My Iphone. Yup, my Iphone. They'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands, :)
As a professional photographer, I tend to get too perfectionistic, too clinical, too much of a purist when it comes to taking pictures. Even just "casual" pictures of my own kids. It's hard to just "grab" random shots without getting sucked into the vortex of analyzing, looking for light, feeling the vibe, watching the backdrop, checking the white balance, assigning the focal point, looking for shadows, controlling the composition, etc....
I just sometimes feel like I get too enmeshed (or stunted?) with the *details* instead of just letting loose and non-chalantly grabbing "snapshots"... It's like "snapshots" is a dirty word for me or something. I almost feel as though I should be creating art with every image I take, whether it is for a client or for myself. And the self imposed pressure of that means I don't take out my "real" camera with my own kids nearly as often as I should. And that's just plain silly.
This is where my beloved Iphone comes into play. As a piddly CAMERA PHONE, there is NO unrealistic expectation involved. The only expectation is that, truly, you're gonna end up with a small res camera phone snapshot. And that's exactly the point. With all the options and considerations taken out of the equation, I can just mindlessly grab and snap with total freedom and peace of mind. I KNOW I'm just gonna get a crappy snapshot. And I'm OK with that because there is no other choice!
The whole point with my Iphone is that it is with me at all times, always at the ready and always available to grab those little moments and memories without having to put any thought whatsoever into the process of capturing that memory. And that's the beauty of it. And because of this, I take pictures of the kids with my iphone EVERY SINGLE DAY. Pictures (and short videos) of practically every cute little thing imaginable. I call them "snippets" of our life together. I am in love with these "snippets". They represent our true, authentic, day to day life. Messy bedhead, jammies, dirty house, etc... just REAL life. And if there's one thing I treasure it's authenticity. My iphone allows me the freedom and ease to just grab and shoot at any given moment in time, no matter where we are or what we are doing. It's practically an extension of my hand at this point.
We've had some pretty stressful challenges over the past few months and I'm been very absent over here on the blog while focusing my attention on my kids and trying to keep myself in a good "space" so I can continue to meet everyone's needs. I've been spending the free time that I have with my kids and going on long walks on the beach with my dog. Staying centered and balanced as a mom is so critical in order to be the multi-tasking superwomen that we are. I simply cannot be an effective mom, business owner, maid, cook, etc... if I'm not taking the time to slow down and BREATHE and rid myself of any negativity that threatens to swallow me up. The past couple months were my normal "downtime" with regard to my business and is usually my recoup time to gear up for the coming busy season. Due to personal exigencies, I was not able to get that much needed downtime, but I did force myself to get out and get fresh air every day and I am so grateful I did.
I also think that all the "snippets" I took over the past few months contributed to me being able to manage all the stress by helping me maintain a sense of perspective throughout my personal trials. It helped remind me of my many blessings and focus on the wonderful, positive things I have in my life. I have always believed that maintaining a healthy sense of perspective in one's life is truly the only way to experience happiness. Having a grateful heart is a surefire way have joy in one's life. I'm going to share a handful of these "snippets" just from the past week to show you that even "crappy iphone shots" can serve a purpose. When I look at my (hundreds of) "snippets", they invariably bring a smile to my face. I am easily able to look past the clear technical inadequacies of such a device and instead focus on the MOMENT that was captured and the memory of what was going on at that moment. All of these snippets are small, seemingly insignificant, moments I would never have taken the trouble, time or effort to document with my "real" camera and yet, I am so happy I have them now. All this to say, basically, there's never a "good" time or the "right" time to take pictures. ANY time, ANY way and with ANY device works, because the purpose is to help freeze your own memory. The mere act of TAKING the image freezes it in your psyche and leaves you with a tangible reminder with which you can share with your children one day. It cements it, so to speak. And therein lies the greatest gift of all when it comes to my snazzy little Iphone.
I want to thank everyone for being so patient with my neglect here on this blog. I'm ready to refocus my attention on it and get back into the swing of things! I have shoots coming up this week and all the school spring portraits are done. Back on track!
HAPPY SPRING!
Gavin knows I love all things "owl" and so he spent days working on this elaborate and intricate "secret owl" design which is an owl with billions of little people living in it and even a baby owl hidden within the mama owl... I just love it. I especially loved the time he put into it. So I grabbed a shot when he handed it to me. Good thing I did because he has since misplaced it and we can't find it anywhere....
Ellie still loves to draw on her Magna Doodle in the car, this was a picture of her and Gavin, which I quickly grabbed a picture of at a red light before she erased it to start on a new drawing.
At grandma's yesterday.
Kooper's paw prints in the sand always make me smile.
Ellie was having a hard time understanding the various characters, functions and point system in Angry Birds so Gavin drew up this cheat sheet to help her. I thought that was so sweet of him!
My kids, inexplicably, like to play Legos in our tiny, cramped, bathroom...at the sink...while singing A Cappella. We're weird, what can I say? But it's so stinking cute that I grabbed a video last night with my Iphone since it was so handy... I know I'll look back fondly on this. :) The password for the video is: iwannabe
Personal Penguin from pascale wowak on Vimeo.
