print sale benefit information. Natural disasters happen all the time, like landslides, floods, earthquakes. We live on a planet that isn't static. Friday, March 11th, we witnessed a natural disaster with a very human toll. The earthquake in Japan was of such magnitude that even the most prepared nation in the world to handle a disaster of this type was overwhelmed. It wasn't the earthquake alone, which was devastating enough but watching a 30 foot high wall of mud and debris wipe entire communities away was beyond any ability I personally had to comprehend.
I had to do something. Aline Smithson, one of our gallery artists wanted to do something too. Ryan Nabulsi and Jennifer Schwartz joined the effort. Soon I was hearing from every part of our creative community that we wanted to reach out to help the people of Japan. Life Support Japan was created to bring assistance to those in Japan who need it.
We have selected two charities to benefit from the sales of these limited edition prints.
Direct Relief International, for help with medical supplies. Direct Relief works closely with the United Nations (U.N.) Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA), which has activated to assemble the international response. Direct Relief has mobilized and staged materials at our headquarters, which are standing by ready for airlift to Japan.
Habitat for Humanity Japan, to help in the rebuilding of communities in and around Sendai and northern Japan.
Artists from around the globe have donated limited editions, over 300 to date, and we will be consistently updating the images available.
Galleries from around the US are banding together for a series of benefits, for these two and other charities to benefit relief efforts in Japan. We will be posting information as it becomes available.
Thank you for your support and for being part of a global community.
Crista Dix + wall space gallery.
could you imagine... 30 days on the road camera, notebook, map no directions getting lost radio truckstop, coffee and apple pie sunset at big sur motel 6 austin tulsa 30 images a project for levi's
well, this guy could. because he did!!
how fricken awesome is that?! i wish. a dream assignment, for sure! maybe someday!! for now, i'll keep wishing hoping, believing and...working hard. dreaming of an opportunity like this.
yep, this guy...
maybe someday i'll just have to create my own 30 days of getting lost assignment. although anyone who knows me knows that it wouldn't take long for me to be completely lost, if i didn't have my GPS telling me where to go.
hmmm...has me thinking.
friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.- author unknown
i feel so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing, inspiring, encouraging, supportive people. the kind of people who i can openly share with, get me thinking and keep me on my toes. today, i messaged with a friend for hours. this was a bit of our conversation...
...how did i get here. how am i living my dream. how are people buying my vision? how am i an artist-- exactly as i wanted to be... and having done nothing to be that. how long can i keep this up? how the fuck do i do this seriously and be serious about it, without it eating me up and shrinking me away. how do i deal with the anxiety of not being able to say no, and always feeling the stress of fear of disappointing people.
learning. each and every time. amazing people surrounding me. amazing clients...
+++
how do i deal with the anxiety of...can i keep producing? what happens if the magic just stops happening? if it stops coming my way? because clearly this is all magic? because it just happened. i mean i had to work hard but how did i end up here? it was just a dream. but now it's here and i don't want to wake up. how far will this take me? is it to a place that's even bigger than i ever dreamt?
no matter what though, i will embrace each and every opportunity that comes my way. i will never forget to be grateful. i will never forget to give back.
because in the end, this is a dream come true...something i will never take it for granted. i am truly and deeply blessed in so many ways and this wouldn't be possible without my family. yes...grateful and blessed!!
learning...always. growing. believing. facing fears. moving forward. loving those who surround me and encourage me. amazing. amazing journey for sure!!
i can't even begin to tell you how much her conversation meant to me today. how much i cherish each and every conversation with my friends.
we all have a choice of who surround us. i hope you choose to be surrounded by those who inspire, support and encourage you. because when you surround yourself with authentic, honest friendships, it's a truly, truly beautiful...and powerful thing!!
photo from when i first began studying photography (early 2006). kiele and her best friend, natalie. it's probably the toughest thing about being a military family...having to watch your children say good-bye to their best friend(s) over and over again. however, i'm so grateful for phone, email, facebook, skype, etc., which allows them to easily keep in touch. hoping kiele and nat will see each other again soon.
faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.- rabindranath tagore
may we all have faith, feel the light, find our wings, sing our song and soar!! feels kind of cheesy as i write those words, but feels kind of awesome at the same time. like i just want to sit here and breathe it all in. anyways...
some photos just make my heart so happy. and the bird photo just happens to be one of those photos. taken yesterday, while the kids and i were at the beach (steve was parachuting). :-)
also, if you get a chance...click on over to the creative mama blog, where i shared a bit about my annual family books and the book making process.
such a great series hosted by colin pantall that really gets you thinking!! or at least it should. what is success? | part I
it's interesting to read all the different thoughts on how one defines success. while the definitions vary, a common thread amongst many (if not most) is that 'what is success?' is a difficult question, but not a stupid question at all. personally, i believe it's a question we all should sit and explore and do our best to answer for ourselves.
here's a few comments, from colin pantall's blog, that i fell in love with...
