a gift in a gift

 

At a recent gathering I was approached by a bright-eyed teen who was looking for some guidance about getting into photography. What school to go to, what classes to take, what kind of job to look for, if jobs were readily available, etc. I didn’t really know what to tell her as it has been years since I was there—the world at my feet, the endless possibilities of which road to travel down and the giddy anticipation of where to go and how to get there. Mind you, endless possibilities still exist for me now; they just look a little different at 40 than they did at 20.

My message to her in a nutshell was there are no right or wrong answers to her questions. She said wasn’t convinced that a career in photography was her end goal but that it was something she loved doing and knew it could be a career if she choose to pursue it. Indeed. Of course, I encouraged her to take classes and learn as much as she could as she explored her options. It certainly can’t hurt. No matter which way her path leads her, spending time developing her photography skills is something she’ll never regret and most likely always use. This is true for anyone with a passion for the medium.

If there is one thing I have heard affirmed here at Shutter Sisters in post after post and comment after comment is that photography is a creative gift where the satisfaction of distilling a single fleeting moment in a picture is reward enough to keep us clicking, creating, learning and growing as photographers, paid or otherwise. There is a gift to be had by being behind the camera. And at the same time there is a gift we are offering our subjects through the photos we take.

I shot the image featured today this past weekend of a family that I have had the pleasure of working with since before their youngest son (far right) was even born. That I have had the honor of getting to know them and to watch and photograph these children as they grow with each passing year is a gift to me for certain. And I know that what I offer via their annual portraits is also a gift…a gift to this family. There is no question because their mother (a client whom I now call friend) tells me again and again.

Every minute I have spent in my life shooting photos, learning more, pushing myself creatively for work or for play has been time and energy well spent and there is simply nothing more gratifying than that.

delicious ambiguity

I always wanted a happy ending... Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it without knowing what's going to happen next. Delicious ambiguity.

::  Gilda Radner (1946 - 1989)

Behind the camera, there's candid (i.e. subject knows you're there, makes you chase, does best to Act Natural! and not pose but look agreeably windswept) and then there's reeeally, truly candid (i.e. subject thinks you're chasing windswept un-posers and sneaks her sixth cupcake).

This Labour Day, share with us the photos that had nothing to do with work, or planning, or chasing. Show us how you stalk the moment.

gratitude

 

It is funny how we amble our way through the internet world, randomly bumping into people and sites that change our lives. I found Shutter Sisters through Kate. I found Kate through Amy. The spinning circle of the Web.

 

Shutter Sisters has changed my life. I have a hobby. What was once an open, searching space in my soul is now full, warm, happy. I do something that is considered “artistic.” Before this, the most artistic thing I had done was twirl a flag in marching band. Now, don’t get me wrong. I was good with that flag. But…

 

You know those questionnaires you are sometimes asked to fill out? That ask, “What is your hobby?” I would stare blankly at that question. Does reading count? What about randomly surfing the internet? Scolding children? Does that apply?

 

I see the world differently now. I have my camera by my side, patiently waiting for me to hit the brakes of my car, grab her compact, silver body, leap out the door and start shooting that flower that caught my eye. Scoop her up to catch my sons in action, a phenomenal sunbeam through the trees, or just a solemn cup of coffee on the counter. I find joy in winter! A season I dread. Looking at winter last year through my unassuming Canon PowerShot was a joy. A new way of seeing what, to me, has always been cold, snowy grayness. I guess what I am trying to say is this: my camera helps me find the joy in the everyday. Which, in turn, makes me a happier, better person. So, a healthy dose of gratitude for the people who got me here.

 

Thank you, Kate, for sharing this site with me.

 

Thank you, Shutter Sisters, for having me.

 

Thank you to my Flickr’ mamacitas. You inspire me. You lift me up when I am down. You bring a smile to my face daily. You make me so proud to call you my friends.

 

And thank you to my family, for constantly encouraging me and enduring my hundreds of photos a month. To my dad for buying me that Minolta twenty three years ago. That camera planted a seed that has FINALLY started to grow and flower. That was one patient, neglected seed…

 

So. “What is your hobby?”

 

Photography. Hands down.

 

Pihoto and words courtesy of Honorary Sister/Guest Blogger Heather Wolf Turner best know perhaps as Strawberry Goldie.

The Sidewalk Says it All

I don't know what it is, but there's something about a handful of words folded into a photo that takes the message to a new level.  Have you noticed this, too? 

This week my kids and I chalked little phrases of encouragement and fun all along the sidewalk leading from our house to the nearby elementary school for the first day of school.  We were delighted to be on a super secret mission to ease first day jitters and everyone enjoyed their role in bringing some joy to our neighborhood friends.  Taking the pictures of our adventure only added to my fun.  It made me want to share the happiness with you--the whole experience of writing the messages & then seeing the delight that followed was so incredibly gratifying.

Do you have a message that needs writing on a sidewalk sometime soon?  A few words of encouragement for a kid just waiting to be gathered from the pavement to your lens?   Let's take this week to make some magic--not only with our words, but with the images we create from simple but kind experiences--like leaving a hope note on a sidewalk for the first day of school.

Because sometimes love is enough

When Tracey first asked me if I'd like to write something for this site, I was more than a little flattered. I was also intimidated because…I'm not a real photographer.

I've been called "a photographer" before and I have been quick to point out that I'm not one. "I'm just a mother who enjoys taking pictures of her family."

I've been afraid to embrace that title. I don't make money from my photography. I don't have people lined up asking me to take pictures of their family. Heck, I just learned the meaning of aperture and ISO and how to use them to get correct exposure in different lighting situations. (And I would be more than happy to explain it to anyone who will listen because proper exposure is like the greatest, most exciting thing in the world to me right now.)

To call myself a photographer felt…wrong for so many reasons.

But I've been thinking about this ever since Tracey first extended the invitation to post something here. I've thought about the first photography class that I took in junior high. I remember the thrill that I felt when I developed the shots that I had taken and saw that they had come out exactly as I had envisioned them when I propped my baby brother's chubby little hands close to his face. I've thought of how wherever I go, I will see things with my eyes through the lens of my camera and am constantly saying things like "that would make an incredible picture!" I've thought of how I spend most social events with a camera strapped around my neck, trying to capture the little moments that may be forgotten were a photograph not taken. I've thought of how important it is for me to remember the little details of my every day life and how that is evidenced in the shots that I take (and also by my children's constant pleas to "put down the camera and stop taking pictures already, Mom!)

After much thought on this subject, I've come to the following conclusion: I do not make money from my photography and I probably never will. My pictures may not be technically good, or beautiful to many people. I may not have the best camera or fancy equipment. But, what I do have is genuine love and passion in my heart for taking photos of the people I love and the beauty all around me. I've decided that's really all the justification that I need to finally embrace the title.

I AM a photographer.

Picture and words courtesy of Honorary Sister/Guest Blogger Yvonne (aka Y and mamarosa) at Joy Unexpected.