Real life is brimming with moments worthy of being captured and held close. But most of us rarely oblige. The annual smiling family photos line up on the living room wall, marking evidence of a full year's growth between each one. Portraits that prove there were birthdays celebrated, braces removed, babies turned toddlers. But images of those milestones? They are what's missing. When it comes to retelling the stories of the year past, we've only our memories on which to rely.
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June and July 2017 were overflowing with life and more blessings than we could count. While I continued shooting every day, I was mindful to put my camera down a lot in order to be present in the moment. When we make this choice, we must also be more selective about when we do choose to shoot.
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A couple weeks ago our family and our friends' family rented a quaint lake house in New York so that we could all spend the weekend together. The boys had a bed in the room but it was small and high off the ground.... and they are 4 and 6 and dance and rotate in their sleep. So, the floor it was!
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To say my teacher soul was satisfied at the end of my breakout in June would be an understatement. I had the opportunity to work with moms from all over the globe and together, we got to inquire into our own hearts. Why are we drawn to shoot what we do? (Hint: Nothing is random.) How do our past experiences and values leak into our personal photos?
So, when - right as I was about to put my feet up and enjoy a tall drink of something at the end of my breakout- I was offered another teaching opportunity, I didn't think long before taking it. I can't talk about it just yet, but I'll make the announcement as soon as all the parts are in place.
In order to continue writing and teaching, I need to make some extra space in my life. I will be eliminating some session types and continuing to shoot others at a much-needed price increase. Here are the changes you will see, beginning September 2017:
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Shooting through close to 3 calendar years has given me great insight into what I love about every season. No, not just each season, but more than that. Each week. Each small change of the sun.
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I thought it would fun to take my new Lensbaby Trio 28 with us to our local fair, because all the fun sights and colors would pair well with this creative and rather unpredictable lens. I wasn't really planning on getting any "important" shots of my boys, because from experience, I know that due to the tight space and the crowds I usually end up with a bunch of the same types of waiting-for-the-ride-to-start shots.
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Wondering what the title of the breakout- The Stories that Make Us- actually means? I filled FIVE pages of possible titles before I finally hit on this one and I knew right away it was right because it really does most closely represent the content… the ideas that, as we grow, the stories we tell about ourselves AND the stories our parents tell us about ourselves really really do MAKE US. It’s true- right?? With our cameras as a tool- at any skill level, we have a special ability to speak to our subject directly though our photos. That’s what the breakout is about. It’s about being intentional about what our images will say to the people in them, even if we are not there to speak for our work.
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Here comes April, and there it goes! I'm a third of the way through my 2017 365 stories project (what?!) and less than a half a month from now my Click Photo School breakout is DUE! So far, my main PDF is over 100 pages, my videos total around an hour and I've made two bonus PDFs. I'm ready to share! (And to put my feet up!)
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The backstory: You may remember that last year I made a goal to shoot more with my lensbaby sweet 35 so I could get quicker with manual focus and manipulating the quirks of the lens. I shot everything (indoors and out) with it for a few weeks and only made a few images at that time that I loved, despite taking hundreds of frames. By the end of that personal challenge, I could pretty quickly and accurately manually focus. And then? I put the lens away and pretty much didn't get it out until yesterday!
So, fast forward about 9 months- last night, my friend, my oldest son, and I went for a walk last night on an absolutely beautiful night in downtown Greensburg PA.
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