Photo 52: Within the Frame

Balance [People]  {Week 5}

This week begins a new month of compositional study : Balance.  We will be tackling first the use of people within the frame.  Quite simply, balance is an issue of weight distribution and as a photographer you never want too much "people weight" on one side.  Instead you want the viewer's eye to move about the photo with the visual weight evenly apportioned. 

Below is an image I captured at the opening of the Museum of Natural History.  The figure in the foreground and the sign are the counterweight to the line of people ascending the stairs.  The staircase railings also cut the image into two balanced triangles.

Please click HERE  to visit our collective blog, Who We Become, and see all of our images in one place.   

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Geometric Framing {Week 4} 

Holy Cows!  And more fun at White Post Farm out in Long Island.  These friendly bovine positioned themselves perfectly through the fence for our final week of geometric framing and voilà, I just had to press my shutter button.   

Please click HERE to visit our website collective where you can see all of our images in one place. 

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Geometry for Balance {Week 3} 

In photography the visual power of geometry is achieved through the use of balance, in essence making sure the weight of the lines and shapes in the image is equal to that of your subject.  When done correctly, a most interesting and pleasing composition can be achieved.  This was the compositional challenge for this third week of Photo 52:  Within the Frame.  

Please click HERE to visit our website collective where you can see all of our images in one place.

 

Letters to our sons | October

***I am so thankful to be a part of this blog circle "Letters to our Sons" with so many amazing photographers and moms.  In honor of our love for our little boys, we are posting a monthly image(s) along with a corresponding, heartfelt letter.  After reading my post please click HERE to continue around the circle, starting with the very talented Carrie Anne Miranda.

_________________________________________

My beloved son, 

You recently turned 3 years old and I don't think there is anything in this world you love more than baseball.  Of course you are passionate about all ball sports, first discovering basketball when you were 15 months old and then football around the age of two, but now you have an official, unequivocal baseball obsession.  For the past year you and Daddy have been playing baseball in your room at the same time every day for an hour.  I think that is why you learned to read the numbers on the cable box's digital clock, so you would know exactly when the hour arrived.  "It's 4 o'clock Daddy!  It's 4:00!  Time for baseball!"   As your mother it has been very sweet to see you and Daddy share in something so special every day and to hear your laughs and "hoorays" fill the apartment.

 

During the summer months when your pitches and hits had outgrown small indoor spaces, we went as a family to the neighborhood playground to practice.  On special days we went to Riverbank State Park, Central Park and even Brooklyn Bridge Park to play under the iconic structure.  Other boys much older than you would ask to join in after seeing you and Daddy playing together and I would watch you include them only to hide your frustration when they threw underhanded or not at the level you were accustomed.    

Passersby, mainly fathers and some grandfathers frequently ask Daddy, "How old is he?  He's only TWO?!!  Wow, he's got a great arm for just two years old!"   You even shocked your own grandfather Pow-Pow when you first played together, hitting most of his pitches well out of his reach.  

 

The photos above were taken during our recent trip to Grandma and Pow Pow's house in Pennsylvania.  For a whole week we had access to their big backyard and all you wanted to do was go outside to play baseball.  You didn't care about eating or that it was 90 degrees outside or that you were sweating through your clothes.  You just wanted to play ball.  That is when you are happiest and when your smile is the biggest.  So my son, my wish is that you may always find such joy in the things in life that you love. 

Always and forever,

Mom

____________________________________________________________________

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Geometric Patterns in the Environment {Week 2}

One key to becoming a great photographer is being able to see patterns in the environment and capture them in a way that is pleasing to the eye.  This was the compositional challenge for this second week of Photo 52:  Within the Frame. 

Please click HERE to visit our website collective where you can see all of our images in one place.    

