Small town laughter...

Goofy runs in my family.  It's not often that I get to spend time with my family but I am reminded each time that we have a gift in our friendship.  Some of the best memories we have are when we found time to just do nothing.  My grandma and grandpa's house in small town Illinois is just that.  We went out looking for images for a personal project I started while at school needless to say we got a little distracted and started reenacting road signs.  Who says 26 year olds can't be children every once and a while?

Pixel dust?

Time on the beach is always a treat.  The sun beating down, the sounds of the waves hitting the shore, time with family and friends.... sand EVERYWHERE.  There is something magical about sand.  It always manages to stick around long after you've left the vacation behind... like a photograph.

   

With new eyes...

My dad recently took on the job of remodeling a house.  This is no ordinary house.  It was built in 1867 and is on the national historic registry.  Marble fireplaces, ornate cornices, beautiful wood handrails, and several pieces of furniture that were original to the house.  I spent half a day wandering around and photographing the place and what a treat it was.  As I made my way to the stone basement I came upon a series of windows covered with iron work and was captured by the cold winter light filtering in.  Just as I raised my camera to my face my dad said "yeah, I've been meaning to clean those things up".  I pressed the shutter and turned to show him the display on the back. "Why would you want to do a thing like that?" I said.  He looked at the image and replied "maybe it's not such a priority".

Bedknobs and Broomsticks

Or, in my case, benches and doorknobs.  I learn a lot about myself when I am behind the lens.  Since I was young I've always had a fascination with the way things were arranged right down to the smallest of details. Well, you know what they say, it's all in the details.  It wasn't until I started shooting pictures that I found trends developing in my photos. Like putting together a wardrobe or furnishing a house, the images you choose to collect start to reflect your life, your character, your thoughts.  It wasn't until I began to rework my catalog of images that I noticed the frequency with which my lens falls on benches and doorknobs.  Benches and doorknobs.  Benches or doorknobs?  I think this past year was more about the doorknobs.

It's all in the eyes...

That's what they say about portraits.  I think I believe them.  Perhaps one of my favorite shots to take (of kids especially) is the nearly full-frame face shot.  It breaks some of the rules of traditional portraiture in that it makes for an oversized version of the child when printed larger than an 8x10. I love it none-the-less.  There is something special about the way eyes sparkle that draws me right in.  I have evidence of this habit because it causes me to show up in the picture too!  Can you spot the photog in this shot?

Capture it all!

One of the things that I dearly LOVE about photographing kids is that there really are NO RULES.  Unlike us adults who have the "sit here and smile" rule engrained in us from years of traditional school pictures kids typically have no problem showing us just what they can do in front of the camera.  From frowns to grins, from pouts to giggles, from serious to just plain goofy... I think it all deserves a little camera time.  Besides, some of the stuff we do as kids we won't be able to pull off later in life.  Thanks to Gabe for pointing out that picture taking can be wildly energetic if you just give it a chance. ;)

The Cat and the Camera Bag...

Not too long ago I introduced you to my cat Milli who loves to rest atop the back of my chair while I edit photos.  She must be a kindred spirit as she fell in love with my new camera bag as quickly as I did.  I'm not certain her purposes for the  Tenba Messenger are as designed by the manufacturer but she definitely uses it as often as she can!  PS - Only if the camera has been removed and the bag turned over.  Gotta love her.