• Things We See is a collective journey, a place for the meanderings and musings of friends who share a passion for visual expression and a belief that sharing things seen can make a difference. We are beginning with a simple vision: Make pictures and share them. In this process we will inspire and mentor one another in equal measure. Here is where you'll find dialogue about the things that matter most to us, the things that touch us, the things we see. Welcome.

    "To see clearly is poetry, prophecy and religion, all in one."
    — John Ruskin, English critic, essayist, & reformer (1819 - 1900)

What is Home?

07-31-2010

I am seriously starting to feel like I am the only one posting here. Hello? Anyone out there? Oh well, so be it. I know that Amy and Britt have been in the Gulf and will hopefully have much to share soon.

When I first saw that the July theme was home I thought, “Easy peasy.” I shoot my kids and husband and dogs ALL THE TIME in our home. But then I reminded myself that the point of this was to stretch myself. I am a portrait photographer through and through. I can photograph anything as long as there is a living, breathing being in the frame. Once it is just landscape I am a goner. So I decided to think of my home and what it looks like when there is nothing in the frame except the house itself. I started to realize that I actually have a real relationship with my house. Since I work at home I am here more than anyone else (except the dogs) and the house and I have a sort of unspoken rhythm to our day. These shots are by no means spectacular, but it was a nice exercise for me. And I worked on it all month long so it was nice to have something ongoing for a change. Also before anyone screams from the rafters, I do know that there are two shots where living creatures snuck in. But nobody is perfect : )

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Are You?

07-16-2010

I am busily working on the July theme of home. Are you? So excited to see what everyone comes up with.

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Medium of Expression

07-09-2010

Before I was a photographer (at least a professional one) I was a designer. And I was in love with typography. The paper was my canvas and the type was my paint. I loved that words had form and color (even in black and white) as well as semantic meaning. I loved to play with letters and rearrange them to change and make new ones and to manipulate their meaning simply by moving them around or emphasizing one letter over another. Sometimes I miss the puzzle of design, but I love that everything I did before contributes to my experiences with photography. I love that I photograph the same way I design and that they are so interconnected.

Here are a couple of my favorite pieces. The first is a book I designed for Chronicle Books; the second one is a save the date for a wedding invitation and the rest are school exercises while I was at CCA.

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July theme: home

07-02-2010

It’s the time before dawn. Blanket mist rests above the waist high grass. She is the color of the brown summer field. Her ears are low. The doe moves slowly. Sun rises. Santana alerts me. This is my son’s favorite let’s-get-moving-really-super-fast breakfast music. I stumble into the kitchen and adjust volume. I return to my perch. The mist is gone. It’s dinner. Last light rims my son’s profile. He eats peas and pasta from separate plates so nothing touches. We negotiate a room cleaning strategy. We plan for summer camp and new foods. We plot a costume for the Shakespeare monologue he plans for the talent show. A single long whisker curl glows on his downy chin. Sun sets. The field is dark. I didn’t make a picture today. Why is it I didn’t photograph what was right in front of me?

Welcome to the Things We See theme for July: home.

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You Can’t See if You Don’t Look

06-30-2010

I get so stuck in my life. Wake up, fix kids’ lunch, take kids to school, work, do laundry, make dinner, get kids to bed, sleep. Wash, rinse, repeat. I see so little around me. I am like a horse with blinders on. I forget to look for the magic and moments that surround me. I am too tired to notice the miracles that I live and breathe with, much less remember to pick up a camera and capture it all. I have to remind myself to LOOK, that it will not come to me. That I must seek it out for myself and be present in my life. Otherwise, what am I and what is the point? So I will try again each day to summon the energy to search and if I cannot manage that, I will at least be still, but open to all that surrounds me.

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