Sam - 3 years, 10 months, 5 days
Bo - 1 year, 8 months, 2 days
Bo - 1 year, 8 months, 2 days
This week, I used my Mamiya RZ proII and some endangered Fuji 3000b instant film.
Showing posts with label Meghan Boyer Photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meghan Boyer Photography. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
One on Tuesdays | Week 2
This week, I used my Mamiya RZ proII and some endangered Fuji 3000b instant film.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
mystery
Considering the last photo I left you with, I'm sure you understand my blogging hiatus. Just a few things going on over here most days. The usual.
At first glance, I was thinking, "Oh crap, these are awful." Exposure is all over the place, focus is off, great. I tell myself it's ok, I'll go back and read through the books and keep better track of my settings for my next roll and I'll figure it out. Maybe. But mostly, I was just bummed.
When I opened the back of the camera to put my first roll in, there was a roll in there already. I laughed thinking there was probably something crazy on there and if I developed it the lab tech would definitely give me a raised eyebrow. I went ahead and got it processed anyway, taking my chances.
So I went to the next set of scans from the mystery roll. There were only 6 photos on the roll of 24. And they all look like this:
My first thought was that I wished I knew who took these shots so I could send the negatives to them. And then I found myself just staring at them. Sure I've seen beautiful sunsets over the water. But what these shots by some mystery photographer did to me was exactly what I needed.
I used to take photos of the clouds after losing Henry. Whenever I would look up at the sky and see a cloud - not just any cloud, but those big, deep, substantial ones - I would swear it was Henry. And without fail, seeing them would bring a smile to my face and peace to my mind and heart almost instantly. Thats the feeling these mysterious photos gave me. It was whats missing right now in my chaotic life. . . that feeling of peace is so rare because I am ignoring it. I'm "too busy" to look at the clouds. I would probably trip and break my ankle if I looked at the clouds because I'm usually walking, pushing the stroller, carrying packages to the post office, trying to read or send an email on my phone, all while chewing gum. I know life will always be crazy, but only as crazy as I let it get. There will ALWAYS be time to just stop and look up and let that smile come as the calm sinks in through my pores. I need there to be enough time for that. For me.
It was the perfect time for these random photos. They reminded me of when I first jumped feet first into my camera after Henry. Here I find myself once again a beginner, green, and unsure of myself. And there popped my Henry cloud. Not in the sky, but on my computer screen. As if he found some way to come to me. Since too often my computer screen is what takes up my time that I'm alone, there he found me. And I'm smiling.
But for some reason, I decided to add to my madness and shoot a few rolls of film with an old 1986 Minolta a friends parents found for me. I have been reading about film for a while and following others as they jumped on the train venturing away from digital photography for a bit, but realizing how different the two really were had me baffled and instantly intrigued. I have NO intention of giving up digital photography at all. I love it. The idea of taking a challenge on like this is strange and exciting at the same time. I don't plan to use it during my sessions really, except to practice here and there, but see it as just some "continuing education", if you will. Learning to manual focus - because I have to with the Minolta - and learn to nail exposures rather than relying on Photoshop and Bridge to fix things after the fact can be nothing but good, right?
Well I got my first scans back today. TechLab photo (in Belvedere Square) really did a good job and were extremely helpful so I can't blame it on bad scans really. But there are only a few that I would even think of sharing. What I strive to learn is what I have learned with digital; learn the camera, know your settings, and feel the moment during the session. I always feel the emotions during my sessions, even when I'm just taking shots of Sam I'm feeling the emotions of whats going on. During a newborn session I find myself calm and quiet soaking up the little things. When I'm shooting a 6 month old, I'm usually laughing, because the faces are hysterical. I'm rolling all over the floor, because they are too. I'm silly with older kids, making silly faces, asking silly questions or making fun at myself. With this first roll, I was trying to put the pieces of things I have read about exposure and light metering and underrating and overrating and all that new film stuff together that I was missing the emotion in most of my shots.
At first glance, I was thinking, "Oh crap, these are awful." Exposure is all over the place, focus is off, great. I tell myself it's ok, I'll go back and read through the books and keep better track of my settings for my next roll and I'll figure it out. Maybe. But mostly, I was just bummed.
When I opened the back of the camera to put my first roll in, there was a roll in there already. I laughed thinking there was probably something crazy on there and if I developed it the lab tech would definitely give me a raised eyebrow. I went ahead and got it processed anyway, taking my chances.
So I went to the next set of scans from the mystery roll. There were only 6 photos on the roll of 24. And they all look like this:
My first thought was that I wished I knew who took these shots so I could send the negatives to them. And then I found myself just staring at them. Sure I've seen beautiful sunsets over the water. But what these shots by some mystery photographer did to me was exactly what I needed.
I used to take photos of the clouds after losing Henry. Whenever I would look up at the sky and see a cloud - not just any cloud, but those big, deep, substantial ones - I would swear it was Henry. And without fail, seeing them would bring a smile to my face and peace to my mind and heart almost instantly. Thats the feeling these mysterious photos gave me. It was whats missing right now in my chaotic life. . . that feeling of peace is so rare because I am ignoring it. I'm "too busy" to look at the clouds. I would probably trip and break my ankle if I looked at the clouds because I'm usually walking, pushing the stroller, carrying packages to the post office, trying to read or send an email on my phone, all while chewing gum. I know life will always be crazy, but only as crazy as I let it get. There will ALWAYS be time to just stop and look up and let that smile come as the calm sinks in through my pores. I need there to be enough time for that. For me.