The laundromat

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Last year's Photo 52: A Play on Light  [click HERE to view project] was an incredible growing experience for all of us.  As the final weeks passed by, we knew one year was not enough.  There is always more to learn and we simply had to take on something new.  And so, the broad theme of this year's Photo 52 is composition.  We will study geometry and framing, colors and lines, scale and narrative and our hope is that in doing so, our photography will continue to strengthen and grow.  

Like the last round of P52, I will be posting a description of our weekly shooting assignment here in my blog along with a gallery link to our new website collective:  Who We Become.  With so many of us we decided it would be better to view all of our images in one place, as a mosaic.  The mosaic is generated randomly and will look a little different each time you return.  You may also continue on to any individual photographer's website by clicking on her image. 

 

Using Geometric Shapes as Framing Elements {Week 1}

Be it a girl sitting in a square window or a drip of coffee falling into a circular mug, geometric shapes can be powerful framing tools that add interest and dimension to an image.  My image for this first week uses the rectangular shapes of the storage cubby to frame my oldest son on his first day of school.

Please click HERE to see the mosaic of images for the kickoff to our second year of Photo 52.  

First day of preschool

Brotherly Love

Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero. ~ Marc Brown

 

Lately my oldest son has started showing a great deal of empathy and love for his baby brother.  It has been truly amazing to witness.  He wants to see him first thing every morning, make him laugh by dancing silly dances, feed him his bottle when he's crying and wipe away any milk that spills down his neck with a burp cloth.  He wants to hold him (supervised of course) and lets Mommy and Daddy know whenever he is upset.  He also comforts him as best he knows how which is usually with a kiss. One particular moment of tenderness I was able to capture with my camera and is pictured below.  On an emotional scale this image is a solid 10 because I know it is the first of many moments between them, many moments of them looking out for one another, as brothers.         

Letters to our sons | September

It is September.  It is Fall.  It is both a new season and the perfect time to join another blog circle!  This month is the kickoff to “Letters to Our Sons” which I am so honored to have joined.  Secretly I had been longing to be part of such a group and was over the moon when the invitation arrived.  We are a group of friends and fellow photographers who are also the mothers of sons. Each month we will share about the boy(s) in our lives through our photography and a corresponding, heartfelt letter.  After reading my post, please consider following the circle starting with my dear friend and creator of this amazing group, Jill Cassara.  Click HERE to check out what she has to share about life with her little man.    

*** 

Dear Grey Grey, 

I can't believe you are finally here.  You are my second son and loved so very much.  I actually thought that after having your older brother I was done having children, that Dad and I would be parents to only one boy, but that was not God's plan.  In the midst of a baptism service last spring, my heart was dramatically changed and I walked out of the church knowing whole heartedly that we were to have another baby.  We were to have YOU.  

So now you are (unbelievably) three months old and up until last week I was bathing you in the sink.  For my first "Letters to our sons" post I knew I wanted to capture a photo of you nestled in our small NYC bathroom sink because there was nothing more fleeting.  At first you were so tiny and new and rested easily on my forearm, but as the weeks went by your chubby limbs started pouring out over the sides, knocking over toiletries and toothbrushes.  So quickly you had outgrown this manner of wash and never again will you fit into a small bathroom sink. 

 

 

I wish to add that I enjoyed each of these nights with you, softly singing "Hush Little Baby..." as I cleaned behind your ears, underneath your neck and in the creases of your delicious arms and legs.  You would turn your head toward me and light up the whole room, and my heart, with your smile and playful splashes.  So much so that I often times felt like crying.  

You've made my heart grow bigger Grey which I didn't think was possible.  I now have not one son but two and I cannot wait to watch you and your brother get to know and love each other over the coming months and years.  What a gift from God!  YOU are definitely sent from heaven my little babe.    

 

A Football Town...

Last week I took my husband and two boys to the town of Titusville, Pennsylvania where I grew up.  Going by the football field, home of the Titusville Rockets, was a must since most Friday nights were spent there (and yes, I'll admit, I was a Rockets cheerleader many years ago!)  You could expect to find the whole town in those stadium seats when the Rockets were playing because in small Pennsylvania towns like Titusville, football is everything.  Football is life!     

