Here are a few shots from the other day of the girls in front of our fire place (same location as the pics of Jules a few weeks back with her doll). The window light from the side gives lovely shadows and dimension, and the fireplace brick is blackened from 50+ years of use and just dissapears in photographs.

I’m so into playing with light lately, I need to really start looking for those little corners and pockets of light that result in such interesting photographs. I feel like I’ve spent most of the last year practicing in basic, flat light (which I still love) that I find myself really wanting to experiment and play right now and see how far I can push things and get the results I want.

ISO 800, 1/160-1/500, f3.5

My work is inspired so many people. Just check out the links section in the sidebar to see some of the amazing photographers who inspire me to learn more, work harder, to push past internal and external boundaries to create my art. I am so grateful to each and every one of those people - for although most of them don’t know me, they can take credit for making me just a tiny bit better every time I take a picture.

Their images are part of my subconscious. I have studied their work, I have pestered them with questions, I have tried to absorb their knowledge and just a tiny bit of their magic, of their unique gift. I have read and re-read their teachings. I have sat and stared at a single image for an hour trying to take in and comprehend all the millions of details that come together to create that particular piece of art. I have laughed out loud, I have been moved to tears, my breath has been taken away. Some of them I now call friends, which makes the inspiration I get from their images all that much more sweet.

In a way, each of my inspirations becomes a part of me - so that if you look hard enough, you’ll see little bits of their work in mine. You’ll see them in the way I play with light, in the way I position myself in relation to my subjects, in the angles I choose, in the way I process my photos. I cannot possibly separate the end result from the journey it took to create it - and the people who inspire me are an integral part of that journey. In a way, they each own a piece of my photos.

Every now and then I come across someone new who just blows me away. Today Jesh de Rox did that and then some. This morning I happened on his website and blog and was utterly transfixed by his images, his work moved me on so many levels. The entire presentation; the website; the music; those amazing images…everything is flawlessly executed from start to finish. He does not have a ton of images in his gallery, but it does not matter. Each and every one that is there is there for a purpose, and each one communicates his artistic vision to the viewer; a vision that speaks directly to my soul. His use of textures is pure mastery of digital technique - they don’t just give a look to his pictures, they give an emotion. I’ve probably visited his website on three or four different occasions today, just wanting to take it all in.

When I stumble upon an artist like that, I feel like I’m on a high for days. I can’t wait to get out my camera, can’t wait to discover what happens through my lens, can’t wait to load the pictures into Photoshop and see what road each photo will take me down. It’s not so much that I want to do exactly what he does (although that would be nice), but just that I dream of one day being that good. To get that good I’m going to have to practice and learn, work and observe, read and absorb. The greatest part about feeling so passionate (obsessive?) about something is that I get to have fun doing it. What could be better than that?

So - tell me - who inspires you?

I’ve been playing around with textures lately, and this is my favorite one so far. It seems to be the latest trend, and I enjoy the challenge of trying to learn a new technique - it makes me feel all creative and artiste-like

Julianna is so difficult to photograph. She’s a normal toddler, always moving, exploring, climbing, falling. Never still, and hardly cooperative with me and my camera. My pictures of her are often a blurry mess because just as I’m ready to click the shutter she runs at me, smile beaming ready to give me a big hug (or to put her sticky fingers all over my lens).

So - when I saw her sitting quiety at the fireplace holding her doll the other morning, I ran for my camera. The morning light was hitting her from the side and the hearth was dark behind her. My luck held and she stayed still for a few moments, and I ended up capturing some of my favorite images of her.

She is holding her beloved Lulu, her Christmas gift from Bella. I’m not sure where Lulu’s clothing went:)

If the only thing I do all day long…
…is make her smile like this - my day has been a success.
Her smile, her spirit, her joie de vivre, her sparkle….
it just bursts out of her - too big to be contained.

She does not just have my heart, she is my heart.

As usual - a few more on flickr

Tech info:
ISO 1600 - Make the grain work for you, not against you baby. I could have lowered my iso here because I had room to lower my shutterspeed - but I actually wanted grain in these pictures so I kept it at 1600.
1/320 - 1/640
f 3.2

…what more can a photographer ask for?

The fact that she’s so darn beautiful just seals the deal for me. Now - if only I could find a pair of those shoes in my size!

As usual, you can see the rest of this set on my flickr stream

It was only recently that I realized that I have hardly any photos of boys - I am just surrounded by girls, girls, girls.

Well - I finally got a chance to photograph a boy, and he just happened to be about the cutest thing on the planet. His curls just melt me, and his mischevious grin and darling personality are just the icing on the cake. This boy has seriously got me hooked - what a heartbreaker he will be one day.

Now I’ve got to find some more little boys who want to cooperate for the camera:)

Introducing Aidan….

These girls are just as sweet as they are beautiful (and all so different) - the family came over today for lunch and I couldn’t resist getting out my camera. I’ve not had much luck with my own kids lately, and I’ve been dying for some pictures to proof (I think I’ve turned into a photoshop geek).

Ally, the dark haired girl, is one of Bella’s four bestest friends in the whole wide world (ranking varies daily). She’s a darling, polite little doll. Mackenzie, the red head, has me wrapped around her little finger - she’s full of spirit and spunk and sweet as sugar. The baby, little Maddie, is probably the most mellow baby I’ve ever met - I don’t think I’ve ever seen her upset. She is cutting five teeth right now (which explains the bright red cheeks) but she was still quiet and content all day.

I heart these girls:)

You can see more of these shots on my flickr stream.

I used my light meter for some of these, but not all - I really need to spend some time testing and learning it - it’s not second nature yet.

Thanks to my lovely, beautiful, divine friend/doula client Laura - I got me a brand new light meter and some beautifully exposed pictures to share.

Wanted to share some recent pics from one of our (many) backyard sessions. The first one was exciting for me - Jules stayed still long enough for a picture, she looked at the camera AND she smiled. Makes a mama/photographer VERY happy!

And just for good measure - Bella took one of me too!