Success for myself is not just about doing good, professional work.For lack of a better word, there's an element of magic. An innocuous detail that pushes the image into another level. When we're lucky, when we trust our instincts, we're hit with an electric charge. Does this last? Oftentimes it doesn't. When the initial burst of clamor fades, but there's still magic in it, people still respond, you still feel something when you see it. That to me is success. - maciek jasik
If people can connect with my pictures and enjoy them that is enough for me. It’s like you are walking down the street and you smile at someone and they smile back. There is nothing given and nothing taken. It is just like a little nudge, a recognition of humanity and life. That is what photography means to me. It is my profession, it is my religion, it is my karma, it is my life. - raghu rai
the camera the kids made for me for mother's day a couple years ago, taken a few day s before we left kansas.
ETA: just came across this photo and couldn't help but laugh...puppies make great pictures too :-))
max mikulak...
forever seven.
this morning, i received an email from jason houston that max's series, forever seven, has been published in issue 3 of fraction J magazine. and i couldn't have dreamed of a more perfect theme to have max's photographs be a part of -- beyond the assignment.
For this issue of Fraction J we were looking for projects with several specific traits. The work, first had to be journalistic, at least in the sense that it was a reaction made in real time to real events and a subject's story truthfully told. But the more important distinction was that the photographer stuck with the work, not from any attempt to create something sellable for some specific market, but because it meant something to them—and where. The photography also has to be a functional element of the concerned involvement, but not the reason for it. In the end it was very difficult to draw these lines and find that balance, especially when it came to the personal documentary projects, many of which were reflecting on external situations. But in the end, the portfolios we ended up with span an appropriately broad and inspiring range of responses.
i hope you'll take a look.
thank you fraction J for this incredible opportunity to share. i am so, so grateful!!
true momentum happens when a unique gift is cast upon a moment that has been waiting for it all along. if you don't have it, the spread of your work feels contrived. so you may have lots of twitter followers, but if you garnered them by following anyone and everyone in a desperate attempt to grow your platform, no one really cares.
when true momentum happens, people respond to your work. it's like hoisting a sail and being propelled by the wind, rather than rowing your brains out.
i heard jon acuff say recently that when he launched stuff christians like, the site drew 4,000 readers in just 9 days. his talent was cast upon a moment that was waiting for it. - ben arment
oh how i love his words. in a sea of photographers, this is something to really think about and take to heart. work hard. be honest and passionate about what you do. and let things happen naturally. you might just be surprised.
thanks steph beaty for sharing. definitely a new blog to add to my reader. so many bits of inspirational wisdom scattered throughout his posts.
another amazing (and sad) project -- photo of the day. the project is by jamie livingston, a man who took a polaroid a day, for eighteen years...until the day he died, on his 41st birthday. i find it absolutely incredible how his life's story is captured through one photograph a day. and again, how he was completed committed to this (very) long-term project. not a day missed, even when he was too sick to take a picture himself.
The photographer’s name was Jamie Livingston. He was a film maker and editor who worked on public information films, adverts and promo videos for MTV. Taking a single photo every day began by accident when he was 22 and studying film with Crawford at Bart College, in upstate New York. “He’d been doing it for about a month before he realised he’d been taking a photo about one picture a day, and then he made the commitment to keep doing that,” says Crawford. “That’s what he was like. There are some people who have flashes of brilliance and do things in a huge rush or creative burst but he was more of a steady, keep-at-it kind of guy and he did amazing stuff. Part of the appeal of the site is that Jamie was not this amazing-looking guy. He led an incredible life, but there’s an every man quality to the photographs.” - only the blog knows brooklyn
jamie livingston's first polaroid | march 31st 1979
and his last | october 25th 1997
an awesome summary of the project can be found here
a more detailed description of jamie livingston's project can be found here
and you can see all the polaroids, over the 18 years, here on this site
really has me thinking... yet again.
ETA: erin just commented this:
what gets me the most-- is that all of these things coming out is helping people right now to realise that we are part of history too. that our lives are all crushingly beautiful, painful, normal it painfully shows us reality, depth, and the art of life and the everyday. it makes you take a closer look at what you are leaving behind.. what story do i want to tell?
and she's so dead on!!
WHAT STORY DO I WANT TO TELL?
what stories am i telling right now? especially as a professional photographer, who sadly struggles to capture my own story...openly, freely and honestly.
can't help but think that the universe is screaming at me right now. and i am listening.