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Final Week {Favorite Image} 

Hard to believe this is the final week of Photo 52: A Play on Light.  It has been such an incredible journey with these women whom I now consider dear friends, studying and capturing the many facets of light in intriguing and yet very different ways.  To have collaborated with such talent was truly an honor and I am thrilled to be working with them again for the next edition of Photo 52 starting in a couple of weeks.        

For this final week we decided to choose our favorite image from the year.  Without question my favorite is my wide angle shot of West Harlem at sunrise.     

You can check out the very beginnings of the project HERE.   

 

Harlem sunrise

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's favorite images from this year starting with Kelly Roth Patton, a Brooklynite whose creativity and style is utterly sublime.  

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Creative settings {week 4}

If you are a New Yorker, especially one who resides in West Harlem, you know where this photo was taken. It is the viaduct on 131st street near the Fairway market and the backdrop in a few Law and Order episodes as well as some big name movies, most recently the Spiderman blockbuster that came out last summer.  I've always been drawn to this structure with its rainbow of steel arches and repeating lines, and each time we drive to Fairway I always kick myself for not having my camera.  Well this last time I did have my camera and was able to capture a photograph I have always longed to take.  Shot with my Lensbaby there is a slight fisheye effect and an even deeper, dizzying intrigue.    

 

Please continue along the circle to see the rest of Photo 52's creative work this week.  Next up is Jessie Wixon, fellow New Yorker, mother of two gorgeous girls and one of the nicest people I know.  

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Creative settings {Week 3}

"We breathe the light, we breathe the music, we breathe the moment as it passes through us."  ~ Anne Rice

August, our month dedicated to creative settings.  For our third week: a late afternoon Harlem starburst. 

 

Please continue along the circle to see the rest of Photo 52's work for this week starting with the supremely talented  Kennedy Tinsley.    

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Creative settings {week 2}

This past week my sister and niece came to New York City to visit.  On one particularly beautiful day we traveled the High Line, ate lunch at The Standard Grill and then took in the view atop the Gansevoort Hotel.

My niece is 12 years old and absolutely gorgeous.  While she was looking out over the balcony of the Gansevoort, I started taking photos of her hair wildly blowing in the breeze.  One of my favorites from our dance amongst the skyscrapers is also my creative shot for this week.          

Please follow along to see the rest of Photo 52's creative work for this week.  Next up is Justine Knight, fellow New Yorker and winner of two recent photography contests.  Below are the links where you can see her winning images:  

 

http://kiernangallery.com/eye-on-the-street/   

http://www.clickinmoms.com/blog/how-to-photograph-in-full-sun-photography-tutorial-by-sarah-vaughn/ 

 

Photo 52: A Play on Light

Creative settings {week 1}

Hard to believe that this is the final month of our yearlong journey exploring light.  These last weeks we are allowing ourselves, perhaps rewarding ourselves, the opportunity to play creatively.  Our main goal is to try something different i.e. playing with various shutter speeds, apertures, types of light, angles or lenses to capture something creative and intriguing.   

This first week I attempted the always challenging swing shot.  It's one of my favorite past times to photograph especially in the summer in New York City, but this time I wanted the orange sneakers to be the main subject both in focus and in the foreground with everything else a blur.  Oh, and I wanted to shoot from below.  So I got myself down on one knee, careful not to get kicked in the head, and kept focusing on the moving sneakers.  I used a wider aperture than usual to allow for the bokeh and a higher shutter speed to get the sneaker tread tack sharp.  It's definitely a different perspective than I've attempted in the past ... and a great chance to showcase some bright orange Chuck Taylors.     

Happy swinging!

 

 

 

Please continue along to see the rest of Photo 52's creative work for this week.  Next up is my dear friend and fellow New Yorker, Jessie Wixon.  She is mother to two stunningly beautiful girls and has talent that extends for miles.