Here's hoping this finds you happy, cozy, and well. It's so good to have the clean slate of 2021, isn't it?!
As somebody who is firmly entrenched in social media (reluctantly, I confess), I frequently forget that not everybody is on Instagram or Facebook. Believe me, though, I totally understand the non-joiners. As an introvert, I have a long-standing love/hate relationship with online sharing and I often daydream of deleting all of my accounts and retreating to the woods, Thoreau-style. As an online business person, though, it would be (as my grandma used to say) "cutting off my nose to spite my face." So, I'm in, like it or not.
All of this is to say: If you're not on social media, I want to share some good news with you that you've probably missed.
First and foremost, last December, I launched my own magazine! It's called Catch Light: Creative Inspiration for Photographers & Visual Artists, and I'm thrilled to bits with how the premiere issue turned out! More like a softcover book, it has glossy pages, feels amazing in your hands, and looks downright gorgeous on coffee tables!
Volume One of Catch Light features:
Beautiful photographs and illustrations by 38 artists from all around the world
In-depth interviews with South African fine art photographer Jennifer Graham, London illustrator Cathryn Worrell, Brooklyn-born visual artist and photographer Cintia Malhotra, and Chicago-based illustrator Kristina Swarner
10 book recommendations to inspire creativity and sharpen your awareness
18 musical selections for the perfect studio soundtrack
3 photo backdrops you can use for still lifes
A "Class Reunion" featuring the photos of 12 of my students (I can't wait to feature more students in future issues!)
And a few more surprises!
Here's the link to order the premiere issue of CatchLight: Creative Inspiration for Photographers & Visual Artists:
With the pandemic raging on, we've all seen far too many small businesses close their doors. One of my very favorite things in the world is independent bookstores, so in an effort to lend a hand during these trying times, I've opened up an online bookshop that channels revenue to small, independent booksellers across the United States (instead of Amazon, which clearly doesn't need any more help). I get a very small cut if you order a book at the link below, but the big winners are the little bookstores, so I do hope you'll check it out before you order on Amazon. I've added many of my favorite books on creativity, photography, visual arts, meditation, mindfulness, and overall inspiration.
Browse books here to support independent bookstores:
I know, I know... it's been ages since I've posted here at the blog. That's because I've become very selective about what, when, and why I'm sharing with the online world. (I've been moving steadily in that direction for quite a while now, as you might remember from my post called Why I've Been Silent.) I'm still teaching online photography courses regularly (which keeps me in the loop with my creative friends) and I'm still sharing on Facebook and Instagram (although I've relaxed the time between posts, and that feels quite nice). But now, I have a wonderful reason to pop back in: I've got a brand-new, beautiful book that's fresh off the press and I couldn't wait to share it with you here!
Created with Joy: Selected Works by Photography Students. Vol. 1, features some of the very best work of twenty of my photography students from around the world. I made sure to call it "Volume 1" because there are so many more talented students with gorgeous work that I would love to feature in future volumes, but for now, let's celebrate the work of the first twenty!
Each photographer in this book has a spread with two or three of their lovely photographs, plus a quote (or two) about what inspires them behind the lens and beyond it. The book is pictured above, gracing my coffee table, and it makes me so happy just walking by it every morning!
Wouldn't this book look pretty on your coffee table? It would also make a wonderful holiday gift (and would save you a trip to the dreaded mall!). I promise it will inspire you to look closer at the everyday beauty all around you. The pictures are, in a word, stunning.
I'm so proud to announce the following photography students who are included in this first volume:
Phyllis June Johnson, Maquon, Illinois
Amanda Robichaud, Hopkinton, Massachusetts
Mary E. O'Brien, Idaho
Paula L. Sarson, Middle Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sue Knopp, Colorado Springs, Colorado
Margaret Lusk Strafaci, Niantic, Connecticut
Sarah Emsley, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Monica M. Lobenstein, Western Wisconsin
Beth Matthews, Georgia
Nancy Griffiths, Ohio
Kat Denton, Houston, Texas
Penny Miller, Scotland
Amy Jo Kellington, Bay Area, California
Cathryn Worrell, England
Sharon Selberg, Portland, Oregon
Jayne Beker, Boston, Massachusetts
Nancy Rouck, Central Georgia
Meredith Ross, Randolph, New Jersey
Jerri DeCarolis, Colorado
Lindy Warner, South Bend, Indiana
(If you're wondering who took the cover photograph, I did. I didn't want to "play favorites" with my students!)
