lens-artists: portraits

Ritva has invited photographers “to capture the essence and personality of your subjects. Whether you choose to ask a stranger, do a self-portrait, take the portrait of a friend, family member, or acquaintance, or photograph animals and birds, the goal is to connect with another person or subject and tell their story through your image.”

This past year has engulfed my family into intense grief with the passing of my husband and son-in-law. Both these two men, the bedrocks of the family, endured intense suffering and left us with a deeper understanding of acceptance, compassion, and suffering. There is also gratitude … gratitude for the grounding companionship of emergency response teams, doctors, nurses, support staff, military personnel.

Over the past year, the beauty of the dawn has been a source of encouragement to begin each day anew. An important part of welcoming each new day … its challenges and unknowns … has been photography.

Thank you Rita for this challenge as it invited me to spend a few minutes to play as I explored new ways to perceive life.

lens-artists: life’s changes

trailed with clouds

the layered memories

of time forever gone

stands between us now

in this spring dawn

There is an earth-shattering moment that barges into a life, unexpectedly, shifting and tearing apart everything … everything in the heart held to be true. After the denial, disassociation, and numbing begin to ease, there is a knowing that the “before you” has been ripped away and now an “ongoing emerging you” has begun a never-ending search for THE door of clarity and resolution. Within that search life continues. Life with its births and deaths. Life creating pathways of sorrow and joy. Pathways of contemplation created through photography and haiku.

rain falls

memories of lost years

left by a cloud

My mother’s passing in the spring of 2016, expected yet unexpected, occurred during this journey with WordPress. The intention to validate my mother’s life opened a gate of posting 100 days of contemplative photography and haiku to remember, honor, and share the life of a woman, my mom.

meandering tales

beyond a haze of tear drops

my mother’s face – mine.

Memories of my mom often come to visit…they are remembered moments that announce her arrival, not as the frail woman with a fierce determination that time had transformed formed but the woman who carried with her the stature of Danish Vikings…warriors, explorers, conquerors, survivors.

morning haze

jewels of rain, falling

in a dream

In our next spring

let’s meet as butterflies

afield

Though we are parted,

If on Casper Mountain Peak

I should honor the sound

of the pine trees swaying there –

with the summer breeze.

After my mother’s memories fade and life’s present moments come into focus I often wonder … if we had met – not as mother-daughter – but as children in a playground would she have wanted to be my friend? I know she would have been my bestest of friends.

Thank you Anne (Slow Shutter Speed) for the invitation to share what has “enriched and/or changed” my life.

lens-artists: just one picture

One picture … an image holding a shared moment during a winter’s drive … a silent memory of the time … the time before hearing … hearing the diagnosis … prostate cancer, stage 4.*

*A 2013 study conducted at the Portland VA Medical Center and Oregon Health and Science University found that Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are not only at higher risk for prostate cancer, but they are more likely to have aggressive forms of the disease. (cited: US Department of Veteran’s Affairs)

Leya’s lens-artists challenge: “use only ONE picture. One that you find important, meaningful to you, maybe sending a message – and then explain why you picked just that picture.”

lens-artists: exploring color – b&w

This week Patti invites photographers to explore a couple of questions in regards to black and white vs color images: 1) When is it best to use one vs the other? 2) What’s the benefit of each one?

First I have to admit that even though I have read various articles about what types of photographs are ideal for black and white, I generally move in and out of an experimental flow of emotional responses.

For example the first image was edited in Capture One from a raw file to a jpg. The black and white image was edited in Silver Efex Pro2. The last was edited in Color Efex Pro 4 which, for me, invokes a stimulus response of soft and gentle.

As I’ve been experiencing difficulties using Photoshop and Capture One due to upgrades, I made the very difficult decision to cancel both subscriptions. Anyone have any recommendations for editing programs that will work with an ISO 13.7.3?

Thank you for visiting.

lens-artists: above

Ritva (Ritva Sillanmäki Photography) has invited lens-artist to “… Shoot From Above this week! Let’s get creative with a top-down perspective. Let’s have fun”.

Bird’s-eye View

When photographing a subject from above, it is known as a “bird’s-eye view”. This could be taken from up in the sky, such as when flying in a plane, or could simply be taken by standing on a ladder, slightly above your subject. Photographing from this point of view can make viewers feel as though they are superior to the subject – such as a stern father looking down on his misbehaving child – or protective over the subject. If the subject is an inanimate object, it can sometimes make the viewer feel as though there is a separation between them and the subject. (cited: The New York Film Academy)

celebrating your win…

Within the stillness of those far away ….

far away from the roaring fires ….

far away from the tears of loss …

far away from an uncertain future …

far away from life in ashes …

far away from grief and loss …

Within the pondering of the why …

an absence of compassion?

unaffected by the loss of others?

time to point criticizing fingers?

tossing their millions here: millions there?

to party onwards?

celebrating their win?

while others grieve their loss

within the deafening roaring fires?