My Daily Enstallment

Jalen - St. Louis High School Senior

What a great guy!

Jalen was one of the best models I have ever had for High School Seniors.

I hope you enjoy his video!

 

Less Is More - Just Enough

So this week started a 52 week journey into Beyond Layers. It is the first time I've joined a web based community to create and explore. Not sure what to expect, but the first week has been exciting. I've met creatives from all over the world who are also venturing into a world beyond layers.

The first exercise was a soul searching look into the creative past. I was asked to write my Creative Story. I learned a lot from this exercise, and probably wouldn't have attempted it without this prompt. Thank you Kim Klassen. I may post it if I can figure how, without making it an all out post. I am so bad with blogging and typepad in general. It seems I can't figure out the easiest of things like adding buttons. If anyone uses a super easy blogging tool, please let me know. I need help! I can create a post and that's about it.

...on to the second exercise...it brought us to the land of textures with one of Kim's creations. I've used Kim's textures frequently after finding her beautifully hand-painted gems a few years back. She is very generous considering how much work goes into their creations.

I usually add textues to deepen and warm my images, but Kim's style is very light and airy and it caused me to look at my work differently this week. So while this week was a challenge to use "just enough." The texture needed a more high key image so I chose the one below. I thought it had just enough light, space, color...so I attempted to add just enough texture to make it breath a little deeper...

Ahh, such a good metaphor for life...This week I am contemplating enough, not to little, and not too much...enough... work,  play,  food (especially sweets), quiet time, companionship, service, gentleness, passion, stuff.

I hope you find just enough this week to make your spirit soar.

 

 

I Like to Draw Myself - St. Louis Photography

Sophia loves to draw pictures. She always includes herself in her picture doing whatever activity she is thinking about at the moment. This sparked an idea. What if she could truly draw herself? I love images that are part painting or drawing and part photograph. So I played with the idea a bit. Sophia was willing to help, mainly because she got to act instead of pose...which is a whole lot more fun for a 6 year old!

Here's what we came up with.

 

 

 

Simply Amazing - St. Louis Senior Photography

Photography can be a trendy thing, especially high school senior photography. Most seniors come in wanting to out "glam" their friends and strike the latest vogue poses with hair, makeup and a wind machine.

Senior Photography has become big in every way imaginable. Mostly with girls, who have been pouring over episodes of America's Next Top Model. They enjoy the fun of the glamorized version of themselves along with props and special locations. Most walk into the studio with bags of shoes, and outfits for every "look" imaginable. Admittedly, I enjoy the sessions too, each outfit can guide the feel of a series of images, like changing costumes enhances the scenes of a play.

... However every once in a while something  sublimely simple can feel like a spring walk through the woods.

Recently, Annie showed up in the studio wearing a simple black shirt and jeans, no bags of shoes or clothes, no jewelry, just a hint of make up and a quiet voice which politely dismissed the optional use of a hat, props, or even a strand of pearls. She just wanted a simple black and white session...something classic.

Okay, we can do that. I switched my camera over to a monochromatic capture so I could truly embrace the beautiful black & white tones.

I have to thank Annie for her vision. She is a beautiful girl who knew she didn't need the fluff, to express herself. She also helped me see that I didn't need the fluff to capture simple beauty when it walks softly in front of me lens.

As an added benefit to Annie. Her images will stand the test of time, I am certain that she won't regret her hair, makeup or posing choices 20 years from now.

In a world where loud and bold is the norm, it is nice to witness a simple whisper.

 

String Theory - Moebius Trip - I am Diva Challenge #55

Last week the tangle challenge for the week was to use the color purple and also bring a bit of awareness to

Moebius Syndrome - a congenital nerve disorder which affects the Diva's son.

This week we are delving a bit deeper into all things Moebius. The Moebius foundation uses for it's logo the The Moebius Strip which is a fascinating mathematical phenomenon.

The properties of a Moebius strip are:

The Möbius strip has several curious properties. A line drawn starting from the seam down the middle will meet back at the seam but at the "other side". If continued the line will meet the starting point and will be double the length of the original strip. This single continuous curve demonstrates that the Möbius strip has only one boundary.

Cutting a Möbius strip along the center line yields one long strip with two full twists in it, rather than two separate strips; the result is not a Möbius strip. This happens because the original strip only has one edge that is twice as long as the original strip. Cutting creates a second independent edge, half of which was on each side of the scissors. Cutting this new, longer, strip down the middle creates two strips wound around each other, each with two full twists.

 

It is this strip that becomes our "string" for this week's challenge. So here's how it began.

 

... and here is what it became:

 

This week I decided to draw as usual with traditional pen and shade with pencil, however the color was added in Photoshop. Mainly because everytime I color a piece that I've worked on I wish I could change the color and it's too late. Photoshop allows a little more freedom to play with color and see what works and more importantly what doesn't!

Purple Haze - Diva Challenge #54

Color is hard! I thought I knew how to use color. As a photographer, I know what to look for, how to balance, how to keep it simple. Yet when I tried to color my tangles anything I thought I knew seemed to fly out the window

This week's The Diva's Zentangle challenge # 54 - Purple Haze seemed simple enough... "use purple". Great! Now what shades of purple? Markers, pencils, or paint? Color or shade? How many colors? Monochramatic or complimentary? Paint the background or leave it? How can adding one color bring so many questions?