Congratulations to the first twenty students featured! (I'm so proud of each and every one of you, and I'm so grateful that we've become friends through our shared love of photography. Thank you for joining me with such enthusiasm for this project.)
Sign up below for my FREE monthly(ish) photography newsletter, Writing with Light, where I share my latest creative inspirations, occasional freebies, upcoming e-courses, and exclusive discounts. When you subscribe, you'll also get my free downloadable guide, "Hey, How Did You Do That?!" 20 Apps to Totally Transform Your Phone Photos.
I know, I know. It's been FOREVER since I've published a blog post here. But I didn't want to close out 2017 without wishing you the sweetest, brightest, healthiest, happiest new year possible, and thanking you for your visits. I also want to give you a little gift: Some FAB book recommendations!
Personally, I'm always on the lookout for my next great read, despite the fact that I have a teetering, tottering pile of books waiting impatiently for me. (Ah, the trials and tribulations of a bibliophile!) Not all of the following books are newly published, but they are all ones that I read and LOVED within the past year. Hope you enjoy them, too!
The Bright Hour by Nina Riggs. I've already mentioned it on my Instagram page, but this book had me wishing I'd been friends with the author. I kept flipping to the back flap and studying her photo, which was just as warm, witty, and relatable as her words. (And that made her memoir all the more bittersweet.)
The Whisper by Pamela Zagarenski. This is a children's book I bought for my ten-year-old daughter, but truth be told, I also bought it for myself! The intricate illustrations are out-of-this-world gorgeous and I love the message of the book: that it's up to us to create our own stories.
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. After watching the riveting (and harrowing) TV series on Hulu, I wanted to read the original. It did not disappoint.
Pax by Sara Pennypacker; illustrations by Jon Klassen (one of my favorite illustrators). Another children's book that I've squirreled away from my kids. I cried and cried, which is actually something I love to do with a good book. It's so cathartic!
Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. I'm automatically drawn to any book that's about making time and space for creativity, and this is a classic on the topic.
Maddie Lounging on Things by Theron Humphrey. Because "rescued" is my favorite breed, and the sweet, funny photographs of Maddie the dog made me smile all the way through.
The Piano by Jane Campion and Kate Pullinger. I found this book in the discard pile at the library (score!), and having loved the movie ages ago, I decided to give it a read. It's just as poetic as the movie.
Abandoned Places by Henk van Rensbergen. A tiny photography book with haunting pictures of once-inhabited spaces. Oh, the stories these places could tell!
Nature/Walking by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau (two famous essays in one volume). Do you really need a reason to read the musings of two of the greatest minds in history? No, I didn't think so.
The Power of Kindness by Piero Ferrucci. Inspiration aplenty, without being preachy. I wish this book were required reading in every single school.
Well, there you have it! Need more book recommendations? Check out my post called Good Books for Bad Weather.
Happiest holidays and my very warmest wishes for 2018!
Before you go...
A couple of people wrote to me recently to ask if I offer gift certificates for my online courses. Well, thanks to them, now I do! If you'd like to give an original holiday gift that doesn't take up any space on the kitchen counter and can give the lasting lessons of how to create more beautiful photographs, just email me at [email protected] and tell me the name of the recipient, email address, and dollar amount for your gift certificate. I'll send you a payment button so you can pay online via PayPal, and then I'll send a personalized gift certificate on its way via email. (No mall trip necessary!)
In the new year, I'll be releasing VERY limited, personally signed editions of my own photography books! (And yes, you can redeem the gift certificates mentioned above for one of my books, too.) To get on the list of people notified first, do get yourself subscribed below to my free, monthly-ish photography newsletter, "Writing with Light"...
