Capturing and Enjoying the Moments That Matter

Sometimes I get caught up in the moment and forget to take a snapshot.  I know there is a fine line here.  It's good to just enjoy the moment.  As long as, I'm not regretting the fact I didn't capture the moment at a later time.

This is what is so beautiful about an iPhone.  It doesn't take much to capture the moment and still enjoy it.

How I capture the moments that matter:

1.  I keep my camera app out.  Easily accessible.

2.  I use Photoshop app first to add light and reduce the noise. Then I use VSCO app next.

3.  Vignette to bring focus to your main subject.

4.  I always post mine to Instagram 

One of the problems of digital photography, or curse, is that we take a picture and then where does it go?  Sits on our computer?  Maybe it will get uploaded someplace on the web?  So, I add a bonus 5th step.

5. Every 3-4 months I take my Instagram feed and publish in a book.  I use the previous book to see where I left off.  Blurb allows you to pull directly from your Instagram feed and recently Artifact Uprising allows you to do this as well.

This is one of my favorite iPhone captures.  There were people all around and things were a little chaotic and I looked over and he was blessing his food and everyone around him.  It almost felt like I was intruding but it was too sweet.  I knew I would regret it later if I did not capture this.  That day I looked at the photo several times and it brought a smile to my face every time.

 My mom passed away six months ago and it has been hard on our family but most of all my dad.  His heart hurts constantly but he finds peace in talking about her and telling stories about her.  On this day my dad took us to a place that he and my mom would go out to eat at in Las Vegas.  He had just told me a story about my mom and then he drifted off in thought.  His expression displays so much. 

My husband loves seeing me in reading glasses.  He kept trying to get a shot of me but the light was never right.  I was sitting alone reading and I felt the light fall on my face.  I grabbed my phone and captured the moment. 

I feel it is important to find ourselves in our photography.  Our loved ones need it.  No matter how difficult it can be....get over it.

Point of View

Recently I’ve been thinking about point of view (POV) in photography. The same image can be photographed a multitude of ways and each can produce a drastically different photograph and will change how a viewer sees or feels about the image. 

As photographers we use all kinds of techniques to convey POV, including camera angle, selective focusing, framing, etc. Do we take the picture from above? down below? at eye level? How close do we get and what else do we allow in the frame? 

Some photographers seem to have a recurring POV that emulates across their work. I am still trying to find out what mine is, but I have found that the photos that resonate most with me are those that feel genuine and evoke some emotion. Quiet, reflective, dreamy, spontaneous, moody, "stolen moments"... or maybe that's just what I am feeling tonight! 

Do you tend to lean towards a particular POV? Shy away from or embrace specific camera angels? Cringe when too much of the picture is out of focus?  Etc? 

Thanks for letting me share my photography thoughts of the day!

~ Andrea

Taking a good look at me | Earth & Skye Photography | Marina Spooner

- Earth & Skye Photography | Marina Spooner

Recently, I was asked to take a photo that defined me.  Usually, when presented with this sort of task, I shy away.  Why do I do that?  There are so many people/photographers/writers/creative folk that have no problem with this.  This time, I took it on.  I could do this.

Let me start out saying that I'm a natural light photographer that predominantly shoots newborns, children, maternity and families.  

When I look at my own work, I can see pieces of me.

Pieces that can be interpreted into style.

My style.  

I find that I want my images to show emotion whether it is serenity, happiness or vulnerability.  I want them to show motion as well.  I don't work out of a studio so I don't want my images to look like they came from one.

So back to the image that defines me...

When I'm alone, with camera, I find myself searching for beauty.  It doesn't matter where I am.  If I'm at home, I'm looking how the light falls into the empty bedrooms.  How the colors change from morning to night. If I'm out, I like to watch the sun dancing in the trees and falling on strangers or objects. 

I lean toward the 'hauntingly' beautiful for my personal work.  I don't set out with that in mind, it just ends up that way.

What I find beautiful. 

My son in the bathtub.

Homemade soup lit up by the late afternoon sun.

Striking colors.

Playing until the last drop of sun.

Silly games that are bursting with love.

And finally.  The image that defines me...

It is personal, vulnerable, mysterious and haunting.

It is me.

