the six questions featuring Jennifer Causey

Jennifer Causey's still life, food and travel images have been inspiring many for years now, always encouraging us to explore the beauty that emerges from the ordinary scenes of everyday life, and gently reminding us to sink into the goodness of nature, and simple living. Jennifer kindly accepted to answer our 6 questions interview and I am absolutely delighted to share her thoughts with you today. Now, make yourself a cup of tea, nestle on your couch with a soft blanket, and enjoy. 

1. What's the story behind this photo? 

This photo was taken in the dining room of some of my friend's home. We had gone to the farmer's market that morning and brought back some blueberries, local honey, and the little loaf of bread. As we put everything on the table for breakfast, the light was so beautiful and  I had to take a photo.   

2. What was it that lit your photography spark? Do you remember a particular camera, course, person, roll of film?

After college, I took a black and white photography class just for fun. We developed and printed our own photos. Working in the darkroom and watching photos come to life before my eyes was like magic. I was instantly hooked.   

3. What's your photo philosophy? Does it reflect your life philosophy?

Keep it simple. I try to use natural light whenever possible. I also like working organically, with simple objects and I like to just let things happen. I keep my eyes open for the perfect scene or moment to capture.  This reflects my life philosophy as well. I try to live simply and enjoy simple pleasures. 

4. Where do you look for inspiration?

Everywhere! I always have my eyes open. Living in NYC, there is inspiration everywhere. But, I also love visiting other places to see things with a fresh eye. I am very inspired by food, by the people who grow it, and by those who make it into beautiful, delicious creations. I love coffee houses and bakeries. 

I'm also inspired by colors in nature and the changing of seasons. I often turn to European and Australian design and travel magazines. The styling is always full of interesting objects and colors.

5. What aspect of your photography are you constantly working on, trying to improve? 

I am always trying to push myself to take more pictures of people. 

6. If you could go anywhere in the world for an epic, weeklong photo excursion all by your luxuriously unhurried self - regardless of money, time or childcare issues - where would you go and why?

I think it would be a trip around Italy. Because the country has the best of everything-wonderful food, beautiful landscapes, a gorgeous coastline, and amazing people.

Thank you so much Jennifer!

Be sure to check Jennifer's website, blog and Flickr pool to see more of her inspiring work.

brand new day

I am an admitted night owl.  Nights are my quiet time.  Uninterrupted time, when little ones are asleep and I can focus on things such as photography.  I thrive in the late hours.  Pushing way past any time I should stay awake,  trying to stuff so much into those few precious hours.  This makes my mornings less than easy.  I rarely greet the new day bright eyed.  Instead I shuffle out of bed, bleary eyed, and hope with all hope that I remembered to set the coffee maker the night before.  Greeted by two little early bird beauties who happen to be quite the opposite of their night owl momma.  I envy those "other people",  you know, the morning people.  The ones who get more done in their morning before i even find the cream for my much needed cup of coffee.  Lately, due to certain circumstances, I have been up before sunrise every now and then.  I roll out of bed and into clothes I left heaped on the floor the night before, brush my teeth, and throw the nearest hat on my terrible case of morning bed head.  I grab my keys and chauffeur my teenage daughter to her early morning job.  Lucky for me it serves coffee, lots of coffee!  I could then drive home, hope that the little ones were not disturbed, and crawl back into my still warm bed with my husband.  Instead night owl me has felt an unfamiliar pull to watch the sunrise.  I take my morning self, my camera, and that cup of coffee and drive to the beach. To breathe in the silence that only a winter beach brings.  To commune with that lone seagull.  To watch the darkness give way to light and colors.  To welcome my beloved sun.  A brand new day, full of promise, possibility, and beauty.  Having these new moments of early morning solitude has really made me take pause and appreciate something I didn't even know I was missing. 

"I've always liked the time before dawn because there's no one around to remind me who I'm supposed to be, so it's easier to remember who I am." ~story people

Show us, how do you greet the day?  What beauty do you find in the early morning hours? When was the last time you watched the sunrise?  Perhaps today is that day.  

sunday school: 'tis the season to make bokeh

For photographers like me, if there's one thing we drool over during the holiday season, it's the seemingly infinite sources of itty bitty points of light EVERYWHERE, from one's own home, to the neighbor's bejeweled trees, to the local mall. And itty bitty points of light mean one thing to us, do they not?  BOKEH BUBBLES.*  That's right, folks.  If the festive side of Christmas annoys you or stresses you out, look on the bright side--there are endless opportunities for blowing bokeh bubbles into your images.

If you've ever wondered how to capture the kind of magical bokeh characterized by dreamy floating balls of colored light, this is the perfect time to experiment and learn by trial-and-error.  Just keep in mind these few basics, and you'll be an expert bokeh bubble blower in no time!

• Shaped bokeh is created by the blurring of highlights, such as small points of light or reflections of light.  This is why sunlight poking through summer tree leaves makes for pretty bokeh.
• The shape of the bokeh is determined by the shape of your lens's aperture.  If you like your bokeh nice and round, try shooting wide open with a fast prime lens like the popular 50mm f/1.8.  If you want to get a hexagon shaped bokeh, try a narrower aperture such as f/4.5.
• The key is to position your lens with your subjects in the foreground with the points of light (such as Christmas tree lights) in the background so that when you focus on your main subjects, the lights behind them will blur into magical bubbles of bokeh.
• You can experiment with the size of your bokeh by changing the depth of field or focal length of your lens or by modifying the distance between your lens and the subjects and the distance between the subjects and the points of light behind them. 

I've seen some great bokeh bubbles that make use of the abundant little lights of the holiday season.  If you have images of such bokeh that you'd like to share, we'd love to see them.  And if you have any tips on capturing the magic of bokeh, please do share those as well!

*By bokeh bubbles, I am referring to the shaped bokeh of blurred highlights, as opposed to creamy bokeh, which is just smooth blur.

light into darkness

"Beautiful light is born of darkness"  ~ R. Turnbull

I stand under this tree, his hand in mine... we spin ourselves dizzy. It's an Austin tradition, and one I do with thousands of others each year because I secretly hope I can spin my wish into reality. As if a string of bokeh lights can make a single wish come true.

He laughs and I stumble and I lose track of who is adult and who is child.

Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are spinning slowly... tick tock... into the darkness and lengthening of day. Soon we will come to rest softly in the cold of Midwinter; but until we do, we find ourselves with more dark than we know what to do with.

As I think about the upcoming solstice, I think about what it means to stand still and accept the lack of sunlight. I think about the darkness that comes before dinner, the early mornings void of sunshine. I think of hibernation and cups of tea to warm my hands. It makes me seek light, almost where there is none. It makes me step outside my natural light comfort zone.

Where in all of this do you find light? I know it's out there, hiding in the nooks and crannies of shorter days, it's waiting to be discovered by you. Today, share with us what you find and we will be overcome with love by the light created from thin air.  We'll see the future and a world of catchlight through a set of new eyes.  We'll hush the silence that reflects light in the quiet stillness of dark.  We'll count the thousand points of light as if they are trees in a forest.  And we'll gasp in joy at the lights of your city.  

Today, won't you join me in my search for light? Share with us the light that is revealed to you in darkness.

sunrise/sunset

It's hard for me to see a sky like this and not run to grab my camera. A sunset this beautiful almost seems too good to be true, like I need proof that it actually happened or no one would believe me. It's amazing that something that happens everyday, like the sun going down, can still manage to produce such a spectacular scene. It's ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.

I'd love to see some more outstanding sunsets or sunrises. Leave your examples in the comments!