When the Background Drives the Foreground

One of my favorite things to do when I'm moving with my iPhone on the street is to connect the action or natural placement of individuals in the foreground with intriguing backgrounds. I don't position my subjects, but I plant my feet in relation to the background and then wait patiently until my subjects move into their proper places. This approach works well as it gives you a quick slice of time to assess the light and adjust your settings before your image falls into place.

In this case, I made this image of Renu Shah Bagaria and Jen Lemen with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone 4 using Blanko film and the John S lens. I then opened the image in the Photo FX app and sharpened it before publishing it to Instagram while in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Let's see the background drive the foreground for a change today.

A Little Bit Awkward and Anxious

I love moments like this... a little bit awkward and anxious. Sometimes I can feel them coming. I get this tingling sensation of anticipation that drives me to reach for my iPhone. And then I wait. It's like following the lift and fleeting magic of a bubble... waiting for it to pop. An odd split-second of time when objects align and there's enough weirdness in the air to qualify as a moment meant to be preserved. I typically don't center objects in my compositions, but this image wouldn't have worked any other way.

Show us something a little bit awkward and anxious. Make us tilt our heads and say, "huh."

I shot this image with my iPhone 4 using the Hipstamatic app (Blanko film and John S lens) and processed it in black and white using the Photo fx app. Learn more about The Art of iPhoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity.

Have you Met My Muse?

Oh how I envy all the fabulous sisters that have the privilege of capturing their little ones each day!!

Back when my boys were young the camera only came out for special occasions. If I could go back in time, I would definitely have stalked my sweet little blonde boys with my camera.  I'm sure If I had, they'd be a lot cooler today about me snapping their pics. Ugh. They love to give me a hard time. 'Oh great, she has the camera out again...Quick, just take the shot!...How many do you have to take?... Geez Mom!'

Sigh... Anyone else have this problem?  

After I fell in love with photography, I absolutely needed a muse. Enter 'Irene'. Some of you may remember her! I had her posing...all over the place! Irene did many Bench Monday shoots for me. She's always willing and as strange as it may sound, her expressions seem to change... I'm not kidding!! She's quite the girl! So my friends, allow me to introduce, Irene! 

How 'bout you? Are you blessed with a real life muse? Or perhaps, like me, you've had to improvise. More recently, Ben has become my muse.  He seriously poses for the camera! It's so cute. I just call his name, and he strikes a pose. And sometimes he strikes a pose as soon as he sees the camera. Today, we'd love to 'meet' your muse. Please share with us.

feast for the eyes

"Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all." ~ Harriet Van Horne

Food and photography make a beautiful match.  Food provides vivid colors and varying textures naturally for photographers.  From shooting ingredients, to prep work in a kitchen, to the finished product, and even nibbled on creation, the shooting possibilities are endless. I personally find photographing food a challenge, but being passionate about both makes me strive to take better food shots. A beautiful photo of a dish instantly draws me in. I have made many a recipe, and bought many a food magazine, or cookbook simply from falling in love with someone else's photographs. When I pick up a new cookbook the first thing I do is thumb through the pages in hopes of seeing beautiful food, if I find that then I am compelled to dive in.  Some photographers have a signature style when it comes to photographing food. I think a lot of that has to do with composition and styling.  The perfect plate, linens, glassware, really add to a photo. From the rustic farm table, to the refined china,  I am continually inspired.

Lets have a feast for our eyes today. Share a favorite food shot and your thoughts on the subject.  Do you style food shots? Do you have a favorite table, cup, plate that you find yourself photographing again and again? Do you find that you are more passionate about food from photos? 

Let's celebrate all that is sweet, spicy, steamy and down right delicious.  Tempt me please! 

still with life

I'm still on this abstract kick. Waiting for spring, maybe. I'll cop to that. In the meantime, inanimate things around the house speak to me, asking to be turned into something else. Or into an idea, an emotion, stripped of everything else until it becomes movement, colour, singularity.

Today, find something around the house, put it in pretty light, get close, and see what you can make of it. Try thinking beyond things that are already pretty, though this pop-up book comes close. Rather than reaching for a favourite memento or vase of flowers or a bowl of fruit, find a pile of lego or a coil of string or an empty glass bottle. Make it into more than itself, or show me some past moment where photography felt like that: the animation of inanimate things.