shifting focus

I feel it happening, my focus shifting inward.  It always happens this time of year.  The days turn cold and dark.  I find myself indoors so much more, nesting.  All I seem to want to do these days is cook and bake (and eat!  LOL ) or knit and sew. It is an unmistakeable urge that the change in seasons brings. This forces a change in my photography as well.  I am no longer strolling endlessly outdoors pointing my lens at the sun,  now I find myself here, at home, late night by lamplight with the workings of a quilt in my lap.  Two chocolate chip cookies and a half drank cup of coffee on the table with my needles and thread. The light feels too yellow,  but then maybe my eyes still need to adjust to the darkness.  I shoot at the work in progress in my lap.  I take a moment to take it all in. 

Do you feel a shift when the seasons change?  What do you find yourself focusing on when the light lessens?

focus motherhood

This is me.  The momma.  In the background, watching, observing, snapping away.

This is them; crazy, silly, messy, loud, creative, beautiful, mine.

This is my focus.  This is the me right now, this moment.  I am blessed to be present and capture our every day moments of beauty.  The little big things make make our life so full.   As they grow I will be needed less and less and that will surely bring a shift in my focus, but for now this is me, this is my focus, and I like that.

What is your focus right now?

Help us celebrate this month's One Word and share a capture of your focus today.

seeing the signs

It's a funny thing when you're doing all in your power to be present while at the same time you're being asked to look ahead and focus on what's just around the bend. It's not always easy integrating the now with the later.

I'm fully aware that we've still got some time yet until the holiday season truly begins and yet my sights have been set on this soon-coming festive time of year for a while now. Between sharing images and photo tips for up and coming winter publications and writing the daily prompts for my photo e-class Picture the Holidays, I've been in my own little winter wonderland over here. And believe me, it has taken quite a bit of imagination on my part considering I live in sunny Southern California.

What I've come to find out is that there is great freedom in working ahead. Many of you might already know and embrace this truth, but, it's pretty new to me. And although I am still literally in catch up mode in many areas still, I'm ruminating on a lifestyle that keeps me a little more ahead, rather than a little more behind. Let's just say, it's a work in progress.

Here's what's awesome; even when you're planning the menu for Thanksgiving dinner, shooting your picture for your holiday card, or shopping for (or making) gifts waaaaay in advance, you can be fully present, in the moment and loving it. Without the overwhelming feeling of being rushed you can actually enjoy the moment even more. I'm finding the whole notion to be quite an eye opener and even though my One Little Wordfor last year was "deliberate" (which to me meant to make every moment count and hopefully be more productive by default), I feel like it's taken most of 2010 to really work it's magic on me.

So, why this holiday photo today? Because I want to encourage you to commit to being present throughout the holiday season this year. And yes, that might mean not being resentful when the holiday decorations are up at the mall. It might actually mean embracing the extra time you're being offered to get into the spirit of things! It's not such a bad thing if you look at it like that. You don't have to feel rushed;  just take your own sweet time and enjoy it, it on your terms. Imagine, by the time the holidays arrive, you may be totally ready and in a fantastic frame of mind to celebrate. Imagine!

If you're willing to give it a go with me and focus on the beauty, love and joy that the holidays are supposed to be about, I encourage you to join me for Picture the Holidays. I promise it will be just what your creative spirit needs to shine this season. Registration is open now and class begins Dec 1st and ends on Dec 31st. You're going to love it!

Just leave a comment here between now and Thursday 11/11 at midnight EST for your chance to win one of three class registrations I am giving away for Picture the Holidays. I'd love to hear your thoughts and see some festive photography too. My guess is you've got all kinds of sparkly shots to share!

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...

Different Focus

When I first took this picture, I have to admit that I didn't mean to focus on the flowers. My aim was at the men sitting against the wall, but I missed.  I retook the shot, with the focus being on the men themselves instead of the flowers, but for some reason, I found myself drawn to this version of the shot because there was a more compelling story that was emerging from this image.  Perhaps the inability to identify who these men actually were emphasized the common struggle that we all face these days.

Please share with us today images in which the object of or your choice of focus helped to shape the story you wanted to convey behind your photo.