focus on right now

"In the company of my child, I realize how much time I spend in some other place entirely. Indeed, how much of my life I spend in the reverie of my own thoughts and schemes. Her laughs and cries, her outbursts and calls snap me back to where we are right now. Can I manage to stay here for a little while longer before I trail off again? It's very hard to do. In my bleakest times, one more plea from her hooks me, and I thrash back, as if fighting for my life. Namely, the lost luxury of solitude combined with unlimited escapes into e-mail and the internet." Karen Maezen Miller

As I pondered on focus this week, I stumbled on this quote by Momma Zen's, Karen Maezen Miller, and suddenly everything clicked.  

One may think it is pretty obvious where my focus is lately as a new mom... But is it really? I've been noticing that as I go through my days, I'm constantly somewhere else but in the moment. Although I love my daughter very much, sadly, I'm indeed losing sight of her tiny toes while I wander off in my thoughts, reminiscing, scheming and daydreaming. I'm distracted by what is next. I'm making lists, planning posts, I'm wondering when I might be able to send off an email, read a blog post, shower, eat, etc. Not that any of that ever happens... The shower and eating especially! ;)

But in any case, what I also realized is that when it comes to my photography though, it is a different story. Behind the camera it is a lot easier for me to choose where to look and where to adjust my eye and lens in order to capture a clear moment. It is when I shoot that I am the most present. It is through the viewfinder that I find my zen. It is by focusing that I learn how to pay attention.

So today I invite you to focus on right now and on what is in front of you. Let your lens be your teacher and show you how to snap back to where you are and where you need to be.

morning light

Lest we would sift it down

into fractions, and facts

certainties

and what the soul is, also

I believe I will never quite know.

Though I play at the edges of knowing,

truly I know

our part is not knowing,

but looking, and touching, and loving,

which is the way I walked on,

softly,

through the pale-pink morning light.

Mary Oliver, Why I Wake Early (2004)

Oh! These words speak so much to me right now as a new mother... 

You might remember me saying that I was feeling like a fish out of water, spending lots of time at home and not knowing what to shoot inside. Well, I guess I needed a change of focus, no? How timely is our word, right?

This week, instead of wishing my days were like they used to be, I simply allowed a shift. I pulled out my camera and sank into the new life. The life that is looking, touching, loving (my baby girl), and having the chance to actually notice and shoot the morning light. There is something just irresistible about a bed undone and the soft morning light coming through the windows, isn't there?

So today I invite you to join me by sharing images that show how the morning light wraps around your home, those folds in your sheets, how it grabs your focus, how it softens everything, how it melts your heart...

let the light in

When I shot this polaroid the other day, I knew the sun was just outside frame and that I could end up with an overly blown out image. But still, I went for it and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. The flare ultimately helped me capture the emotion I felt that afternoon, which was the ease and warmth of a nice 20 minute vacation while my baby girl napped in the stroller.

Lens flare by definition, is an imperfection. A flare is an artifact caused by a bright light source in the image or shining into the lens. It usually occurs when we shoot into the sun or when the sun is just outside the frame. However, there are times when flares are used deliberately, for the sole purpose of adding drama, energy and realism to the shot. Hmm.

This image I shot and the whole concept behind flares got me wondering if we can also accept our imperfections as special traits that add realness and uniqueness to our personalities. Can we let the "light" into our lives by accepting our flaws and embracing our unexpected magic?

Today, in celebration of light, flares and imperfections, share with us those images in which you let the light in. Where the lack of contrast made up for more softness... Where lens flares, streaks and dots revealed dreamy, unworldly and otherwise unknown perfection.

fish out of water

These early days of motherhood have been quite the challenge for me when it comes to my photography. Truth be told, (I don't know what I was thinking...) I did not expect that I would be spending so much time at home, and that I would be shooting more at home as well.

As it turns out, I'm feeling like a fish out of water! Shooting at home is totally out of my comfort zone. I'm noticing that it feels very strange for me to photograph my home, my belongings, my family... I realized that all these years I have been focused on capturing only the outside: my travels, people, models on location, etc. Staying close to my heart is making me feel vulnerable. Do you ever get that? I suspect good expressive photography can come out of exploring these emotions. But I definitely need some warming up, which is why I'm sitting with this delicious book for inspiration and guidance.

In the meantime, since many of you are masters at documenting your lives, would you share with me some of your best domestic shots today? Show me those jackets hanging by your front door, the light coming through your window, your walls, your meals, even those dust bunnies under your bed. I want to be inspired by the real deal. Show me how to open up.

creative footprint

I've been busy nursing my baby girl and therefore I am currently a sister of a few words and even fewer shots! But I wanted to share with you a thought that's popped in my head lately: "Photography is our creative footprint." Isn't that true? It's our unique mark... It's the evidence of where we've been and what we've seen... It's the special trace we leave behind.

So leave us some footprints today showing where you've been recently! I haven't left the house much in the last month and I certainly will appreciate you taking me for a stroll! :)