Remembering My Photography Roots

I am a Photographer, I am a creative human, learning from others in my craft, honing my skills, learning to grow and excel in taking interesting, clear, and heart-felt pictures. To me, art comes from within first, sometimes developing into a skill that others admire and want to share.

I took this picture with my first digital camera, an Olympus with an unheard of 10x zoom and only 6 megapixals. This was taken sometime in 2001.

Art is a creative expression that connects the person to the life they are living, the moment, the movement, the feelings they are moving through. Photography can be personal, intimate. It can be connective and bonding, as with documenting a child within the family or a photographer documenting a family in a paid photo shoot.

My first attempts at posing a model, using that same camera. This is Caleb, my son nearly 8 years ago. If I were to do this same shoot today with my expereince I am sure it would look different as my future shoots will look different from the ones I do today, yet I cherish my first attempts at photography as a hobby rather than just documentation.

I was recently dismayed by a poem written by a photographer who claimed she had the ability to discern a professional photographer from those who "own a camera." On one hand, I understand her tale of proffesional photography woe: it is frustrating I am sure to hone the craft of photography, perhaps studying it and practicing it extensively in libraries reading photography literature, gleaning photography websites, and even taking classes, then to start and sustain a business only to have the neighbor next door buy a DSLR camera (or in my case a HDSLR), see the results of a better lens making for a crisper picture and decide they are going to charge for their phtography; thus the fear of a potential client being wooed to the lower price and slightly mediocre picture (how's that for a run-on sentence? See I can be creative in my writing too!)

Another wonderful modeling attempt with baby Caleb. I was more concerned with the sun being in his eyes than the shade creating dark shadows. Look, I even threw in some flower props!

On the other hand, I am that "neighbor" who bought a HDSLR camera with the hopes of being a paid proffessional. All you know is that I just bought a camera. But you never asked me how long I have been using phtography as a hobby, or seen my progression, or the encouragement I've gotten from first family and friends, then honest-to-goodness proffessionals. And I've gotten criticism too. Mostly from my own comparisons, but I use these moments to focus on a skill I am lacking, to practice and refine my own personal photography style.

I saw this quote today on Paint the Moon Photography, which in turn inspired this post:
"Comparison is the thief of joy." - Theodore Roosevelt
And then they asked, "Being inspired is wonderful - but beating ourselves up by comparing ourselves to others is usually self-defeating. Your thoughts?"


I would completely agree with this statement. Humans love to copy new ideas, yes, but each copy becomes something uniquely new and insprired. Even Plato, one of the greatest philosophers of our time pondered this human trait to copy, create, and inspire.

And boy have I been inspired by some really amazing and graceful photographers, some long-time hobbiests, some professional, and even a few naturally creative photographers new to the craft.

But what inspires me the most?

My life

My boys with their cousin, Luke visitng from San Diego

My youngest's impish smile inspires me.

Seeing my niece grow into a beauitful young lady inspires me.

The love of my family inspires me.

The Adventure

Photographing an 800lb bison on the plains of our great country inspires me.

Watching a soon-to-be mother gracefully navigating the plains of South Dakota inspires me.

Seeing the face of one of our great fore fathers etched forever into stone by the hands of many men and women of our great country inspires me.

Knowing that I am only human, in this human life, with the Grace of God and the gifts He has blessed me with, big and small, inspires my photography.

I can only hope I can inspire others and be as encouraging and graceful to new photographers as many have been towards me, and continue to be on a near daily basis. You know who you are! 

No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit. ~Ansel Adams 

P.S. I apologize for the spelling errors. My computer refused to allow the Spell Check to run and thus I am too tired to go over each word so late in the night. But alas, I will try again tomorrow. Until then, be gentle on my poor spelling errors. cheers!

P.S.S. As I was lying in bed last night I began to think about this woman's "I Am a Photographer" poem again and wondered if her sentiment wasn't a two edged sword: scorning the audacity of the new photographer breaking into the business without the same business practices as her, as well as, the same photography as her current work.

