ignite - december

Having consciously passing on this the past three months, I had a hard time choosing something to end a year that was focused on street photography; particularly as I wasn't wow'd with what I've presented. Though seeing all the flaws and mistakes now only helps strengthen that fine art of seeing (the slowing down and tuning in) it was sobering as I long to be a little further along in this genre that I remain obsessed with. However, I am  mindful that you get out of something what you put into it and in truth, I've haven't always had the drive or commitment, that necessary "need to go out every day and shoot" which is what anything worth doing takes;  it's not the end, but rather the means, the doing that gets us where we're doing. (and while i've written a little note with links to everyone below, Susan Gietka, Susan Grace Photography, Hammonton, NJ is next)
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Days End, Salem | 2014

So in the end, I chose one that fits. And in lieu of linking to one to the other...I have a different idea:

Katie Suzanne- I eagerly await your whimsical take on motherhood (with boys); how you put all the pieces together the way you do is ever so clever and spot on. Thank you for making me laugh!

Susan Grace - I feel I've watched you take your ideas to a new level of artistry and conceptualization. Thank you for making me see more deeply ... and making me feel that this kind of creativity is possible.

January Skye- Your cinematic meanderings always read like a beautiful dark poem. Thank you for taking us under the veil.

Jan Madert - Thank you for your never ending ability to play with shapes and colors and composition and objects of meaning and memory.

Roxanne Bappe - Thank you for your textures and overlays which feel like a worn vintage lace tablecloth.

Wishing all your lovely talented beings in this little group the very best of endings and beginnings to come.

ignite ~ september

it was the beginning of the end of the beginning. a photograph taken the first day of the month at the end of a workshop and the beginning of what i think might be a long walk ahead. i'm thankful to have had a handful of pictures from this day that cut to the quick pretty deeply for me. this was one of those.

two hands in different poses speak to different sentiments, temperaments and personalities. hoping the boy would pull that bandana to the place he did. waiting for it to happen. seeing it all before it unfolded; realizing the space feels a bit crowded but knowing there was no other way to take it. i will leave you here at the end of a beginning and invite you forward ... to one who always surprises me with depth and grace - January Skye photography, Melbourne.

twelve portraits - september

as i look through the portraits i've shared each month to date, i am starting to see where i dig deep, and where i don't. where i take my time to really look and connect, and where i waver or shut myself off because i feel afraid of being vulnerable for the simple truth i'm aware of is this:  portraits require the photographer to be more vulnerable than the person being photographed.

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jill previti, owner/artist of true north gallery  | kennybunkport, 2014

while there's still a long road ahead, i'm thankful that many of the internal blocks and barriers that have hindered my efforts in the past are melting in seizing a moment. with that, i give you this month's portrait which is definitely not a theme of 'sunflare' (this month's theme).

so i'll look forward to seeing others photographs this month as it's an element i personally favor in commissioned work starting with Linsey Stuckey.

ignite ~ july

on a day at an arcade with my nieces, i noticed these two kids with a rather large pile of tickets. considering each game turns out like maybe four of them, seeing a pile of them en mass all connected together was odd. even stranger was their casual contained excitement - like no big deal here. so, i moved a little closer and looked for the right angle to photograph them and the pile of tickets when they picked them up, placed them on their heads and posed for their father and grandfather (who were off to the right) taking an iphone picture for their mom. i was going to pass until the one kid turned to me and smiled.

arcade in louisville, ky | july, 2014

while i'm mindful that the image quality is lacking (this is when film would have delivered a more exacting result), i like the story going on here, particularly as they left a strand of tickets coming out of the machine.

and so next in our little group which always leaves me inspired is January Skye, Melbourne photographer.

twelve portraits ~ july

so this was the day my camera literally crapped out after five years. the focus was shot (no pun intended). the timing wasn't so great as i was in boston with a client/friend who was visiting and we'd planned to spend the morning together photographing in various areas of the city. i mention this as my only means of focusing was manual, which doesn't present as much of an issue with a single adult or couple but for me, i've become a bit reliant on it for street work.

anyway - during our time together, we'd walked over to the Esplanade and as we were setting up for one image, i see saw a man lift up his dog and gently place him on top of a column over looking the water. it seemed funny and loving and strange and as i was there somewhat in place, with my camera, i was ready when he turned around and they both unknowingly posed. while i walked in closer to introduce myself and get another, he put his head down, quickly removed the dog and left.