-Marina                                          

Come visit me and say hello on FaceBook

Meet Jamie

Jamie Eyre
Camera:
Lenses:

Blog or Website:
flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33119197@N03/
Instagram:  @jamieeyrephotography

Bio:
Photography saved my life. It reminded me there is beauty in everything if you only look for it. I am grateful for that every day. 

What you know & love

Are you signed up for Photojojo’s time capsule? Twice a month they email you a selection of your most interesting photos from the previous year. I love going back in time to see where my photography was a year ago, I love reading my photo descriptions, it really gives me a look back at my mood, my sense of humor, or something I was working through.

Over the past couple of years I have noticed myself always returning to my favorite wooden bowls. There’s just something about the warmth and texture of the bowls that appeal to me. I try not to take the same angle or fill with the same content if possible...sometimes I talk myself out of a bowl altogether and find a basket.

What about you? Do you find yourself going back to a similar shape, color, or object?

Look back through your files or your Flickr stream. Do you see a reoccurring theme? It’s okay. ;) There is comfort and familiarity in that.  I’ve probably shot potatoes resting in one of my wooden bowls several times, next time it might be pine cones, another time it might lead me to use an old fashioned colander. Could it be it’s just leading us to “see” something different each time? Or could it be that I need to go back to what I know to reassure myself?

I have no idea! ;) I think it best to just “do”! Show us what you know & love!

p.s. Mosaics can be made at BigHugeLabs

Just as our eyes need light in order to see, our minds need ideas in order to create. ~ Nicole Malebranche

Art???

Photography???

or Both! 

I choose both.  

Photography is considered both an art form as well as a science.  It takes skill and knowledge of the equipment as well as learning the camera.
  

The definition of photography: the art of science and practice of creating images by recording light. 

Guess what??

I am not here to talk about science! I am here for the ART! I am an artist at heart and my background is in art; so I am naturally drawn to creative pieces.  I love to pour my heart into a painting or sketch and naturally I want to do that with my photos as well.

Here are just a few ways to "evoke emotion" within photography.  

  Color

Subject Matter

Contrast

Expression

Color can evoke emotion by being BOLD and FIERCE… If I were to put on that shade of lipstick!!!  Well, my high heels better be matching my lipstick and I expect a nice glass of wine to go with my steak dinner! Yum!!!  

Including RED within a photo or painting can present the piece with boldness! 

(maybelline ad)

On the other hand…adding blues or greens can evoke the opposite…

This photo is calming and soothing in comparison to the top photo. 

(photo by: Eleaca Young! my fav!) 

Contrast is my next point…

this can be an aggressive element in an image. Contrast shows strength, boldness and ultimately…emotion!  When painting, sketching or photographing; the objective to see the contrast can be crucial.  

Tip* Squint! It allows you to see the HIGHLIGHTS and the LOWLIGHTS of the subject.  

(art instruction blog)

Go ahead…SQUINT! You can't resist! 

You will see the dark shades of the sphere as well as the light on the top half of the sphere. 

 In drawing, you would shade the darker. 

 In photography, you would be paying attention to the light source and where you want that light source to be on your subject.  

(photo credited to Becks)

I know…I know…Another Red Lipstick! But this is a sketch and the contrast is amazing as well as the artist used red to evoke emotion!  A DOUBLE WHAMMY!!

Here is a photo I took of my little guy…I think it evokes emotion by using light for contrast.  

The photo seems to have emotion due to the contrast from light to dark. ..or dark to light.

(whichever way you choose to look)

Having all that said….

We shall have to continue with the other points next time. 

 I hope you go out today and squint! Go ahead and try it!!  (but not while you are driving! Yikes!) 

Squint and see objects for their contrasts as opposed to seeing them as objects only.  See their lightest lights and see their darkest darks and think about that when taking pictures or even sketching! 

How can you give that object/subject matter "emotion"?

Until next time...

reflections

Lately I've been thinking a lot about reflecting, reflecting on the past, on our own inner dialogue, on our view of others..wait, how does that relate to photography? I'm so glad you asked! Because I've also been thinking about photography and skills we learn along the way and how our views of the world are shaped by what we see and what we share with others. We can choose to focus on problems or we can focus on solutions. We can focus on love or we can focus on loss. We can focus on what's right in front of us or we can focus on what's coming up. It's our choice, in photography and in life and what we focus on determines how our photograph (or our life) turns out.

Enjoy the reflection and look past it, choose what you focus on. ~Charlaine