This week we are looking at images that we took only for ourselves.  I happen to be in the midst of editing through a large backlog of unedited photos and I came across this image.  It isn’t typical of my work and it isn’t a favorite, but there is something about it that makes me keep coming back.  Such a creepy vibe.  I don’t expect anyone else to be drawn to this, but there is a part of me that appreciates that I can create a feeling in myself with a photo.  Please click HERE to visit Who We Become and see all the shares this week.

This week on Who We Become we are considering photos we take for other photographers.  I chose this image of Alexa because of the simple background and the interesting directional light (though the strange shadow patterns are perhaps just for me and not really for other photographers, who would perhaps criticize the image for that reason).  Please click HERE Who We Become and see all the images this week.

Welcome to Week Five of p52.3 : Artistry.

Each member of our group has taken images for someone else. Some in our group are working photographers. Others may have agreed to do a photo shoot for a friend, or have begun building a portfolio of images in contemplation of going into business one day. A few of us have taken head shots for actors, or have shot musicians for their album covers or publicity materials. Many of us have taken school photos, and some have volunteered to document a wedding or other event.

This week we are sharing images that were taken for a client. We are considering how the considerations of the client may have influenced taking, editing and sharing the photo.  You can find all the images on Who We Become by clicking HERE.

This image is of my dear friend, the talented Barbara Trentalange (she is an amazing painter, as you can see if you click on her name and visit her website) with her daughter.  I know that they are a close-knit, affectionate family, and I prepared for their shoot thinking of ways to convey this sense of them in their images.  When they arrived, however, they were in StarTrek costumes and carrying toy guns so they could have an image for a themed holiday card (“Live Long and Prosper”).  After many giggles and imaginary alien invasions, I made sure to get a few more typical family images.  I wanted pictures that show the three of them interacting and that would capture how I know Barbara feels about being this little girl’s mom.  This one was my favorite as well as hers – so much so that she painted a version as a gift to her daughter (you can find it on her site).  It’s the kind of moment that I love to capture for my clients, that can stand as a reminder for how beautiful they are.

Welcome to Year 3 of Who We Become. Our first year, A Play on Light, was dedicated to the study of light and year two, Framed, focused on composition. This year, as we move beyond the technicals, we will be continuing our self-education and growth as a collective by focusing on the idea of art and artistry. As photographic artists, how do we continue to develop our craft and make work that motivates us and inspires us to keep going? What, to us, makes better art?

While we will be linked by common topics and posting as a group, this journey is partially an individual one, subject to different interpretations and personal goals. However, we remain joined by a common desire to find direction and meaning in our work, and to shoot with intention. We will be trying out new things and giving ourselves permission to fail – and to fail publicly. Even if we don’t find any concrete answers, we believe the exploration itself will be worthwhile.

Our Artistry project will run for 52 weeks, and will be divided up into several sub-topics. For our initial post, we each reflected on our body of work and have selected images that represent our photographic comfort zone, those that we feel most comfortable shooting right now. These images may be favorites or may be on the cutting room floor, but are images that each photographer feels she can capture easily. When we are in our “zone,” all the elements come together in a seamless and intuitive way and the shot happens almost in spite of ourselves.

Comfortable is a wonderful word, evoking feelings of safety and security, and even of confidence and skill. However, if something is comfortable, it is unlikely to be challenging. When we discussed what situations took us out of our comfort zone (shooting strangers and using flash, for example), our conversation took a much deeper turn. We started to examine what intimidates us and look more closely at our more intimate fears – fears of others’ expectations, of how our work will be received on a broader level, of not achieving our vision, of being boring and/or unoriginal, of creating work that is pretty but lacks emotion, of putting our hearts into something and having it rejected – feeling as if we have nothing to say with our photography or that we are failing to convey the things we want to say.

But what is the value of our fear and our discomfort? Is it a motivating factor for growth or something to avoid? The fear of not doing something well is a big driver to improve and try new things but if some of our favorite images are ones we feel comfortable taking, then is it enough to simply love what you do and be content?

We see this exercise as the first step in removing any barriers that could prevent us from exploring what we are capable of as artists. Some of the barriers are fear-based. Fear of making and publicly showing poor work is a real one that could easily stop us in our tracks before we even start. Fear of showing more of ourselves to the world is another. We hope that by identifying those fears and getting them out in the open, we will be able to actively work with them, leading to new discoveries about ourselves and our art.

We have been working on a new plan for a new year for Who We Become in 2015, but they aren’t ready just yet. In the meanwhile, however, we’ve been missing our weekly posts, so we are back to posting weekly images. My image is a little different from my norm, but I dig it and I hope you do too.  This was taken on Friday at Gas Works Park.  The sky was doing some crazy things, which were reflected in the water, and I decided to play with double-exposures again. Please click HERE to visit Who We Become and see new images from my dear friends.

We have been working on a new plan for a new year for Who We Become in 2015, but they aren’t ready just yet. In the meanwhile, however, we’ve been missing our weekly posts, so we are back to posting weekly images. This week’s image was taken last night at Seattle Center.  I went out shooting with two local photographers whom I’ve been lucky to get to know – Davina and Lexie (click on their names to see their work!).  It’s so nice to have friends who think it is perfectly reasonable to wander around at night carrying a giant tripod, or to stop and lie down on the ground here and there to get the shot – and even better when you have such fun chatting at dinner with them that the shooting is just a bonus!

Please click HERE to visit Who We Become and see new images from my dear friends.

We have been working on a new plan for a new year for Who We Become in 2015, but they aren’t ready just yet. In the meanwhile, however, we’ve been missing our weekly posts, so we are back to posting weekly images. My image was taken earlier this evening at Mt. Baker beach along Lake Washington.  We experienced the local Christmas Ship tradition for the first time.  Brightly lit ships traveled up the lake and stopped for a short concert of carols.  Hundreds of people were waiting at the beach and on the dock to hear them.  It was truly beautiful.  And, because it’s Seattle, there was a stand-up paddle boarder as well, decorated natch.  Please click HERE to visit Who We Become and see new images from my dear friends.

We have been working on a new plan for a new year for Who We Become in 2015, but they aren’t ready just yet.  In the meanwhile, however, we’ve been missing our weekly posts, so we are back to posting weekly images.  My image for this week is from our visit with our family today.  We are in Massachusetts and visited a Christmas tree farm.  Avery made sure to take advantage of the snow to show me what she thinks of my taking photos all the time.  😉  Please click HERE to visit Who We Become and see new images from my dear friends.

We have been working on a new plan for a new year for Who We Become in 2015, but they aren’t ready just yet.  In the meanwhile, however, we’ve been missing our weekly posts, so we are back to posting weekly images.  My image for this week is the view out the window of a NJ Transit train – a common view when I visit my parents in NJ and head into NYC to see old friends.  There is a fair amount of beauty out there, but it’s not always easy to see it properly, which I hope I manage to convey here.  Please click HERE to visit Who We Become and see new images from my dear friends.

We have been working on a new plan for a new year for Who We Become in 2015, but they aren’t ready just yet.  In the meanwhile, however, we’ve been missing our weekly posts, so we are back to posting weekly images.  Please click HERE to visit Who We Become and see new images from my dear friends.

My image was taken last week down at Lake Washington.  My high-contrast black and white processing was influenced by the photographer, Cole Thompson, whom I was lucky to meet back in September.  If you haven’t seen his work, I highly recommend checking it out.