MATTER: Kiera

Kiera
favorite new friend of 2009.
open and honest and freely expressive
in pursuit of learning and personal creative expansion.
marvelous
and then some!

what my day has been like

In order:

realized this picture that I was going to have printed 20x30 to put above our bed isn't a big enough resolution. Looks like the camera (point and shoot, vacation) was on too low of a setting. Always check your camera settings before you go on vacation, take pictures that will matter, etc. etc. etc. Keep it on a high resolution unless you are using those particular images strictly for online, etc.
The file can do 4x6 sizes just fine. Maybe I can do some in color, some in black and white and put them all together... same image but interesting set up? Thoughts?

Then, to ease my sad self, I made some raspberry muffins (with a crumble topping if you're interested).

Had delicious ghanaian peanut soup with a favorite lady for lunch, handled W's lunchtime breakdown over how much rice he wants (totally gets that from his father!), had W spill water from a vase of flowers T gave me this week (he's sweet)..... and the water went ALLLLLLLLL over my new 4x5's that we just picked up from the lab yesterday. They were in a box, the dye soaked through immediately and was streaked over quite a few. So they're lying out to dry on my counters. I feel blurry about it. Hazy about all that film.




Some of them needed to be washed and then clipped to drip-dry. This is where it all becomes funny to me. See these clamps? The big, industrial blue ones? I bought them when I got a strobe, some light stands and a nice-ish 5-in-1 reflector. This is before I got into the studio.


I bought these clamps (they're about a buck a piece at home depot. not a big deal) so I could hold my reflector just where I wanted, fix backgrounds and all that. Well, in my crazy nesting-ness I have been kicking myself about these clamps. I have approx 52,456 of these, in various sizes, at my studio, and keeping these ones at my house has just added to the photo clutter. I swear, its like I have organized non-chaos at the studio, but then at my house, my photo stuff that is here is somehow multiplying and STILL not remotely organized. It drives me slightly insane on a weekly basis. Well, wouldn't you know they were EXACTLY what I needed, in the EXACT number, for this little spilled-water debacle today. It reminds me a little of this instance in my life.

So, I just chilled out about the whole thing and photographed. I knew the film would be okay, it was just a bit of a hassle during lunch and naptime schedule, but after, I documented, and I can't wait to show THIS image below once the slide is scanned, because that is some sort of gorgeous pineapple (if I do say so myself).

And now, I'm sitting at my desk, eating a tasty muffin and drinking some milk. Happy and content. If it can be wiped up or washed out, it seriously is not a big deal. Hope your day is similarly hectic but lovely in all facets!

Wednesdays: pinecone

Back in the summer, W and I spent some time at Sugarhouse Park. He hadn't been walking for more than a few months, but he was starting to acquire words with a steam-engine progressive speed. That day, we learned the word "pinecone". W proceeded, for the next half-hour or so, to bring me EVERY pinecone he could find under this big tree we were sitting in the shade of. He would wobble and be so very careful as he bent to pick up each one. I stopped counting after the pile next to me had 50 of them. He was so excited to find more and even more excited to share his discovery with me.

It was one of my favorite experiences as a mom. Watching him take in the world and explore. This photograph is for him... and for me, to remind me (and maybe you?) to wonder in awe regularly, and see each little "same" thing as very different and exciting.

MATTER: When Life Gives You Lemons

You may remember back in the summer we had a lot of T's family in town and I took them into the studio to photograph. Some of the images I LOVE, some, weellll, not so much my favorites, but I'm glad to have them anyway for the history value. Additionally, that was the time when the lab I was using at the time RUINED 4 sheets and fogged 3 more. The image below is one of the ones that was fogged. It's my nephew. He is at that awesome boy stage where legs and arms are LONG LONG LONG. I manipulated the back standard (film plane) slightly to elongate the legs and help with the feel of his age.


However, because of the fog (in this image it is better than in the others that were also damaged), I wanted to do something different with the image. Hence, the crop to the below view.
I am not an advocate of cropping. John Telford, one of my college professors, would make us give him the name of a famous photographer who cropped if we chose to. (I always picked Alfred Steiglitz). I think that you should do it right the FIRST time, not in manipulation after. I will say, I feel justified in cropping this image, however. I love it the way it is full, but NOT with the fog. Thus, the below crop.

Dimick

For being willing to dress up in crazy costumes
and go to the grocery store
for the sheer pleasure of making strangers laugh.

I did post a different image of Dimick previously. I like them both.

Was in the Studio on Saturday.....

Doing some images for the Motherhood Project. This is Audrey. She's lovely. Did 4 sheets large format, then caught this digital image to let her know "approximately" what it looked like (without the focus manipulation, etc. and focal length changes that are present in the film).


Well, after I got home, I felt like putzing around with photoshop. Did these two variations:

click to enlarge image

click to enlarge image

The top one is more saturated than the one below. I'm not completely sure which one I like more... perhaps a mixture of both. I did it through using smart blur (totally swagged--some wild a-- guess-- it since i've never used that before), then adjusted opacity of the layer and did some masking to bring out her face. Different brush sizes and opacity levels. No real "method" here. Just using the tools and messing with it until it looked a way I liked. I shoot the same way. I adjust the model, the light, my camera, until it feels right. That is why it is SO EASY for me to limit my exposures with film. Typically, I do 2 shots, TOTAL, of a model.

I don't typically post mothering opinion type stuff on here (since its a photo blog)... but I did think this article was worth reading.

pregnancy article

birthday portrait

i've been trying to make it a point to get a "good" photograph of each member of my little family on their respective birthdays. Last year was the first try, and the one I got of T was, how do I say... awful.... This year's was a less than 5 minute shoot before (and then while) my model for the night was there (this was post birthday-- I wasn't working ON his birthday!). I like his slight smile. I wish it was his BIG, happy smile, but I think he looks handsome! I'm going to print this for our house for sure.