free

This post is along the same lines as Tracy's yesterday, when she was talking about obsession. I think artists are especially interesting because the evolution of their life is out there for everyone to see. When I look back at my earlier work, with the perspective I have now, it seems like a whole different world. Buttoned up, and posed, and trying hard to be"perfect". My portraiture was an extension of how I lived my life, which was very aware of the critique. Then it started to get exhausting. There wasn't a turning point moment. Just the fact that lately I haven't been editing as much as I used to...in life or in photography. I'm not as afraid to show the messy bits...like the ones where mom is leaning in to fix her daughter's hair; or the ones that are so out of focus, they turn into impressions. People can make up their own minds. Either way I feel the same about my work, and about myself. I feel like I've begun to let go of the illusion of control. And my photographs (and I) are a teensy bit more free these days. What about you? Do you have any shots that make you feel this way?

Comments

[Mama DB]

Every once in a while I get a photo that is blurry, and has stuff in the background that shouldn't be there but I love it (ok, being new to the camera, I get a LOT of blurry shots). But I love what was going on at the time and want to hold on to the blurry photo to remember the feeling I had when it was taken.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/23829646@N02/2472383160/

[Christina]

This one is like that for me. It's not at all what I had planned, but it captures the carefree joy of childhood better than anything I could have consiously created.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/christinator/2448037736/

[Dawn]

it's in the "messy bits" where the glimpses of real life appear.

http://nolegirl.typepad.com/my_weblog/

[andrea scher]

great post maile!

[Beer Momma]

This one is a favorite of my nieces. Makes me want to have little girls of my own. :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52656316@N00/2310396166/

[Lyn]

oh, boy. this site has made me more free. more free to play and shoot and relish life. Here's one from flickr I'm loving, and a link to my blog with yesterday's "messy" shot!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11439752@N04/2472177351/

http://lynlepre.typepad.com/lifeinpajamas/2008/05/5608.html

[Kim]

oh yeah! i "discovered" freedom through night shots and my digital camera... and it's been a blast since then
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9032846@N03/2472013858/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/9032846@N03/2347216550/

[Hanna]

I'm posting some edited blurry photos in my blog today that makes me glad I took them even though they didn't turn out the way I planned:

http://www.ihanna.nu/blog/?p=801

I think blurry can be just the right thing sometimes, if you can see beauty in imperfection (wabi-sabi!)

[kristin]

this is a beautiful shot! free is right, just wonderful Maile!

[Shelli]

Wow! I love that photo! Beautiful.

I think that being a mother has made my spirit more free. Just watching my little boy relish in the small wonders of the world.

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy.html#32

[Naomi]

My latest blur:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nomesthenome/2441355205/

[star8278]

I want to say yes! I am free. But the truth is I have gone in the opposite direction lately. Since recently discovering the convenience of PicNik on flickr and a pirated much used copy of Photoshop with new actions, I have bene an editing fool. Non-stop for the most part.

But that does bring with it some freedom. Freedom to take a few different shots and pick the best later to perfect. The freedom to create an image EXACTLY how I want it even if the camera didn't agree with me when it took the shot.

Images like these...

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2160/2471561866_a795a19e04.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3121/2467762704_e5520082e3.jpg

[Marcie]

I like to call them 'happy accidents'. Most of my images - it seems - are exactly that:

http://marciescudder.blogspot.com/2007/10/you-go-girl.html

[camerashymomma]

yes, yes! it's like the photo is mine. the essence of it belongs to me, and if others seem to like it too well then that's an added bonus! this is a great post, i also like looking back over photos and witnessing the crooked path i'm walking. like a visual timeline of growth both physical and artistically.

after hearing about photos crooked, or heads cropped off, or out of focus or snapshots versus art, here's my 'free' photo. it's exactly what i love and what i want to remember.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2452724549/

[Abra]

I personally used to always want my pictures to be completely in focus with great lighting and all that jazz. I would take a million pictures of my son when he was a baby (and not very active yet) just to get that perfect "in focus" shot. He is four now and I have (thankfully) learned better by now. Life is messy and so are some of the best shots. It is the memories that matter. Here are two of my favorite posts from some months back that are oh SO blurry but I LOVE them.

