The Power of One

"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do."- Thomas Jefferson 

As you know, we kicked off the month by asking you to celebrate your word all month long for the One Word Project, and that you have.  Many of you have chosen your words and showed us how you celebrate those words with the photos you've added to our One Word Project Flickr pool and let me just say, they're pretty darned awesome.  Correction: you're pretty darned awesome.  

So inspired I was by your words and photos, that with the help of some friends, I put together a One Word video to share with all of you.  If you haven't found just the right word for you yet, then maybe this lovely little video will inspire you.  And even if you already have a word, may you be as moved as I am by all the collective love of the beautiful women that contributed to the making of this video.  Because, like you, they're pretty darned awesome, too.  

In honor of our One Word Project, the always lovely Stacy De La Rosa of Bella Wish Jewelry (and contributor to the video!) is giving away one custom made, hand stamped, sterling silver pendant with your word for 2012! For your chance to win, leave a comment telling us what your word is for 2012 no later than tomorrow, January 25th, midnight PST. 

be the creative director of your work

As photographers we are constantly changing and growing. As we discover more about the world, we instinctively discover more about ourselves. Our tastes, likes, dislikes, wants and needs, all influence who we are as people, and who we are as people ultimately shapes who we are as photographers.

For a time, I was confused about who I was as a photographer. When I first started shooting, I would just photograph things that interested me or the things that I instinctively thought would make a good composition. Yet, if someone asked me what type of photographer I was, I had no idea and couldn’t give him or her an answer. I was stuck. I was stuck in the black hole of comparison. Trapped by other people’s images and ideas and felt as though my own vision was being drowned in a sea of bokeh circles and 50mm macro shots. When I started to become bored by my own images, I realised that something had to change.

I realised that I was paying too much attention to the crowd and not enough to my own vision and voice. Who was I shooting for? What story was I trying to tell? I had started shooting for myself in the beginning, and then somewhere along the way I got caught up in the crowd. It was time for me to go back to what was important to me.

Once I let go, I felt free again. I felt like my whole world opened up and I could start shooting for me. It was liberating. Over time, I started to pay attention to what I truly liked about photography, what gave me goose bumps when viewing other people’s photography and what gave me most satisfaction when shooting for myself. By paying attention to my own likes and dislikes, I started to gather pieces of the puzzle that pulled together my own photography style.

I have been shooting this way for a long time now and it’s what makes me happy. I am particular about what I shoot, when I shoot and how I shoot. Every image is sketched out in my mind before I shoot it and they may not all work or have meaning for others, but to me, they tell my story and share my voice.

Through photographing this way over time, my style has developed. I have a set of adjectives I use to describe my photography and I remind myself of those when I shoot. Style is never finished and can always be improved upon. It takes many years to perfect and I am always working on reaching that objective.

I do know this; to nurture style, one must have a goal. We need to figure out where we are now, where we want to be and how we can close the gap between the two. It’s a work in progress and cannot be achieved overnight. We are the creative directors of our own work and we are the only ones who can speak with our own unique voice.

Do you have a clear vision and voice that you share with others?

Please share images that you think best represent you or your style with us!

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Today Amanda is giving away one spot in her Shoot By Design: Refining Your Photography Style photography e-course where she will teach you all she knows about molding your signature style, finding your own voice, share technical tips to get the best out of your camera and show you how to creates strong, passionate images. Leave a comment here before Tuesday 24th 12pm PST to win a place in the Shoot By Design Spring session, starting on March 5th!

You can find out more about Amanda's work on her portfolio and popular blog Mocking Bird. She is also the co-author of the anticipated Instant Love: How To Make Magic and Memories with Polaroids (with Jen Altman and Susannah Conway) published by Chronicle Books.

The winner of the giveaway is Mary! Congratulations, you will receive an email from Amanda shortly.

the connection

It all started with memories. I learned to use a camera because I wanted to capture memories, of where I had been and with whom I had shared my life.  For a long while, it seemed I was afraid I wouldn’t remember life without having a photograph to remind me.

