So this is seven. . .
What once pooled around her little bitty legs, is now well past her knobby knees. We are certainly at the half way point for Miss V here.
Happiest of birthdays to this fearless, funny, feisty, phenomenal little lady!
In August of 2006, M was turning a year old. During her first year, I turned to a number of resources to help me navigate the first year of parenthood: family, friends, books, magazines — I was all over it, making sure that she was hitting her milestones, that she was eating from all of the food groups, and that she was engaged in activities to stimulate growth and development — Gymboree Play and Music! Kindermusik! Stroller Strides! My mother gifted me with a subscription to Parents Magazine as part of my “Welcome to Motherhood” starter pack. In the last issue before my subscription ran out, I came across an article entitled “The Swimsuit Project”. In it, author Maria Heck describes how prior to her becoming a mother, she came across a photo essay in Life Magazine. The photo essay depicted a young woman whose mother had posed her in the same bathing suit each year on her birthday. Heck was duly impressed and promised herself that whenever she had a daughter, she would duplicate the project. When her daughter was 4 months old, Heck slipped Madeline into a floral bathing suit, complete with bra cups, that had belonged to Heck’s mother. Every year on Madeline’s birthday, Heck snapped a picture. She did this for 15 years, stopping when the suit fit her daughter better than it had ever fit her own mother.
At that point in time, Heck decided that, “the chronicle is complete. She has gone from baby to young woman. If anything proves that your child grows up in the blink of an eye, it’s seeing these pictures all together and realizing that the first one was only a heartbeat away from the last.”
The Original Project via Parents Magazine, August 2006
The article in Parents was Heck’s photo essay of the very project that caught her eye. Like Heck, I was struck by the simplicity of the project, the patience required, and the unique approach in cataloging a child’s growth and development. I decided that I was going to do this project with, and for, M. We started that night, with my Lands End Tunic Bathing Suit. and every year since I’ve snapped a picture.
This year was already gearing up to be a BFD birthday wise, and because the Universe has a sense of humor, not only am I now the mother of a teenager, but remember that bathing suit? The one that fit more like a dress for the longest time? This one right here. . .
Yeah, it fits. Like, it really fits.
August 23, 2005
12:39am
7 lbs. 10 oz.
21 inches long
You were, are, and continue to be just perfect. We so proud of the young lady you are becoming.
Happy, happy birthday, my sweet girl. We love you!
To see the project in its’ entirety, click here for last year’s collage!
When I was getting ready to launch my website five years ago, I wanted the landing page to have a strong visual impact. “I love my hair. It’s my signature. It’s my favorite accessory.” That’s what I told Jeff Glotzl of Glotzl Creative Imaging, the team behind the fun landing page for my website.
Click here to see an amazing video to see the full length step-by-step creative process video for this award winning project*.
Photography: Jeff Glotzl (locks of hair), Ariel Skelley (portrait photograph)
Check out other incredible creative imaging done by Jeff and his team at www.glotzl.com
*Winners of the Richmond Show Interactive (Micro Site) Silver Cannonball 2013
To share or not to share, that is the question. Truthfully, I’m questioning how this particular inquiry fits in with the other, photography related questions. Whatever keeps me writing.
*photographer interview questions courtesy of Courtney Slazinik of Click It Up a Notch.
What is Something Not Many People Know About You?
Yet, another question in this series that has me jiggling ideas around like coins in my pocket. I wonder if I’m reading too much into this question. Should I look deep within myself, and tick off some of the insecurities that follow me around like Pig-Pen’s dust cloud?
Maybe this is a more superficial type of situation? Should I talk about how, when a particularly sick, beat-laden song comes through my headphones as I’m working out, I construct elaborate music videos in my head where I’m the star in order to get me through the set or the next mile? With the right budget and wardrobe, I’d crush the VMAs.
I don’t think there is a right or a wrong answer here. For the most part, I consider myself an open book. There are some things about me that I keep to myself (my weight, my bank balance, whether or not I really did burn a hole in the floorboard of my mother’s car with the cigarette lighter when I was ten), however, it’s not in my nature to be secretive or mysterious. Honestly, I kind of boring.
What you may not know about me, though, is that when it comes to photography, I approach shoot as though I am the client.
Family portraiture is an investment in time and in money.
Most people reserve having professional portraits done for special occasions like graduations, engagements, weddings, and births. More recently, that circle has grown to include milestone birthdays,sport portraiture, and seasonal family portraits. With the holidays upon us, more people opt to have professional pictures done for their Christmas cards as well as for a keepsake for the year gone by.
Creating a pocket within your schedule, most likely on a week-end, where no one in the family has anywhere to be is like trying to find the Holy Grail. Now, add in coordinating outfits, haircuts, finding a good location (or having the house tidied up if you choose to shoot at home). I snapped the girls’ pictures last week, but my pressure is up remembering the orchestration it took to get it done.
Family portraiture is an investment in time and in money.
My wedding album is a Gutenberg bible sized, white book filled with the highlights of June 23, 2001. My knowledge of photography was limited to admiration of the style I would come to know as photojournalistic. Aside from specifically asking the photographer to recreate an image from my parent’s wedding album, I left the styling up to him. He was a traditional photographer and big on staged poses. I know now, that was a mistake, but how does the saying go? You don’t know what you don’t know.
When I look at some of the group shots from my wedding photos, it looks like there is a light fixture growing out of groomsman’s head because of where he’s standing. But for the photographer to telling him to step down or to the left, it wouldn’t be something I focus on Every Time I See IT sixteen years later.
