the ones we love

Well, it's 10:29...an hour and a half before I should have this post done, and I don't know what to say. It's been a very long day, and I have no interesting words or thoughts. I do have a cool link for you though. I found this site via Photojojo's newsletter the other day. It's called The Ones We Love. And it's a project devoted to portraying the people who inspire different photographers all over the world. I found myself mesmerized by A. the photography and B. the concept. Somehow it adds a certain dimension to a photograph when you know that the person who is pictured means the world to someone else. Then I realized that we can probably say that about most photographs. Hopefully everyone has someone that they mean the world to, and vice versa. So I thought we could start our own little mini "Ones We Love" photo fest today. I'll go first.

babyface

He watches a fairground ride and I wonder: what's he thinking?

Sure, they just lie there in carseat or on floor, less photographically diverse than hopping and squishing and squealing toddlers. But OH! My... the wonder that awaits a patient soul. This Easter Monday, show us your favourite baby-absorbing-world captures - with all the cereal-encrusted cheeks and gummy grins.

Because nothing quite says peace and hope like cheeks like those.

Love Thursday: March 20, 2008

“It is easy to halve the potato where there is love.”

 -- Irish saying

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I came across the saying above while looking for a quote for Love Thursday that was specifically (a) about love, and (b) Irish in origin, what with it being the week of St. Patrick's Day and all.  My first reaction when I read it was to giggle:  to be honest, I can't say that I love potatoes so much that it would that difficult to halve them with anyone; but yeah, I get the point. 

Then I started thinking about it a little more.  And I realized that it speaks to me in more ways than I first thought.

Recently, a friend of mine who is in the hospital awaiting a bone marrow transplant asked me to register with the National Bone Marrow Registry.  It turns out that it is very difficult to find a match for those of us who are from the Caribbean, because many of us are multiracial; so she asked if I would go ahead and register.  While the entire concept of undergoing surgery to donate marrow sort of freaks me out, I agreed to do it without hesitation:  after all, it is easy to halve the potato when there is love, right?

I registered online, and within a week or so, the swab kit arrived at my home.  I did the test and returned the swabs to the mailbox within 10 minutes, before I thought about it too much -- after all, this is to help a friend.  But of course, since doing so, it's been on my mind a lot:  since  there's no way to specify for whom I'd be willing to be a donor, the truth is the phone could ring at any time, telling me that I'm a match for a total stranger in need.

Though I'm not proud of it, it scares me even more that I may be called to undergo surgery to help someone I don't know.  However, the truth is I'm not sure that I could possibly say no, you know?  So as I ponder the Irish saying above, I realize that for me, there's really a lesson to be learned:

It is easy to halve the potato when there is love -- the trick, I guess, is to love broadly enough so that halving the potato just becomes second nature.

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Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please leave your links of love in the comments section, below -- and for inspiration, check out the great work left by Mrs. Eaves, Justmeagain2006,  and essaydoctor1 in our Shutter Sisters Flickr pool.

 And, at the risk of running this metaphor into the ground:  may you always find it easy to halve your potato. ;-)

The Details of Friendship

I was lucky enough to share some of my weekend with a handful of dear friends. This much needed girl time was like food for my soul; a time to slow down, to catch up, to unwind, to take in, to savor, to be present, to give and to receive. I rarely take my camera to these kinds of gatherings because I can get preoccupied with the photo part and I have learned to allow myself (and enjoy) being camera free. But lately, looking at endless photos of friends basking one another’s company, I have longed for my own visual treasures of my soul sister experiences. Needless to say, I took my camera this time around in anticipation of capturing the day in a way to help me relish and relive our time together.

I used the self-timer for a handful of gems (the kind of shots to go straight into a frame) and quickly clicked a couple more of things that caught my eye—pods I gathered from the patio, Lucy the dog and a few charming vignettes of my friend’s home. We were outside for while and although the light was harsh and somewhat uninspiring, I shot the photo above, just a quick click, with little thought in the midst of light and easy conversation.

When I got home and got the images up on the computer, I was delighted to discover this shot and how it made me feel. How can a just simple little detail of a friend stir up such rich feelings of gratitude? Is it her signature well-worn clogs and the playful way her toes point slightly inward? Or perhaps it’s the many layers of slightly ruffled fabric, skirt on skirt, and the textured hint of her brimming basket? Or maybe it’s her bare skin, being nourished and warmed by the vibrant sun of the perfect morning. It must be a little of all of these things and how they weave a story together, strand by beautiful strand, of our day, our friendship and how blessed I am to have women like this in my life.

Do you have a photo to share with us that stirs your soul, reminding you that life is good? You know we'd love to see it.

Love Thursday Featured Fotographer: Beebee Mod

"Sisters." This a photo these girls will frame and hang in their university dorm rooms.

Several years ago when I lived in London, I worked with a woman named Rebecca.  Rebecca  was young, fresh out of university and always had a twinkle in her eye that made you think that she was in on an unspoken joke. 

Soon after I met her, Rebecca's father, with whom she was very close, lost his battle with cancer.  It was the one subject about which Rebecca wasn't entirely comfortable speaking.  One day, however, I passed her desk, and found her looking at several beautiful black-and-white photos.

"God, Rebecca, those are beautiful!  What are they?"

She smiled, a mixture of bemused exasperation and wistful nostalgia.  "They're photos my dad took when I was a child," she said.  "He was always walking around with that bloody camera."

Turns out Rebecca's dad was a serious amateur shutterbug -- and his favourite subjects were the members of his family.  There were beautiful close-ups of Rebecca with her sisters, stunning ones of her beautiful young mother, even a staged self-portrait of himself and the whole family sitting around a laden lunch table, laughing, with their forks midway between their plates and their mouths.  And damned if Rebecca's twinkle wasn't in his own eyes.

"I thought I'd have them framed, and hang them in my new place," she said.  "I think he would've loved that," she added quietly.

Since that day, I find myself looking at photos of kids with family members, and when I find one that particularly moves me, I'm always quick to mention to the photographer:  "That's one your adult child will frame and hang in her home," or "Oh, he'll definitely hang that over his mantel."   Often people laugh.  "Think so?" they'll say, dismissing my comment as idle compliment. But I can't help it: because of Rebecca, I notice these things -- and it's something I always aim for when shooting my own photographs of my daughter with the people she loves.

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Happy Love Thursday, everyone.  Please leave links of your images depicting love in the comments below.  Also, to shake things up a bit, I thought I'd feature a contributor to our Shutter Sisters Flickr pool every second Thursday of the month.  This month's featured Love Thursday photo is by the talented Beebee Mod (aka Jen) who also happens to have a blog.  Thanks,  Jen, for letting me use your image!

And everyone:  may the next shot you take of a child with a loved one be the image she hangs the entryway of her first home. ;-)