...about the julie project -- a MUST SEE photography project!!
© darcy padilla
an amazingly raw, powerful, heartbreaking, tragic, incredibly-told story. a story like i've never seen before. brilliant photography. an incredible 18-year commitment. simply phenomenal. and painful.
but the project is so much more than the photographs. it's the presentation. the words that accompany the photos. the video on the home page, where the photographer shares some thoughts. the sound clip of the little boy talking to his mom. the photographer's statement, which she closes with
I hope you can’t stop thinking about Julie’s story, I hope it makes you feel. I hope it makes you look at the world differently.
truly... i. can't. stop. thinking.
please take some time to view darcy padilla's the julie project. and definitely allow yourself time because once you're in, it's almost impossible to get out...until you're done.
as i continue to try and find a way to go to miami and photograph my kids with this piano (dreaming that it IS possible), the past couple days has had me thinking a ton about dreaming and risk-taking. then i saw the following post on facebook, from my friend (and past workshop attendee), jess --
my dream: to have a photograph i have taken...on the cover of a book. i swear...i buy books by their cover...and would die if i could accomplish that!
and i thought, why don't we share our dreams -- our wishes, hopes, desires, aspirations -- more often? what a powerful thing, to put your dreams out there. to set them free. and surround yourself with supporters. and other dreamers. truly, what do we have to lose?
i so believe... in dreaming big. working hard. taking risks. knowing that anything is possible if we allow ourself to dream!!
yesterday, i read this quote and found it so inspiring... if we always did what was known, there would be nothing to learn, explore or gain. isn’t it the surprises, the unexpected twists and turns that give meaning to our journey and make our dreams happen? Without risk, we’d stay hunkered down in our heads instead of living out loud in our hearts. - author unknown
and then i happened across this quote this morning. every thought you think is taken as a command by your subconscious, but it’s your strongest thoughts that become your true goals. - brian mayne
can't help but think how truly powerful it is to fill your mind up with positive thoughts and big dreams. so tell me, WHAT IS YOUR DREAM(S)?
...not to share everywhere i can. sid savara shares seven reasons why you should never check email first thing in the morning. balance is something that most, if not all, (digital) photographers have great trouble with, especially when it comes to too much time spent on the computer. i think about all the time i spend on the computer -- checking email, editing, blogging, updating, twittering, facebooking, pinteresting, flickering (just to name a few). we talk about all kinds of ideas on how plan to limit our computer time, but it's like crack or something...we're just drawn in and once you're in, you need more. but i'm going to work really hard to start here --and not getting on my computer first thing in the morning. i'm thinking if i'm up at 6:30 (getting the kids off to school), i should give myself until at least 9:30 AM (an hour after i drop kiele off to school) before i touch my computer.
i summarized mr savara's seven steps below...
1. ignorance is bliss...fully productive. when you get up, work on something important first, for 30-45 minutes. you don't know what needs to be addressed, what fires need to be put out, what your best friend has to share, etc. i
2. it's not YOUR to-do list. do what's the most important thing for you to work on instead of being tasked by other people via your email. remember who is in charge of your time -- focus your time and energy on what YOU really would like to work on.
3. it's an excuse to lack direction. if you're checking email (first thing in the morning or often), it's because you haven't decided what your high priorities are and focused on them. when you don't have a clear list of priorities, checking email becomes an urgent one, often at the expense of the important ones.
4. reaction vs. 'proaction'. what is the chance that you checked your email at the exact right moment to address that super important email that just came through? checking email often forces you to react as items come in regardless of their true priority. instead, take proactive actions and work on the things that are important to you.
5. searching for excuses. don't check your email if you're looking for a way to get out of the task at hand -- acknowledge what needs to get done and do it.
6. there's no set time limit. checking email really only takes a minute - but you can get sucked into follow-up activities that result from checking email. don't let email suck you in and cause you to devote more time than you can afford; set productive hours.
7. it builds expectations. how many people say "but i have to check my email; people expect my to reply right away." that's a bunch of bullshit (he didn't really say that, i did). if people do expect a response from you right away, it's because you've created that expectation.
how many of us waste time online, while we should be working on our to-do list? i know i'm so guilty. some days i'm better than others. for a while, i kept my written to-do list up-to-date and plugged away at it. every day, i circled my high priority items and got them done. i need to get back to doing that.
you can read mr sivara's full article here. i now have his site bookmarked. hoping to be inspired by more of his articles. thanks for the little kick in the ass tara and getting me refocused again. i'm going to work hard at finding a better balance -- and focus on the things that are truly important!!