It’s that photo that I think about when I’m behind the lens. I would never want a family to look back on their photos and see tiny flaws, like a bra strap that is showing, or a twisted collar, or a light fixture growing out of their head.
It’s that photo that has me talk specificity with my clients. I won’t simply show up at the appointed time and start firing away. I want to know what they like, what they don’t like, poses they want to try or to avoid. Do they want to be more relaxed or more formal? Do they want direction or do they prefer to do their own thing? Some people come with very fixed ideas, which is great. Others, not so much, which is okay, too.
It’s that photo that drives me to capture memories that can be shared, not for likes, but for long-lasting admiration.
Family portraiture is an investment in time and in money, but also in your family. It’s a way of saying that we are choosing to celebrate us. We were here, together. When we are older and parted, we can hold the framed print in our hands and remember.
I’m keeping my fingers nimble and my brain working as I move through a set of sixteen interview questions from a series of photographer interviews that piqued my interest several years ago. While up to this point, the majority of the questions have focused on photography. I’ve talked about how I got started, how I make time to pursue it, and what I love to shoot. I’ve touched on my favorite photo, photographers who inspire me, and how I challenge myself creatively. The questions are starting to shift in focus a bit, and I am being asked to consider the person behind the lens in greater depth. Let’s see what develops.
*photographer interview questions courtesy of Courtney Slazinik of Click It Up a Notch.
How Would Your Family and Friends Describe You? 
Ugh, I have put off answering this question for the longest time. I’m not a fan of talking about myself. Having to think about and then report on how others would describe me feels like a punishment. *le sigh* One must suffer for one’s art, n’est-ce pas?
While I think it depends largely on who you’re asking, ultimately, the consensus would be that I’m creative. My mom tells me that I’m supremely organized and hardworking. My daughter recently told me that I always look good in photos. My husband said I was athletic (take that middle school gym class!) and on occasion, he’s told me that I’m kind of funny. As for my friends, I’d like to think I’m a reflection of the qualities that they like best in themselves.
I am getting back into the routine of writing. After months and months, the elusive time and space that I’ve been craving to set my work life to rights has materialized. I have an office. I have a desk and a comfortable chair. I have sorted through the water-logged bits and bobs salvaged from my old desk, filing what’s legible and casting off what isn’t. I’m revising older posts to see if some old ideas can jumpstart the creative engine.
As it turns out, I’d started several drafts from the five blog buckets I made for myself several months ago. I’d chosen about five areas that I want to cultivate on the blog: Writing, Family Life, Fitness, Self, and Photography. Notice that those same areas are the ones I write most about on this blog.
The old goal was to choose a bucket each day and spend time reading, brain-storming, note taking, and creating. Each day, I’d gotten sidetracked by Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook. Eventually, I’d redirect myself back to my keyboard and start writing. Just as I’d be hitting my stride, someone it was time to pick someone up from some activity.
In order to bypass the pre-work foolishness and get down to business, I’ve scaled down the plan. In the past, I’ve touted quietly setting goals, but I want to share how I plan to get from A to B because I know I’m not the only one trying smash some goals out here. There are so many motivational quotes about how to reach your goals, how to persevere, and how the whole thing is a journey to appreciate not a race that has to be won. All true, in fact. For me, though, when I think about getting myself for here to there, one poem always pops into my head.
Illustration by Shel Silverstein
To get from goals to achievement, you need discipline and consistency. One bite at a time, just like Melinda Mae.
So, I’m back to work. First up? The list of interview questions from the photography blog, Click It Up a Notch. These are a series of photographer interviews that I read years ago. I’m a little more than half-way done. If I’m perfectly honest, it was starting to feel a bit like homework, but now, not so much. More of a getting to know you (or me, as it were) exercise.
*photographer interview questions courtesy of Courtney Slazinik of Click It Up a Notch.
If You Had $5000 to spend on photography gear, what would you buy?
If I had $5000, photography gear would not be the first thing on my mind. That being said, if the money was specifically earmarked for photography gear, there are a few things on my wish list.
- A new camera body. I’ve been using the very first (and only) camera body that I bought. It’s time for an upgrade. Plus, I’d like to be able to switch between camera bodies while shooting instead of breaking flow to remove and replace lenses mid shoot.
- New lens(es). If I make the switch from Nikon to Canon with this new camera body, I’ll need some new glass to go with it, preferably a 50mm f1.8. That’s my favorite lens besides my 18-55mm f3.5. Oh, and my 70-200mm f4!
- Editing software. Again, I’m working on an
oldervintage version of LightRoom that probably doesn’t even exist anymore. - Photo Printer. I still print my photos and put them into albums. It would be so nice to breakup with the photo by mail service and have a quality printer in my office.
- Childcare — so I can take classes! There are dozens of workshops available that provide instruction on everything from camera basics to shooting portraits to understanding editing software. I’d take a class on shooting with film and developing in a darkroom. I’d like to do a long week-end immersion program or a photography trip where your destination is the classroom. Your subjects are the locals, the architecture, the culture. I’m a visual learner who would appreciate having the opportunity for a hands on experience.
Until that 5k comes in, I’ll shoulder my Nikon D5000 with my “nifty fifty” to snap photos of my kids which I’ll tweak in LR before sending off to Shutterfly. This routine has been so good to me for so long.
09/08/07
3:27 am
7 lbs.
Another year, another step closer to that dress just about fitting you properly. I’m thrilled and frightened in equal measure at the prospect!
Every time you put it on, every time you see that it isn’t as loose as it was last year, your face splits into that sweet, sweet smile and laugh spills out of you.
Happy, happy birthday, my C-Beezey.