reoccurring themes

Sometimes we don't really notice patterns when we're too close them. Day in and day out we carry on with our routines and rhythms, repeating actions, activities, habits and rituals. We wake and walk and work. We lift our forks to eat, our pens to write, children to love, our cameras to click. Every day with little fanfare.

I've recognized my love affair with coffee mugs for years. The shape, the feel, the message, the color, the rim, the handle. I notice and take note of all of these things each time I lift my mug to sip. And yet, it wasn't until I began to use my iphone (and instagram) that I really noticed how much I really observe the beauty, simplicity, and poetic and hopeful aesthetics of this simple everyday object and how this one seeminly mundane item takes center stage in so many of my photographs.

Is there something you have found that often takes the center of your attention? The subject matter of your images that occurs again and again in ways that might even surprise you?

Take a good look at what it is that captures your eye and your lens and share with us the reoccurring themes of your daily work.

Two (or more) Is Better Than One

There were six of us, all of us friends since high school, living like pampered royalty for three glorious days in a fabulous home on the coast, no husbands, kids or troubles allowed.  It was a photographer's dream being there and my camera, along with the requisite glass of wine or cocktail, was always just a reach away. I took so many photos but just one photo alone couldn't begin to tell the story of our time together, so I chose the 4 photos that summed up the weekend the most and put it together in this collage/dyptych.  Just one look and my girlfriends and I are taken right back to a weekend that I know we will cherish and remember forever.

How about you? Have you ever made a collage or dyptych? Please share with us today your photo stories.  We'd love to see them.

window shopping

I'm introspective by nature, so on most days you can probably find me doing some kind of soul work and pondering about art + life. On those many days, if you see me out in the streets with my camera, I probably have a faraway contemplating look, I'm starring at the horizon, and I am most desperately looking for something beautiful to catch my eye, just so I can shoot it and find some sort of relief to my longings. I know... Eeek, right?  I am proud of the fact that I try to live my life artfully, and with intention and mindfulness. On the other hand, living life (and shooting) like that can be too intense...

That is why some days are meant for window shopping! :) Shooting fun window displays has become one of my favorite pastimes. There is opportunity to explore composition, color, lighting, patterns, reflections, and the styling is already all done for us! There is no room for heaviness here, because why? Well, it's shopping, for heaven's sake! And shopping without the spending (which is even better), with the extra bonus of coming back with lovely photographs to keep. In addition, there is always the possibility to come back for more at the same exact spot, because windows change with the seasons, holidays and collections, offering the chance for a fun documenting project as well.

So who is up for some retail therapy? What do you say if we all lighten up, kick the winter blues, and share some cool window shots today?!

And if window shopping is not your thing (YET!), what do you shoot when you need to lighten up? Show us what you've got.

Also, you can probably tell I'm really digging polaroid these days, can't you? The sx70 has also helped me lighten up on gear and processing. I'm so glad there is a photography toy for every one of our moods out there ;P

full circle

I know I'm not the only one drawn to circles. I actually believe there is something within us, something Universal, even inherent that makes it so. Simply said, the shape carries a kind of magic.

Looking for some cirlce symbolism I found this list. It was exactly as I had suspected. A circle symbolizes so many amazing things. Here are, some circle symbol meaning keywords to contemplate:

• Inclusion
• Wholeness
• Focus
• Unity
• Nurturing
• Cycles
• Initiation
• Everything
• Perfection
• Womb
• Centering
• Revolution
• Infinity
• Mobility
• Completion

Share with us something that drew your own attention full-circle.

List discovered on whatsyoursigndotcom

Patterns

Well... One could say that this photo is kind of naughty! But actually, contrary to what you may be thinking, the girl pictured in the shot did not try to flash me with a hint of her tights! :) Nope. What I captured was actually a tiny 'Marilyn Monroe' moment, as she held her skirt when a gush of wind tried to lift it up at the corner of Powell & Sutter in San Francisco.

In the moment, I hardly even saw legs! All I saw was a feast of patterns: the juxtaposition of the swirls on her skirt, the pink leopard print on her shopping bag, the checkered walls, and all those designs, nicely pulled together by the whites, blacks and pinks. Such a treat for a photographer's eye, don't you think? As far as my 'photo obsessions' go, I have to say that seeing and shooting patterns is very high on my list (which explains my love for fashion photography!).

How about you? Do you notice patterns? Show us what kind of designs, lines, shapes, fabrics and patterns, you've been shooting.