To that I say, first, instead of browbeating newbies, encourage them to start a business, website, taxes and such. Be not afraid to offer your own advice and expereince when you first began. I am sure it was difficult for you once too. And second, there is no one photography. I do not do studio photography, mostly because I do not have the space or money to explore it further, but also because I love the outdoors and natural light and prefer it over bright lights and posed spaces. But that is just me. I admire those who can manipulate a person or persons in a tight space with flashing lights and equipement. Kuddos to you! I prefer a more candid photo, although I am not opposed to a posed shot when the occasion calls for it. To each their own.

In the end, I would say, if you can't say something nice, then do not say anything at all. Focus on your own work and business and your heart will reflect in your work to which you will gain like-minded clients. And I say, fair thee well, fellow peer. I will be over here taking pictures and loving every moment of the process.

Blowing in the wind

I can't believe how quickly this summer has blown by. August is nearly upon us, which means the Back to School craziness will begin. I feel like we've done so many wonderful activities and experienced some really amazing life-moments. Yet there is still so much more to see, do, and explore!

People to see.

This is Justin's cousin, Dan just returned from a tour in Afghanistan in the Army Reserves. We were so happy to have him recoup is soul with us. Glad to see him happy, and whole. Have you hugged a troop today?

Places to Go!

Things to do!

But I just looked at my calendar, and it is filled with even more wonderful times. And loved ones we get to hang out with. Cousins, parties, camping, swimming, and just plain 'ol having a great time in the Summer.

A Mama and her Cub

Last week my son, Caleb was to attend cub scout Camp with daddy, but when daddy hurt his leg it was deduced that he wouldn't be able to go... and in stepped Mama to take his place. I will admit that when I realized I was to go to camp I was very apprehensive. I had never gone (daddy and Caleb went the year before). I always pictured cub scout camp as, well, for boys. Would I be the only mama to go? Would I have fun? Better question, would Caleb have less fun now that mama was going?

Since it was kinda last minute I had very little time to reflect. Friends reassured me it would be great. Caleb was very excited to share the experience with his mama, and assured me he'd keep any small critters out of our tent. It urns out three other mamas from our den were going as well.

So we packed our old 4-Runner, rolled down the windows and put back the sunroof and cruised the near 2 hr drive to some good 80's tunes. I remembered how much I loved road trips. And Caleb was an excellent navigator.

In Short, camp was pure awesome.

The first day, we checked in and then unloaded out gear into one of the already setup Boy Scout tents. Think military canvas tents on a concrete slap with two metal cots and the squeakiest springs ever. After we got settled, it was clear Caleb was worn out already. He was asking to take a nap at 2pm! Since it was Free Time until dinner (all meals included!)  we just wondered around and hung out with our fellow den members (Caleb is a Bear, in case you know the rankings of the scouts).

Just before dinner we were gathered in our camp pavilion and briefed on how Camp Magness works. This is also when we got to meet the staff and wonderful counselors. There were even girls! In the last ten years Cub Scouts have included girls and they are called "Adventurers." I so would have been an Adventurer as a girl if this was around back in my day.

The Camp Magness theme this year was "Medieval Times." Here, Lost Creek Camp director, Ian, aka, "England" gives us the skinny on rules, regs, and schedules.

And introduced us to the Lost creek Staff in a jolly manner to all the boys delight.

That first night, shortly after dinner Caleb just couldn't stay awake for the skits and asked to go to bed early. So he was asleep by 7:20pm! I was worried he was sick and we'd be leaving for home the next day.

Friday dawned and after a restless night, we were eager to start our camp adventure. Each morning we started the day with breakfast at 7am, then a Flag raising.

The campers were split up by rank, so all the Bears in our camp at Lost Creek were in the Silver Group. Lead by our fearless, leader, Eagle Scout Dan, whom spoke in an accent (although not the greatest one) the entire day. He was a real joy for both parents and kids.

Friday was filled with rotations to prescheduled stations for the boys to learn skills benefiting their journey through scouting.

Skills, such as paddle boating...

Here, Caleb and a fellow scout lead the way to the next rotation. It was his turn to hold the flag befitting our Silver Group.

Sling-shot practice.

Here Archery Director, and Eagle Scout, Colton, a.k.a Robin hood, demonstrates the need for guards to shoot on the Archery range.

 Caleb was very cautious and slow to load and aim his bow and arrow at first. After some guidance from one of the Counselors he began to get the hang of it, even learning to aim with deadly accuracy.