As I learned more about photography, my goal transitioned to the moment.  It was the triumphant feeling of capturing a fleeting moment of an expression or of light, which drew me to bring the camera to my eye. I no longer needed to capture every memory, but watched for the right moments.

Over time, my motivations shifted again; shifted deeper.  One day, I noticed I was no longer capturing images to remember or to freeze time, but to feel. I had discovered photography as a form of self-expression. I was learning more about myself through my images. I was expressing my true self in photographs, in a deep and soul-satisfying way.

Photography brought me from memories… to moments… to me.

What I had discovered was a heart connection with some of my images; they expressed feelings I had not yet put into words. I found the stronger my heart connection with an image, the more likely others would connect with the image too. More than just connecting with an image, though, others also began connecting with me: The real me, the part that is often difficult to see.

These days, the heart connection is what I seek in my photography. To express a feeling is my purpose and motivation when I pick up my camera, more than the memories and the moments. When I share my vision of the world, I want it to be the vision that expresses who I am at heart. And through my heart connection with my images, I want to connect with others. I want to find kindred spirits who express themselves through their images. I want to know those who seek a heart connection too.

This year, I’ve started a new project called Photo-Heart Connection, to deepen my practice of photography. At the beginning of each month, I will be looking through my images from the previous month and finding the one image which brings me the strongest heart connection. I’ll write about it, learn from it. The exercise will force me to pause for a moment, contemplate my direction and reaffirm the expression I am seeking through my photographs. Each time I pause to do this, my photo-heart connection will deepen. I think yours will too, so I’m inviting you to join me, sharing your strongest photo-heart connection each month with a community of like-minded photographers. Our first link up will be February 1.

Today I encourage you to consider your photo-heart connection. Do you have an image which comes to mind, as an expression of your heart? Share it here, and start the connection.

Image and words courtesey of Guest Blogger Kat Sloma of Kat Eye Studios.

Telling Stories

 That's me up there, sitting on my Mother's lap. It's one of my most favorite photos of my Mom and I.  She would have been just a little younger than I am now.

There's a story behind every photograph captured, every snapshot stolen from a moment in time.  I look at this photo, now through a mother's eyes, and wonder what her story was when this was taken.

It's fascinating to think about where our own photos will end up, forty or fifty years from now. Will somebody, somewhere, look at an image we've captured and wonder about the person in the frame? What they were thinking, feeling, doing in that exact moment?  Perhaps it's a love of photography that leads me to also wonder about the person behind the lens. I wonder why it was they chose to capture a certain moment, a certain scene, a certain someone. I wonder what they were trying to tell me.

Holding this snapshot in my hands, a bit weathered with age, its paper curling from its backing, I make a wish that someday, somebody will do the same with a photograph of my own.  I hope they wonder about the stories I've been telling.

Today, please share with us your photos that tell a story. 

Image and post courtesy of the awesome Janice Squires, who many of us know and love from her blog Two Scoopz.

reminders

 She gets me. Do you have that special someone in your life that builds you up, reminds you of all the goodness inside you and awaiting you? Oh how I hope you do. Those irreplaceable members of your tribe that stand with you side by side, through all ups, downs and in betweens. Life has felt a little uncertain lately. We all have those times, those times when things weigh on our hearts and dampen our creative spark. 'All will be well', I remind myself, again and again. Then the mail arrives, and tucked in an envelope amongst a few funny magazine clippings and handwritten notes, was this tiny tag. A token of her morning tea no doubt, but she saved it just for me and added a little extra love to seal the deal. How did she know? But of course she knew, she just does. Someone else might think it silly, not me, it was just the thing I needed. I tucked this little tag on my bedroom mirror right under this sticker.

Some days you just need a little reminder. I AM limitless, and just in case you forgot, so are you.

Have you found a message you needed in your tea, at your feet, or embodied in a token?

Do share it with us today.