Friday's Featured Resource- Lens Rentals

When I was planning my trip to Rwanda this last spring, I was so excited to finally be taking a camera that could go the distance.  I knew from my prior experiences in South Africa that I needed a "real" camera and the right lenses to have any chance at all at capturing the magic of such an expansive and exotic place.   When you get the one chance of your lifetime to gather the Cape of Good Hope in your lens, you really don't want to be wielding your adorable Elph.  Trust me.

But.  All I had in the canvas backpack that doubles as camera bag was my Canon Rebel XTi and one really nice portrait lens. That's it.  I considered buying another lens, but with all my other travel expenses, I couldn't even fathom taking on one more purchase.  Especially when my trip was funded in large part by my blog readers.

So.  What to do?

Lucky for me, I had my favorite shutter sister on my speed dial, so I called that girl up and asked her to advise.  Do I bite the bullet, find a credit card that has $600-1000 left on it for the lens I really needed for this trip or suck it up and stick to those amazing children's faces?

Neither, my sage sister replied.  Rent a lens, my friend.

Rent a lens???  I had never heard of such a thing, but there I was one hour later, exchanging email with the incredibly kind Roger from Lens Rentals, an very friendly and efficient Nashville based internet company with a big heart and all the help and advice I needed.  For roughly $100, I could not only rent the $1000 lens of my dreams for a few weeks, but I could take it to Africa worry-free because of LensRentals extremely reasonable insurance program.  Roger then talked me into the perfect lens for me (a wide angle for shots like the one above) and I had it fedexed to my house in plenty of time for my trip.  Return postage and cushy packaging included.  Easy as pie.

Have you ever rented a lens before?  If so, tell us your favorite resources and lens to rent in the comments below.  If not, give Roger a try and let him know this shutter sister sent you.

Finding Love

surprise! look what kelly rae found one early morning in oregon.

There are some days when Love greets with the morning sun;  sure and steady.

Other days Love comes bounding in with joy and hope, right when we need it most.

And some days it just whispers to us, softly, sweetly the messages that only Love can carry and that are for our ears alone.

How is it that Love finds you?

Share you words and pictures with us today so that we may discover Love together.

discovery

I spend lots of time thinking about what I want to teach her. I want to tell her that the older you get, the greyer life gets, and it's always hard in one way or another. But it's also beautiful, so don't become jaded and worn. Continue to look for what settles you. And It's okay if people aren't happy with you, as long as you're being your own best friend. And if you get married, make sure he has social skills because you won't want to baby-sit him at parties. And there's a God who's really big, who has your best interest in mind, so try to spend time with him. And it's okay to ask the pedicurist when was the last time that she sanitized that bowl. And on and on. And then I worry and worry. And worry more. Because I'm afraid I might not be doing it "right".  

Then I see a photograph like this. It was a surprise to me, until I downloaded it. This little moment of her, right before she blew out three whole candles on her birthday cake. I marveled when I found it. Her little life. She's circled the sun just three times. Yet she looks like she carries secrets to the universe in her pocket. And then I realize that for everything I want to tell her, teach her, show her...the exchange will be mutual. And I'm happy to be humbled.

What about you? Download any surprises recently? 

Seeing Beyond My View

I recently wrote an article that’s up at PBS Parents about how to get kids into photography. It’s a topic near and dear to my photo mama heart. It has been such fun for me to see both of my daughters as they have grown into little shutter sisters.

I watch as my 5-year-old haphazardly shoots away at anything that catches her eye with little thought or regard of how the photo is going to come out, if it even comes out at all. She’s all about being in the moment and isn’t too concerned about the future result. It works for her. Mistakes and accidents photographically speaking can make for some pretty artistic imagery. My 10-year-old on the other hand just recently spent her own money on her own camera, and what she is doing with her handy new little red point and shoot is quite inspiring. I notice her becoming more aware of her surroundings, more mindful with her camera and how she creates a photograph. Her images are much more deliberate now and they are awesome.

While camping over the summer, she snapped this shot of me using a cool panorama feature her camera offers.

Put your hands on your hips Mom.

*click

See mom, this is MY perspective—showing the photo—Pretty cool, huh?”

Pretty cool indeed. It’s one of my all time favorite shots from her to date.

Looking at myself (er, my bust line) surrounded by that surreal landscape among all the tents in the middle of the Amish country of upstate NY will always take me back to our summer adventure. And this particular picture reminds me of how much I don’t see. How impossible it is to see life through someone else’s eyes it and how important it is to try sometimes.

Have you been inspired lately by a photo someone else took that helped you see the world with fresh eyes? Celebrate someone else’s vision today by leading us to a photo that has moved you. It can be from a child, a friend, found on a blog or at Flickr. Any image at all that helps give you a new perspective.

And if you happen to have a little shutterbug at your house, you are encouraged to join the Flickr Group A Little Perspective—it was created just for clicks from the younger set. I’ll be hosting the Little Perspective Day this Friday at Mother May I too, if you want to join us over there.

Lead by the Lens

Do you find that your lens has a mind of its own sometimes?  that you are lead to capture certain moments beyond your control? that somehow you end up at just the right place, at just the right time and it has nothing to do with you?

I captured this image last summer shortly after I got my Nikon D80. It was about 1:00pm on a Sunday. And the congregation of eight assembled on the front porch of the church on my prompting.  After taking several shots of the two beautiful women on the left, the youngest (and most shy) member of the church popped into my view and threw his arm around Eula Kate. She was more than ninety years old at the time. Eula Kate had survived a heart attack and refused to be put in a nursing home. She loved living on her own and attended her small hometown church every Sunday. I think she enjoyed having her picture made that day despite the heat and blinding sun. Several months later, she left this world peacefully – seated in her chair at her church... on a Sunday.