me. you. us.

"Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed.
I was here... I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy. I was sad.
I had an idea and I had a good purpose,

and that is why I made works of art."
- Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Why do we take the photos we take?

Do you have a story to share? 

solstice

“Summer Solstice is one of the great turning points of the year, when the sun is at its peak and the days abound with the promise of life’s fullness. It is a serenely powerful time in which the beauty of the natural world can infuse our spirit, bring us alive to the present, and perhaps awaken a deeper sense of relatedness to the community of life, to the Earth, and to the cosmos.” - Paul Winter

Show us how you plan to spend your time today. This: sun standing still day. This: longest night of the year. Sunrise, sunflare, sunset, or starshine... lay it on me! Leave your images in the comments below, but most of all... enjoy this most beautiful solstice!

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.

shine on

"Here comes the sun. do do do do,  here comes the sun, and I say its alright..."

Friday is here, let's take today and bask in some warm sunlight.  Have you captured the sun lately?

Share your warmth here as we slide on into the weekend together.

Happy Flare Friday!

all the right places

I fell in love with shooting into the sun many, many years ago. Like, before I had ever even heard of digital photography. Some of you might remember those days. I recall the element of sun-shiny surprise to be intoxicating. No matter what event I was shooting I always fired off a couple of frames, lens pointed toward the sun. Whether I shot straight into it or just allowed the light to skim across my lens was no matter. It felt good t throw caution to the wind just to see what would come from it.

In those days, there were no test shots and nothing to double check to be sure you were getting the results you were hoping for. It was all good intentions and a lot of finger crossing. Fast forward to now, when you can experiment with any photographic technique with immediate feedback. I am even more invested in trial and error than ever before. Why not? There is nothing to loose. Not even developing costs.

I have been really focused on flare lately. It's become an obsession. Where to put it, how to get the flare and the sunspots to work together, how to manipulate the shape of the flare itself. These are all questions that can't be perfectly answered as using the light as a creative paintbrush  will always yield somewhat  inconsistent results. However, there are ways of getting a least a little more control of this illusive subject.

I hold closely the invaluable information that Sarah has shared here with us on flare and what Kristin shared too. It's always nice when someone who has taken good notes, can shed a little light on things for us. Pun definitely intended.

Regardless of what we know or don't know about flare, how long we've been working on it or how early we still are on our hunt to harness it, sometimes the photographic planets do align and we get a shot where the light shines exactly where it should. Insert heavenly voices singing together here.

Share with us that shot. The one where the light falls into place even better than if someone set it there themselves.

The beautiful belly above belongs to Superhero Andrea Scher.