It was the perfect time for these random photos. They reminded me of when I first jumped feet first into my camera after Henry. Here I find myself once again a beginner, green, and unsure of myself. And there popped my Henry cloud. Not in the sky, but on my computer screen. As if he found some way to come to me. Since too often my computer screen is what takes up my time that I'm alone, there he found me. And I'm smiling.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Cross-post . . . 52 on Friday
This is a cross-post from my Meghan Boyer Photography blog. It was exactly what I wanted to write here, on my personal blog, but it fit in to the theme for a project I do each week. Check out the original post here.
Theme: shadows
This is my husband, who is home from the hospital and wearing that content smile as he watches Sam play for the first time in a week here.
Shadows. Shadows can make beautiful images. They also can make beautiful metaphors. I thought a lot about the theme this week. Actually, I do every week. Even with all the thought, I tend to figure out what I'm going to post around midnight on Thursday the night before. In the group, we all like to have our post up by 8am Friday morning. With so many people in a group, organization is key and there are some great people who make sure we all stay on top of the deadlines! ;) So last night, a bit before midnight, I posted my husbands photo and the abridged version of my post and then ran off to wake him up for his midnight IV antibiotics through his PICC line.
I will be the first one to admit that although it's not something I'm proud of or something that was conscious, since my son was born, my husband has slipped partly into the shadows. I used to LOVE to make dinners and we would hang out at night, watch TV or go to the gym or movies together and now at night I am either way too tired to do much of anything or I'm upstairs in my office working alone. I make dinner a few nights a week, relying on leftovers to hold us over so I don't have to do it two nights in a row. I'm sure this is fairly common (I hope!), but even after a year to get back into the swing of things, my priorities haven't gotten back to where they should be. My husband is a bit neglected.
When he injured himself in February in a skiing incident, I was less than thrilled at first. But I came around. After his surgery, complications with an infection put him back in the hospital for a week; and now he has 4-6 weeks of IV antibiotics at home. Ok, I thought. We can do this. What I needed to do, I realized, was pull Phil out of the shadows and focus on him and what he needs. Ice? Check (my man at 7-11 always carries my 3 bags at a time to the car for me since our ice maker is broken). A ride to his Dr. appointment? Check. Forgot his water glass in the kitchen? Check, I'll get it! Patience - at least in dealing with grown-ups - is not my strongest trait, but I was really trying to make it easier not worse for him. I slip here and there since it truly has been really hard for me to have to do 100% of the things that need to be done for Sam, Daisy, Phil, the house, etc., but I really try.
So I pulled him out of the shadows, and my "Shadow", in the form of a 13 month old little giggling maniac, seems to be completely ok with it :). Maybe this is what I needed to remember that I was a wife before I was a mother.
Go on and check out Megan Wold, North Dakota Photographer. Beautiful photos as always! Go on ahead and check them out! And remember, I'll be back to add a bit more.
Theme: shadows
This is my husband, who is home from the hospital and wearing that content smile as he watches Sam play for the first time in a week here.
Shadows. Shadows can make beautiful images. They also can make beautiful metaphors. I thought a lot about the theme this week. Actually, I do every week. Even with all the thought, I tend to figure out what I'm going to post around midnight on Thursday the night before. In the group, we all like to have our post up by 8am Friday morning. With so many people in a group, organization is key and there are some great people who make sure we all stay on top of the deadlines! ;) So last night, a bit before midnight, I posted my husbands photo and the abridged version of my post and then ran off to wake him up for his midnight IV antibiotics through his PICC line.
I will be the first one to admit that although it's not something I'm proud of or something that was conscious, since my son was born, my husband has slipped partly into the shadows. I used to LOVE to make dinners and we would hang out at night, watch TV or go to the gym or movies together and now at night I am either way too tired to do much of anything or I'm upstairs in my office working alone. I make dinner a few nights a week, relying on leftovers to hold us over so I don't have to do it two nights in a row. I'm sure this is fairly common (I hope!), but even after a year to get back into the swing of things, my priorities haven't gotten back to where they should be. My husband is a bit neglected.
When he injured himself in February in a skiing incident, I was less than thrilled at first. But I came around. After his surgery, complications with an infection put him back in the hospital for a week; and now he has 4-6 weeks of IV antibiotics at home. Ok, I thought. We can do this. What I needed to do, I realized, was pull Phil out of the shadows and focus on him and what he needs. Ice? Check (my man at 7-11 always carries my 3 bags at a time to the car for me since our ice maker is broken). A ride to his Dr. appointment? Check. Forgot his water glass in the kitchen? Check, I'll get it! Patience - at least in dealing with grown-ups - is not my strongest trait, but I was really trying to make it easier not worse for him. I slip here and there since it truly has been really hard for me to have to do 100% of the things that need to be done for Sam, Daisy, Phil, the house, etc., but I really try.
So I pulled him out of the shadows, and my "Shadow", in the form of a 13 month old little giggling maniac, seems to be completely ok with it :). Maybe this is what I needed to remember that I was a wife before I was a mother.
Go on and check out Megan Wold, North Dakota Photographer. Beautiful photos as always! Go on ahead and check them out! And remember, I'll be back to add a bit more.
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