The hay bale on the left is Caleb's. Notice the arrow shot bulls-eye, with a second arrow nearly bulls-eye again. How cool is that?

By the end of the day Friday the clouds were gathering, and the gang was starting to slow and get tired. But we still had the BB Gun Range left. During a full downpour Caleb tried to hear the instructions from Eagle Scout Topher.

But when it came time to practice with his rifle Caleb became frustrated and gave up, in tears. I sympathized and encouraged him to try again. Thankfully, Topher had seen his distress and calmly talked him into trying again, getting him in position and helping him shoot a few rounds at the target in the now hailing storm.

After this episode I realized how amazing all these counselors are with the kids. I was impressed with not only their knowledge of each of the skills, but also with their ability to handle a child on their level. Not just with Caleb, but with other kids within our group. From the shy, and unsure, to the hyper active kid bouncing from question-to-question and tree-to-tree. All handled swiftly and smoothly. This, to me, was as enlightening as the camp itself.

Because what is camp if it doesn't challenge you to grow and see yourself in a new light?

What would be camp without embracing nature (A Pondarosa Pine will smell like Vanilla or Butterscotch)?

Learning your way with a compass?

Learning the top 10 essentials to pack and prepare for an outdoor adventure?

Or feeling the quiver of your legs as you climb to the top of the fire tower?

Saturday, our last day of camp, we watched the clouds gather for yet another afternoon thunderstorm, and realized what a grand adventure camp was for Caleb and I.

And for this cub scout mama, I had a blast.

As did Caleb.

Boy, am I glad we have three boys so we can continue to get to go on this wonderful scouting adventures!

Until next year!



Love Sparkles and Shines

It's the day after the Fourth of July and we are just chilling today. The kids are watching movies. I am proud that they got dressed and brushed their teeth today. That is all I ask of them. Oh and not to kill each other over a square inch of couch space they may happen to touch at the same time. It is the little things.

We packed it in this weekend, and thus the need for a recovery day.

We went to church and volunteered in the Walkers room on Saturday. Justin and I enjoy the time meeting new babies, and comforting their little hearts while their moms and dads get a quiet moment to listen and reflect on the Lord's teachings. Heaven knows how much WE have appreciated those welcoming arms for our own babies the last three years. It was time to give back.

And it is always cute and funny to watch the ladies (young to old, single to married) swoon over how amazing Justin truly is with those babies. It is seriously the first thing I feel in love with about him. A baby comes in the room, in tears, reaching for the door, their mamas and in the arms of a welcoming volunteer, shh'ing and bouncing them. Justin makes eye contact and holds out his arms saying, "Come on boo-boo" and they leap into his arms, quiet down, and soon are playing happily. It has happened three times, different babies and on different days. I smile and my hearts heats up with love for that man. And he is all mine, ladies!

Sunday, we prepped for the annual 4th Block Party we hold each year at our house (this was our 3rd year since we took over). After the prepping we decided to take a break and join some friends at the local pool. It was great! The kids were swimming, laughing splashing. It was all going so well... until Justin did a small dive off the diving board.

See, Justin plays soccer. Old Man Soccer, we like to call it. He loves it though. Unfortunately he had torn a calf muscle that previous Wednesday and had been healing fairly well. Until that dive re injured his leg.  Within hours his calf was swollen and blood pooled in a bruise-like spot in his ankle. This has happened before, but not to the point he was limping. By nightfall he could barely walk.

Come Monday Morning he could limp around, but was pretty much sequestered to a chair, handing out prizes to the kids.

We made the best of the day, despite the injury, and it turned out a glorious 4th for the family.

We started with the Bike Parade. A hit for all the neighbor kids.

My Gavin scooter ed along as happy as can be to be part of such a big production as the Bike Parade.

There were games and fun had by all.

And when evening approached, daddy stoically stayed home to rest his leg, while the boys and I trekked the 26 minute walk over to our City park to watch the fireworks with good friends. We even lit a few sparkles.

And enjoyed the sparkle and shine of the light display.

We got home late, Gavin feel asleep in the stroller. We were gritty with tired from our long day playing. But it was worth the day to celebrate our Nation's birthday with friends.

Now if daddy can recover all will be right with the world again.