I don't know about you, but I'm always "all ears" when good books are up for discussion, whether I'm chatting with a friend or just standing in the check-out line, overhearing bookworms. I'm an unabashed book-addict, usually in the middle of three or four books at a time. I think I'm going to create a bumper sticker that reads "I brake for bookstores."
Actually, I'm much more likely to get books from my local library, as I did with all of the following books. I "test-drive" books; it's only if I feel an uncontrollable urge to underline multiple passages in a library book that I'll go ahead and buy it.
Here's what I'm reading (and recommending) right now:
The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I was on a loooooong waiting list for this best-selling book at the library and now it's finally my turn to read it! Fascinating stuff about how forests actually operate like a social network, with the trees helping each other grow and thrive, actually sensing when one needs help.
In the Slender Margin by Eve Joseph. Beautifully written by an award-winning poet, this book is about the author's many years as a hospice worker and how she was led to the profession by the early death of her brother. (I'm a huge believer in hospice care--my father was in hospice for his last months.)
Mortality by Christopher Hitchens. Oh, dear...my reading list seems a little on the morbid side this month, doesn't it? Well, I can't help it: Hitchens was a brilliant, witty writer. (This is the first book I've read of his, but he wrote for Vanity Fair for ages.)
Hold Still: A Memoir with Photographs by Sally Mann. This is another book that's been on my To-Read list forever, written by a controversial photographer who delves into her family's history by cleaning out her attic. It reads like a novel.
Flow magazine. Their tagline is "Celebrating Creativity, Imperfection, and Life's Little Pleasures." I can't get enough of this Dutch magazine and just bought a bunch of back issues that I'd missed. So inspiring!
P.S. I'll be announcing a brand-new online course for 2017 VERY soon, so if you're not yet on my "Writing with Light" subscriber list, do get yourself signed up lickety-split to get the first word and the Early Bird discount...
I need the stillness of the early morning even more now. I need to know there really are peaceful things in the world, things not yelling and clawing and thrashing for our attention, things that are just there...just being.
I need to focus (quite literally) on the quiet things.
I think the librarians sense that we've all got a collective headache right now, that our nerves are on the very edge. When I walked in to our town library yesterday, this book was prominently on display:
I knocked over two little old ladies to get to it.
(Kidding.)
(See? I had to actually tell you that I was joking, because these days, it seems like any whacked-out thing can happen.)
Anyway: back to the book. It's great. A tonic for the times. I gobbled it up in one sitting. So many nuggets of wisdom, like this one below that inspired me to make a photocollage (calming in itself), from Admiral Richard E. Byrd after he spent five months alone in a shack in the Antarctic:
It's a short book, but there's a fair amount about musician Leonard Cohen spending years in a Buddhist monastery and finding out that "going nowhere isn't about turning your back on the world; it's about stepping away now and then so that you can see the world more clearly and love it more deeply."
I've written here before about going on a news diet. Lately, I seem to be on a "binge and purge" cycle: Consume the morning news about all of the awfulness that took place while I was fretfully sleeping; feel nauseated and mad at myself for checking the news; retreat to an area (usually outdoors) with no news at all.
I mentally and physically need these retreats from the news. As Pico Iyer writes, "Not many years ago, it was access to information and movement that seemed our greatest luxury; nowadays, it's often freedom from information, the chance to sit still, that feels like the ultimate prize."
I'm not saying to withdraw from the world completely. In fact, it seems more important than ever that we pay attention to what's going on so we can collectively take the reins. But I do recommend, in these loud times, that we all mindfully envelop ourselves in silence, daily. Closing with more wise words from Pico Iyer:
"The point of gathering stillness is not to enrich the sanctuary or mountaintop but to bring that calm into the motion, the commotion of the world."
I hope you'll run, not walk, to your local library for this book. Careful of the little old ladies, though.
