Monday, October 31, 2016

Kate


We went for a walk along the cove.  We chatted and took some photos together.....

Beautiful!



enjoy,

k

Friday, October 28, 2016

Psychological Portraits

During my workshop with Joyce Tenneson this past summer we worked on portraiture skills throughout our week.  On this final day we were winding down.  Each of us had the chance to sit with Joyce and talk about our work and where we were heading on a personal level.
Part of me was back home thinking about dear friends going through a difficult time.

One of our models for the day, Isaac, had brought along these antlers that he had picked up along the side of the road.  Most of the students in our class were packing it in and heading back to campus for our final celebratory evening.  I felt strongly that I wanted to photograph those antlers before I left.
Both Rosie and Helen were kind to oblige.  We worked quickly and made only a few images.  I look back on them now months later and realize they were an important piece of the week for me.

There are parts of us that will always feel "someplace else" and if we sit with that we can know in our being that we will always be connected.


One man's throw away is a treasure to others....
                                                            I am one who treasures.

enjoy,

k

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

A Pleasant Street





As I made my way to Pumpkin Fest I took a stroll down Pleasant Street towards downtown.  To say this Fall has been spectacular in its color display would be an understatement.  Simple beauty in the place we all call "home".

enjoy,

k

Monday, October 24, 2016

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Putting Work Out There

Work hanging in the Brady Sullivan Building on Elm Street in Manchester.  You will be able to see and purchase my work paired along with my dear friend Cathy Trainor.  It's a pleasure to share the walls with various prints from our collective and individual travels.  As we were hanging our artwork the stories and laughter spoke of a friendship that is lasting and dear.


This photo was taken in Harpswell Maine.  A lovely evening combined with a glorious sunset.


Another from Harpswell during my stay in a small cottage along the water.


Rain and Fog on a Fall day at Spectacle Pond in New Hampton.

An array of notecards are now available in the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center's Gift Shop.  One may fit that special person you're thinking of today.  Or perhaps pick a few up for a special note down the road.

I know for me the personal touch is a large part of who I am.  Spreading my wings and getting my work out there is an accomplishment that makes we proud of what it is I do.

enjoy,

k

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Pulling the Curtain Back

I was having a conversation with a dear friend and we were talking "shop" - photography shop.  I'm coming up on a decade as a working photographer.  It's been quite a journey of ups and downs with uncertainty and clarity.  I had shared this story about myself and decided to pull back the curtain and write a little bit about it.

I have what I call "bad days".  It's not that they are really bad.  They are just days where I can't sit at the computer and concentrate on what needs to get done.  So instead I'll head out somewhere with my camera and see what I can find.  Through this process I've come up with quite an array of images and experiences that have helped me grow as a photographer.  The experiences being what I saw and felt on a particular day.  The growth came when I started to license those "bad day" photos creating work as well as meet new clients by putting myself out there.

We all start as buds and need certain things to grow.  Everyone is different in what they need to grow.
For me it was figuring out who I was - but more importantly who I wasn't.


I like to think of myself as one who has many layers.  I'm not at the top of my game by any stretch and enjoy being in the mix of a constant learning curve.


This photo was made of branches in the dead of winter.  But to me I saw life through my lens.  I feel confident that my choices will take me in the right direction from here on in.


Who knows what makes us choose one thing over another.  We all do it in our day to day lives.  I see it as our unique road and the vehicles we select that take us there.


To all those "bad days" I say thank you.  You gave me time to think and get to know myself in a wonderfully,  intimate way.


enjoy,

k

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

One Word Project ~ Listen


LISTEN
                                             to what isn't being said



         

I took the conceptual road for the word listen.  The camouflage was the first thought and became my starting place.  Then the mood was set through the lighting.  One main light with a snoot to create a small directional beam of light to illuminate only the face.  The second "fill" light gelled green was placed to hit the background and body with just a kiss of light.  Keeping that "camouflage" through the lighting to mesh with the actual camouflage.

Not another pretty picture.... rather one to think about?

enjoy,

k

Comfortable In Our Own Skin

 Portraiture.  I can say now that it is one of my favorite aspects of my work.  This was not the case in recent years.  You could say I wasn't "comfortable" with the responsibility of making someone else comfortable in front of my lens.  Three years ago I attended a seminar with Gregory Heisler as the speaker.  An amazing photographer and story teller.  The stories he shared with us during those three hours were heart warming, insightful and honest.  I definitely felt changed after that trip on so many levels.

That following summer I had the opportunity to join a workshop with Greg Heisler in Maine.  Through the course of that year and the two that have followed I've started to become "comfortable in my own skin".   I believe the catalyst for this was honesty.  Honesty with myself and honesty with others.



Meet Amy - she has a passion for musical theater and has been pursuing that dream.  With only a few email conversations we set a time to meet for our photo session.  During these sessions half of me is looking for the best "light" to showcase my subject.  While my other half is carrying on a conversation to keep my subject relaxed and comfortable through the process.


Amy and I fell into a rapport with ease and walked around this lovely spot along the river to come away with many different looks.  Light, expression and connection are important ingredients for a pleasing portrait.  


But I do believe that the honesty you bring is what makes the final product work so well.


enjoy,

k

Monday, October 10, 2016

One Word ~ Grounded

One Word Project ~ Grounded

This one I brought back around an idea I hadn't used for our prior word - Soar.  It involved a ladder and so I got it into my head to try and see if I could make the ladder work for Grounded.  When I started to look for the old wooden ladder I realized it probably met its demise years ago.  An array of metal ladders weren't going to work for what I had in mind.  That was probably my first sign to abandon ship.  But not me - instead I decided to make one out of bamboo poles I had lying around.  The concept was to make my feet grounded to the roots with the rest of me reaching up climbing the ladder.  Even though I gave it a good college try it just didn't past muster for a final edit.  The roots were lost and I was climbing aimlessly....



So another day went by and I kept looking at those roots.  There was definitely something there and I wanted to make a photograph for what I was feeling.  This was a quick snap using a fish eye lens.  I was surprised that it kept the tree fairly straight without much distortion and eliminated the surrounding trees to give a clean separation of the tree top.  Also the size of the roots grew larger in a realistic way to my eye.  So now I was getting somewhere.....

But in true fashion for this project I needed something more.  Something new to try and learn from.
So I went inside and made a photograph of myself to place in that lower right triangle within the roots.  I used three flashes to illuminate my frame and hopefully make a realistic cut and paste to merge myself within the image.  It's not 100% perfect but I was much happier with this outcome that with my first attempt.


  I have learned from these past few years that staying grounded in my personal beliefs is pivotal for living, breathing and growing.


enjoy,

k

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Quiet Moments

Love is



                                                                     what you do





enjoy,

k

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Tuesday, October 4, 2016