Prompted

You don’t see it right away, but it’s there. The straw in its mouth, the one it must gather for home; for the nest. It symbolizes a continues gathering until woven pieces can finally hold things together. It is an amazing labor of love. It is much like our work in everything we care for. We labor with love and gather what is needed for the home, for our nest. The home where we live in, with its kitchen and rooms, and the home in our hearts; the place where we gather strength and courage; the place where we gather our dreams and make them real.

What is curious about this moment is its pause. I was witness to it; it was a pretty long one. This maya bird took a moment to perhaps gather its breath; as if to take whatever was in sight all in. A little bird marveling at the world.

I watch these birds every morning now. They teach me how to pause, to breathe, and take in a bit of the world outside my window. I feel like a little bird marveling at the world. There is work to be done, but I shall marvel at the world.

The beautiful, beautiful gift that photography has given me is a voice. A voice for the words in my heart. I think I kept on looking for a way to find a place for all that. I knew I could write, but I wasn’t sure what I could give to the world. I knew I needed to give back something and I thought, why would the world be interested in my love letters? And then it stretches further to, why would the world be interested in my confusion and heart ache? How would the world benefit from all that? I couldn’t figure it out until there were these ‘prompts’ – you take a photo based on a concept, a word, and you could write about it if you want, or leave it to speak for itself. I am drawn to writing about it because when I capture something, I am certainly capturing a moment. And most of the time I like to paint that moment with words, too. What I have realized is that every moment contains a gift. Yes, every moment. Can you imagine how many gifts there are? Certainly enough to give back to the world.

‘Prompts’ are like inspiration, except I think when we just rely on inspiration, we tend to wait for it to come. That’s fine, but we shouldn’t just wait. And wait. And wait. Because maybe we don’t even know what exactly we’re waiting for; a magic feeling? Pixie dust? Nah. It doesn’t really work that way. I think we have to commit to something. It doesn’t even have to be big. So, if you’re prompted, let’s say with a word, you’re given a direction; a kind of path to follow, a way for your eyes to see or find something that’s already there. Somehow inspiration is everywhere; all you have to do is capture it. *insert magic feeling and pixie dust here*

What have you been prompted to notice, see, or capture lately?

Words and image courtesy of Guest Blogger Jennifer Hagendorn Dizon. She can found at Instragram as @beautifulnothing, on flickr as Creative Jen or on her blog The Divine in Everything.

weekending by Sarah Swanson-Dexel

Sarah Swandon-Dexel shoots images like this with her Nikon or iPhone and spends her weekends seeking, seeing & savoring. Sarah can be found online at urban prairie forest and via Instagram as wilburandfern.

How are you weekened on this fine weekend?

a metaphor for self

 

I have a special affection for film. I love the loading of film into a camera. The careful process of threading 35mm film onto the spokes, the advancing of the pick-up reel. I love when I put a pack of film in my Polaroid camera and close the film door, that it immediately comes to life, clicking and whirring and shooting out the dark slide. Film feels so timeless, so classic to me. There’s simply a magical quality about shooting with film. Because you have a limited number of frames when using film, each click of the shutter is special. And that makes you slow down. Film helps you be thoughtful and selective in what, when, and how you shoot. There is a deliberate-ness that comes with shooting film. For me, I feel a wholly different experience when I am shooting with film compared to when I shoot digitally. When I’m out with my Polaroid cameras or my Canon AE-1, I find the time to be contemplative. Meditative

Along with that meditative process, shooting with film feels like allowing for the imperfect. It’s like saying “yes” to the flaws, to the not-so-spot on composition, to the under- or over-exposure. When I’m shooting with film, I’m not shooting 20 photographs of the same vintage car to get the shot “just so.” I’m taking my time, looking through my viewfinder composing and re-composing. And then when I feel ready, I click the shutter, usually just once. And I hope for the best. Sometimes the photograph is just what I had in my mind’s eye, and sometimes, many times, it’s not. And that’s all right with me. Shooting with film takes practice. And that practice means accepting that imperfections are part of the process. Seeing that those imperfections are okay, that they are what make that very image unique and special. That those imperfections are actually quite perfect just as they are – just like us.  

We are works in progress, too. We are the perfect imperfections of being human. Each of us flawed. Maybe a bit off-center. Sometimes over-exposed, like when we feel the harsh spotlight on us. Or maybe we’re more under-exposed, like when we don’t feel seen. As with shooting film, in becoming who we are, we need practice. Practice at being comfortable in our own skin. Practice at speaking up and voicing our needs. Practice at finding our place in the circle. Practice at being who we really are.

Shooting with film is helping me become a better photographer. It’s helping me focus on practice, my one little word for 2012. But more than that, shooting with film is helping me become the truest version of myself.  

Do you shoot with film? What does shooting with film feel like for you? Has it taught you any lessons? Please share a photo you shot with film with us today.

Image and words courtesy of guest shutter sister Meghan Davidson, contributor to Film26.

weekending by Tamar Haytayan

Tamar Haytayan shoots images like this with her Nikon D80 and D5100 and spends her weekends with her family in beautiful rainy Vancouver, relaxing, cooking, clicking, and trying to find some time for herself in between.

Tamar can be found online on her blog Colour of Pomegranates and on Flickr. 

What does your weekend look like?

weekending by rakusribut

 

Rakusribut shoots images like this with her Olympus PEN P3/ iPhone/ Canon eos 450D and spends her weekends alternately outdoors, catching up with friends and family, and indoors with her sweetheart and their 4 dogs and 2 cats, the blinds drawn shut as a request to outsiders not to disturb.

 Rakusribut can be found online at any of her three blogs: Exploring with my Camera, iPhoneography Unplugged, or Hipstamoments.

What does your weekending look like this weekend? Do share!