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man & dog, boston | 07/2014

while this was taken later in the morning, the heat and brightness of the early july sun is apparent for its starkly blinding and has in ways muddied the tones. i also think a different angle may have helped but i like the indicators here - the water, the steps, the text in behind the man. i like his casual stance and that both are looking right at me while the leash connects them together. so - it'll do for this month.

now it's onto the rest starting with Stacie Ann Smith, Denver, CO.

ignite - june

i've been keeping track of the photographs selected and shown within this group so far, and at midway, i think perhaps i've begun to get a little understanding of what i'm showing month to month. i've kind of lost my steam for the group shares and find the only way i can maintain enthusiasm and inspiration is to understand what i'm doing at the onset. that way, each month seems to add to a collection of the whole. so with this group, i started out rather flat and directionless. the first picture of the year in january of two views in a cafe sort of set the tone; but as i wasn't clear on that direction, february's now looks kind of odd. i think maybe in march i started to get clearer and since then, april and may begin to make sense. which brings me to june and this.

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US District Court | Boston, 2014

this photograph was taken as a test shot during a client session in boston at the courthouse. (client is an attorney and i was commissioned to photograph portraits, headshots and documentary images for a website we're developing for her). the idea here was to photograph her coming out of the courthouse - thus, my test.

what i didn't plan on were the three men (presumably attorneys) who were beginning to exit at the moment i set my test shot. being that i was already there and in place, i photographed them as they exited.

while i love everything about the story here - the three poses, the expression of the man on the left along with the connection of those in the middle and right - the exposure was incorrect. in fact it was seriously over exposed. a hard image to photograph (high noon, clear, cloudless bright early summer day). so while i almost didn't show it for those reasons, it fits with the series i seem to have going.

with that & my long winded outline....i will send you onto one who's creativity and imagination is as beautiful as her name:  January Skye, Melbourne Photographer.

twelve portraits - may

i wasn't sure which photograph to choose for the month as i've been pushing myself further than i thought possible with this project and this month i actually had a variety to choose from. seeing a face that interests me is getting harder to just walk by. sometimes i ask first, sometimes i don't but in both, i try to spend a little time with the person after if it's possible.

so - this is kenny. at the salem visitor's center. i was there looking at the space for another project, when this interesting man walked by inside. everyone there seemed to know him and with the gloves on his hands, i thought perhaps he worked there. when i saw the shirt he had on, i knew i wanted to photograph him & was thankful to see him standing outside on our way out. i asked if i might take his portrait and he thankfully graciously agreed. so for this month, i give you keen in a salemized rolling stones t-shirt.

kenny | salem, ma 2014

i'm happy to welcome new members to our soiree this month starting with a good friend in new england - Phyllis Meredith.

snow & sailboats

month two with a collective called ignite - a creative discovery of art & the first photograph in a new website.  one that feels like a snow-globe you'd shake in your hand. yet one that has been very real for those of us who live in new england. this is what we've seen on more days than not. but what gives me hope here is that sailboat in the window as we are but one full moon away from the official turn into the season of spring.

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snow, books & boy | salem, ma 2014

to see the rest of the photographs, i invite you onward...to one who amazes me with her concepts: Susan Gietka, Susan Grace Photography, Hammonton NJ, Fine Art Photography.

twelve portraits ~ february

my portrait this month is one i’ve longed to create since i first saw this dazzling display of dreadlocks & i’ve been patient in waiting for the right time to ask … for a time when i felt strong and courageous – when that spirit inside couldn’t be contained. so today, it was a feather lovingly placed in a beautiful nest of long locks twisted around in loops of half shape hearts that spoke and i answered. and with that, the grace of meeting hillary … a dancer who creates with fire. (no joke – she’s a fire dancer). so for this month, i decided to pair her portrait with hearts strung on a window looking out on snowflakes. sort of a metaphor of dreams…for in another time & place and with another head of hair… i’d have layers like hers to create with.

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next….always a beautiful surprise with Ginger Haddock in Casper, WY.