There are a lot of pictures in this first post but my favorites if you have the patience to scroll are the ones of us throwing snow balls.

http://artistryinfocus.blogspot.com/2008/01/snow-days.html

And this one was catching his glee as he ran around the room discovering all the places I put his new dinosaur "stickers"

http://artistryinfocus.blogspot.com/2008/04/dinosaur-protectors.html

[Sarah - Ji]

Great post, Maile! Ain't it grand to be free? I've been loving the exhilaration of long exposures, and I feel so free with it I don't even TRY to keep the camera still:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sierraromeo/2441241617/in/set-72157604744240241/

[Kathleen]

I also used to covet "the perfect shot" with good lighting, subject centered, etc. But since I have been reading this blog, since a new little guy came into my life, and since I got my new digital SLR, I have been feeling more freedom to crop, "just shoot" even if conditions are not perfect, and most importantly, I have been able to appreciate the shots that capture real life and sweet moments and messes!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23630286@N05/2441195639
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23630286@N05/2429616736/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23630286@N05/2256830614/

[lizziemarie]

I feel so lucky to have found this group. It has opened up the world of photography for me and has given me more acceptance of the messy parts of my life. I love finding the beauty in my tangly yard and my scruffy, ragamuffin children. The perfect shot has a whole new meaning for me. So often when I see pictures, especially of myself, I am critical. Bad angle, color wrong, blurry, or too close. I like how this one turned out, taken by my 7 year old on a day we spent at home together
http://bittersweetloveliness.blogspot.com/2008/05/me-me-me.html

[patricia]

i used to feel afraid to really indulge in photography because of the perception that i always had to have the perfect shot, technically. but everything changed when i discovered lomography. now i am more carefree and i don't let the rules take control. i trust my instinct more and i just take photos of subjects that matter to me - and that for me is freedom. :)

this shot was taken by a loved one but i remember feeling so happy and free as this was being taken: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patreesya/2394478103/

children will always be one of my favorite subjects to shoot. i feel they embody the true sense of freedom- http://www.flickr.com/photos/patreesya/2222386327/

[mary]

Sometimes a little blur just tells more of the story, doesn't it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9068078@N05/2460036757/

[laura]

I was just thinking about this one shot I took that technically didn't turn out well but I love the effect!

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/bathtime-fun/

[Connie]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mini-mrs/2473714550/

Usually I would have photoshopped this to death, brightened it, cropped, etc... but there is something about the shadows that made me keep it as is. Great post and great pic!

[Rachel Parton]

My husband and I are at the stage in life where we are young, independent, fairly free of responsibility, we can pack up and drive off when we want - the world is our oyster! :)

http://partonpics.blogspot.com/2008/04/lets-take-drive.html

[Lawyer Mama]

Oh yes. I still have a hard time with not being "perfect." In anything, not just photography, but sometimes I just love a shot so much it has to be shown anyway.

http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2457053829/
http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2441663299/
http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2456202610/in/photostream/

[tracey]

yep! i hear ya girl. and i love that shot!

[Conchi]

http://miterrazaalmundo.blogspot.com/2008/05/love-thursday-amistad.html

Il love my friends....

[Sheri]

great post and lovely photo. i think i started out more sloppy-loving and now, with a newer, better camera (sometimes i can't even get an unfocused shot!), i'm trying to find my way back to the more deliciously amateur feel that made me fall in love with photo-taking in the first place. it's tricky. that balance.

lately, this one's closest to what i'm striving for:

http://todayispretty.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/sunshine/

[Debi]

oh....I needed to read this....I'm such a perfectionist....but this one is one I love that is soooooo imperfect

http://www.flickr.com/photos/66279991@N00/2463065134/

[kristin]

this is free to me. no face, ribbons in teh wind on teh beach in the sun. ahhhhhh

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14811117@N02/2475162875/

[golightly]

What a beautiful photo and the post. I am a little more free with my shots. I have a photo that I love that I would never have considered a year ago. The light was low and I love the blur of his excitement as he played.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/16869615@N03/2442956957/

[littlepurplecow]

What a gorgeous image. I'm learning to love a bit of blur and abstraction in my images too. I nearly deleted this one, but there's something really nice about the subtle suggestion of the human spirit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/littlepurplecow/2475892741/