Photo 52: Within the Frame

Diagonal Lines {Week 11}

This week Photo 52: Within the Frame sought diagonal lines, either alone or in a pattern, in our compositions.  Not only was I able to find some diagonal lines in the train tracks below the bridge I was standing on, but also captured a fellow photographer in my midst.  I think he adds a nice balance to the tracks and contrasts splendidly against the bright white snow.

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

tracks

Letters to our sons | December

***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 my talented and dear friend Jill Cassara.  

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Dear Cash, my little train fanatic, 

There are a few things in your world so far that bring you tremendous happiness, and near the top of that list is trains. Living in New York City we ride the subway almost every day which is most likely how this fascination began.  You are so curious about the different subway lines - which ones run express, which ones are local and which ones take us to Grand Central.  On our underground travels, whenever the subway doors open you say, "Mommy, which stop is this?", and have come pretty close to memorizing each stop on our daily commute to preschool.  Coming home from school we try our best to ride in the front car of the "C" train so we can look out the window and watch the train race, twist and turn along the old tracks.  You'll spot other trains riding next to ours and tell me which line it is and whether it's headed uptown or downtown, finding it especially thrilling when our local beats the express to the station.  At the recent parent-teacher conference your teachers shared that during free play you religiously make a bee line for the train tracks, building elaborate systems winding in all directions.  I asked if other children in the class are as interested and they replied, "Nope, just Cash."  Perhaps it is because you are the only one in your class that rides the subway to school?  Maybe so, but it comes as no surprise that your recent request to Santa includes the "B" and "D" subway cars to add to your collection.

This Thanksgiving we made our usual trip to Grandma and Pow Pow's in Pennsylvania.  What a thrill when Pow Pow, a lifelong train fanatic himself, offered to take you trainspotting.       

{Please click photo to see the slideshow "Trainspotting with Pow Pow" and then continue reading}

Pow Pow took you down to a bridge in the old mill town of Leetsdale that, because of icy conditions, was closed off to traffic. It was the perfect place to watch for freight trains, especially since the tracks run right underneath the bridge. Pow Pow is eighty years old and has loved trains since he was a small boy like you.  His own grandfather gave him a Lionel train set that they would put up or around the Christmas tree each year and for a long time he dreamt about one day being a train engineer.  He would travel by train to and from Princeton and to and from Connecticut College to date your grandmother, meeting her under the clock at Grand Central.  Though he chose a much different career path while contemplating college, marriage, raising and supporting a family, his love affair with trains and counting cars has never waned.  In fact it was just two years ago, at the age of 78, that Pow Pow finally got the chance to fulfill his lifelong dream - to be an "engineer for a day" of the East Broad Top steam locomotive!  Which just goes to show you Cash, never give up on your dreams.  Never Ever.

I just want to say too that this was quite a special afternoon for me, being able to see my father share in his passion for trains with you, my oldest son, and capture those moments with my camera.  It is one day I shall not soon forget and believe you will always remember.  I love you Cash and your wild boy dreams.   

Always and forever,

Mom 

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Horizontal Lines {Week 10}

This week Photo 52: Within the Frame sought horizontal or vertical lines, either alone or in a pattern, in our compositions.  For half of last week we were in Harlem and the other half, for the Thanksgiving holiday, we were in the suburbs.  I was able to capture my little man, and some horizontal lines in each.

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

City | Country

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Leading Lines {Week 9}

For the month of December, Photo 52: Within the Frame will be concentrating on lines.  Leading lines, lines that are horizontal, vertical and diagonal, lines that are real and implied - our goal is to use these to effectively lead the viewer's eye to our subjects, or in and out of the frame. 

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

Balance: Photographer's Choice {Week 8}

For our final week exploring compositional balance, we incorporated some or all of the elements of weeks prior into our image(s).

There is a corner in Harlem that has always appealed to me. Despite the building being rundown and abandoned, I've always managed to see great beauty in the muted colors, rough textures and various signage across each entryway. The two doors on the right not only balance the gate on the left but also divide the image into halves, rife with similar patterns, colors and rectangle shapes.

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

Promise Land

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Balance Using Negative Space {week 7}

A great number of photographers including myself often balance their subjects with negative space, allowing the viewer's gaze to trail off into the expanse and then, hopefully, be drawn back in again. This week, however, the space between the left and the right edges of my image is the same and the subject is smack dab in the center. Though not my usual way of composing a shot, I felt that with this particular image, the patterns, size and angelic brightness of my "Little Helper" required central showcasing.

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

Letters to our sons | November

***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 Jamie Rubeis.

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My sweet boys, 

When I found out I was pregnant for the second time, I desperately wanted to have another boy.  It was all I could think about, praying that we would have two boys who would grow up as brothers close enough in age to hopefully be best friends as well.  I'll never forget the appointment when my doctor told me the good news.  I was so overwhelmed with joy that I was brought to tears, scrambling for my cellphone so I could call Daddy.  He actually thought something dreadful had happened and it took him a minute to realize I was hysterically happy.  

Grey is a boy!!  Grey is a boy!!

At any rate, I tell you all of this to let you know how much I wanted you for each other.  And most recently, watching your relationship develop, as new and young as it is, has been nothing short of awesome.  Even though you are only five months old Grey, and cannot sit up without help, your big brother Cash still wants to "play" with you.  Usually this means placing you in the Bumbo seat so you can be a captive audience to your older sibling and first friend.  What can possibly thrill a three year old more than undivided attention from someone who can't talk back?  Ha!  But Cash, in all seriousness, it's such a blast watching you play guitar and sing for Grey, moving his arms so he is "dancing" with you, reading books to him ("Did you like that story Grey Grey?"), cooking dinner for him, and overall just having him in your company.  

 

Every time Grey wakes up from one of his many naps, you go running and jumping down the hallway singing, "Grey is up!  Grey is up!  I want to play with Grey Grey!"   I've since started taking photos of you two together and these are a few of my recent favorites.  It was just yesterday that you wanted Grey to sit inside your "tent house" so you could play your guitar and sing to him.  Hilarious.  But of course I still have to keep a watchful eye on you Cash as you sometimes slip in a sneaky pinch or a quick little jab to Grey's ribs.  I mean what big brother hasn't done that to his baby brother now and again?

To see you begin connecting is incredible, especially how each of you light up at the sight of the other. Knowing that this is just the start of your brotherhood is an amazing feeling.  I know that it is ALL so worth it.  

Love always + forever, 

Mom

 

"There's no other love like the love for a brother.  There's no other love like the love from a brother."  ~ Terri Guillemets

Photo 52: Within the Frame

Balance [Objects]  {Week 6}

Continuing with our monthly theme, this week we sought to balance objects with the people in our frame.  My image below has a fairly standard template for balance:  lone figure balanced with lone object, in this case a lamppost.  The fence carries the viewer's eye from the left side of the frame to the right, thus dividing the image in half while the dark contrast of the figure and the object give perpendicular grounding to it.  Balance is of course more complicated the more objects you have within the photo, and components such as contrast, the brightness of an object, patterns and size all become important in achieving a good composition.        

So let's see how the others choose to work with balance this week.

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

Lady in the park

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.

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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

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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.    

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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.