Personal Projects | My first post!
One of my goals with my business has been to be a better blogger. The struggle is real.
Growing up I was a writer. I would stay up late (much later than my mother ever knew) and write and write and write. I loved poetry in particular. Cummings, Frost, Browning,… I loved words. I wasn’t writing for a purpose or an audience and that is what made it free flowing. Somehow along my path to adulthood and the ever-after I became a math teacher. If you knew me as a high schooler you would find this pretty funny. Math was certainly not my thing. I do believe that is exactly why I love teaching math and why I am pretty darn good at it. Now that I am 41 my life is surrounded with practical reasoning, pragmatical thinking, logic, and very few words. I don’t write anymore. I am surrounded with numbers and I don’t seem to have the creative flow that once came so easily when I attempt to write. This is why blogging is my real challenge. It not only is testing my rusty writing abilities, but it is for an audience! A potentially large one!
Why am I starting now to expand my blog posts? What is the purpose for this post? I have found that my photography is where I am able to be creative. I cannot express enough how much I need that outlet. Winter is difficult. My photographer friends will tell you, winter is hard. It’s not just about the slow business. We start to die a little inside. We need color! We need to create! We need to feel alive! So what do I photograph if nature is asleep and color is drab? What do I do when I don’t have sessions scheduled on a regular basis because everyone is waiting for spring?
Personal projects! Yes!
I can finally work on some of the photography projects I have wanted to tackle but have been too busy! I can work with lighting techniques I have wanted to try; I can master some macro photography of fun subjects; I can photograph MY OWN CHILDREN! I know that might seem funny to you… a photographer must have TONS of photos of their own kids. We don’t. I do have photos, mind you, but not tons. Full disclosure, last year we didn’t even send out Holiday cards because we didn’t have a family photo. Yeah….
Personal project #1: Black and white portraits
I have always loved the deep contrast found in black and white portraits so I decided I would start with my first project being portraits of my kids. Sky is my most cooperative subject. Beila comes in second with spurts of cooperation. Ryder will amuse me for about 10 minutes. I am explaining this so you can understand why there may seem an inequitable distribution of subjects to photos. Ha! We used a black backdrop, an off camera flash, umbrella, and patience :).