Then there is the reason behind the color. The Diva picked purple because "it just so happens that Moebius Syndrome awareness day is in January, and the colour for this disorder is Purple.  :) " Her young son struggles with this syndrome, and that of course sits in the back of my mind as I'm choosing tangles and colors. I read the piece the Diva wrote about how this syndrome has affected their family and the challenges they face. As a mother, it rips at my heart to think of what they must think and do to make it througha single day.

One thing that struck me as I read her words was their visit with a photographer. We take for granted the ability to look where we choose by simply moving our eyes to this side or that. Her little boy can not. We express ourselves with a smile or frown, her little boy can not. While this weighs your heart with concern for him and his parents, the words that plucked my heart strings were these...

 But the truth is, he has an amazing smile. He has such expression in his eyes, you just know when he's happy. And he laughs and coos, just like other babies do. But if you can catch him in the right mood - he has the teeniest tiniest hint of a smirk - and i'll tell ya, it brings me close to tears each time i see it. Because for someone i was told would NEVER smile.... his little smile is the most beautiful thing in the world.

As a photographer this look in the eyes is what drew me into photography. I still remember vividly the very first time I looked in my daughter's eyes and how deeply you can truly see who they are when you look with your heart.

So all of that brings me to this week's tangle. I'm still such a beginner, but the "TUFTID" tangle made me think of all those little nerves having to meet at just the right time and place to produce one little smile. Trying to make one little line meet another helped me realize what a miracle it is for so many millions of nerves to meet at just the right time and place to produce a smile so many of us take for granted. At the center of my tangle is the symbol of the flaming love of a mother for her child, and the beauty that grows out of even the biggest challenges. Thank you Laura for sharing your story with us.

 

Camie Family - St. Louis Photographer

Here's something a little different... just like the Camie family. You gotta love when a family shows up with black fadoras for their family portrait!

If you've read any of my other posts about Amy Camie, you know I love to photograph her, whether it's for one of her amazing CD's, a book cover, or to help those walking the journey of cancer. She is an amazing woman of many talents. I was honored when she asked me to photograph her family.

As I was thinking about the upcoming shoot, I had an idea for a composite using their name and shot images to set the plan in motion. Of course we did all the traditional images also, but because they are all so playful they gave me free reign to play as well.

This was a composite done in several Photoshop layers. I did not actually have the letters of their name in the studio:-)

Challenge 53 - I Am Diva

I am so very new to Zentangling, however found this great blog called I am the diva offering challenges each week. Starting fresh with the new year, I want to participate with these exceptional artists each week.

The challenge this week was to use the Diva's new tangle pattern called "Undine". She dedicated this tangle to her beloved husband and her "Undine love for him".  As I worked with the pattern several impressions came up, but I was clearly taken by her love for her husband and his support for her so I thought I'd throw a little romance into the mix with a corset.

A Whole New World -- Zentangle

Sometimes my friends just hate me. In the most loving way of course. When I latch on to some new thing, I have a desire to share, and of course I want all of my friends to play along, so when I stumbled upon Zentangling, a quick addiction took place in my creative soul and I shared it with a few friends who are fast become creative addicts as well!

Here's an example of a few of my tangles.

 

 It is helpful to say that the purpose of creating these tangles is not so much the end result (although that is a bonus), it is the relaxation of drawing patterns and the the free flow of calm, focused, creative energy which occurs when tangling with these patterns. If you are at all intrigued, join the fun and check out the official Zentangle site.

 

 

 

I had lunch with my friend Stephanie and we decided to have a Zentangle conversation. She drew, I drew, she drew, I drew...

Here was the result. Be warned if you have lunch with me, I will probably extract a pen and a square and want to get all tangled up!

Fine Art - St. Louis Photographer

I thought I share a little outing I was able to enjoy with my sister over Christmas vacation.  We went to the St. Louis Art Museum to see the Monet exhibit. I brought my camera in hopes of capturing anything that inspired me. Of course there is no shortage of inspiration at the art museum. I wasn't sure how much I would be allowed to photograph in the museum, but as  fortune would have it you can pretty much have free reign with a fast lens. The only requirements were no flash and no shooting in the actual Monet exhibit.

I've been obsessed with patterns lately more to come about that in a future post. Let's just say that the frames were as special to me as the paintings themselves.

 

What I actually did shoot this time where the great statues and magnicent clouds that decided to layer everything with a blanket of drama on this very day of wind and chill.

 

 

 

We of course had to take a tour of the best gift shop ever. I bought a children's book, whickh I have to say is one of THE BEST EVER!!! It's called The Dot. As we made our way out my sister prompted me to look up and ahhhhh there was a shot waiting to happen.

 

The sun was streaking through the clouds all the way home. It was hard to keep my eyes on the road. I decided to take a detour to the Lake at Creve Coeur park. By the time I arrived the sun decided to hide it's rays from me, but you can't beat a good puddle, so here you have my final shot of the day.