After last week's post about my summer reading list, I received all kinds of wonderful emails and messages from friends near and far who wanted to tell me (a.) they were looking forward to reading some of the books I'd mentioned, or (b.) they had good book recommendations to share with me, too (which I love, despite my own stacks of still-unread books teetering and toppling all over the place). It's downright refreshing to know there are so many bookworms out there!
So, in honor of my book-loving buddies, instead of my usual round-up of "Joyful Reads for the Weekend", I want to give you one more must-read. It's my favorite non-fiction book so far this year: Meditations on Intention and Being: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga, Mindfulness, and Compassion by Rolf Gates. I've mentioned it before on this blog, but it's well worth repeating. Certainly not just for summer (but why not start it now?), it's brimming with daily wisdom on every single page, and every time I flip it open, I'm just...awestruck. I've underlined and re-underlined like crazy! (Of course, Delilah heard me taking pictures of it and ran right over to get in the shot! Never fails.)
Happy July 4th to those of you in the states, and Happy Weekend to everyone!
Before you go...
I CAN'T WAIT to share some very BIG news with you, but I can't officially let the cat out of the bag until July 6th! (Rats! It's sooooo hard to keep a secret!)
Hello there, and Brrrrrrrr! Those of us in the northeastern U.S. are bracing for the first really big snowstorm of the season this weekend. (While it was somewhat pleasant to have an unseasonably warm December, I still find it a wee bit worrisome that it's late January and we still haven't had any real snowfall. The kids certainly aren't happy about the lack of Snow Days, that's for sure!) Anyway, looking ahead to the white and windy weather, I thought I'd stock you up with some cozy reading material. Even if you won't be snowbound where you are, I think you'll enjoy these finds:
The more pictures I take (goodness, I think I'm getting into the hundreds of thousands by now!), the more I realize that I have an ever-growing soft spot in my heart for the underdogs of the natural world.
The rough-and-crumbly things, instead of just the smooth-and-shiny.
Overgrown gardens with weeds aplenty.
The "ugly" bugs. (That naturally excludes the exalted butterflies and the ever-adorable ladybugs.)
I'm so plugged into social media for my blog that I'm hyper-aware of the constant barrage of "Perfect." Instagram perfect. Pinterest perfect. Facebook perfect. Martha Stewart must think she's died and gone to heaven, with the whole world rallying around her like angels, sharing their carefully crafted visions of perfection.
And, let's be honest here: I fully admit that I strive pretty darn hard to take "picture-perfect" shots for this blog. Because who doesn't like pretty things? I'm guilty, too.
But here's the thing: I also want to embrace the "perfection-challenged."
The raggedy edges.
Curling leaves that have been gobbled up and heartily enjoyed by a bug (or two, or three).
Faded blossoms that have been fried to a crisp by late-summer sun.
There's a delicate beauty, a quiet grace, in time-worn things.
I'm reminded of The Velveteen Rabbit, the part about becoming real. (Can anybody read that book without misting up? Honestly...)
“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in your joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” ― Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit
And so I ask myself: What gentle, worn-down, perfectly imperfect thing is whispering for my attention today? Let me celebrate it, while it lasts.
I just celebrated one of those "big" birthdays--you know, one with a zero at the end of it.
Thankfully, I still feel like I'm 32 (I think I've felt 32 since senior year of high school!), so it wasn't all that traumatic. It was exactly my kind of birthday because I spent it doing all kinds of my favorite things, without even one dreary chore or one ounce of guilt mixed in. Just pure, simple pleasures. If that sounds like your kind of birthday, too, help yourself to this recipe for celebrating. (Feel free to make your own substitutions, according to taste.)
1. Head outdoors first thing in the morning, camera in hand. (If you know me, you already know I'm fascinated by bugs, so it was an extra bonus for me to capture a company of ants having a meeting deep within the petals of a Rose of Sharon blossom.)
2. When somebody (for instance, your eight-year-old daughter) asks you what you'd like for your birthday, answer "Just a hug, please." Melt with love when she brings you a surprise homemade breakfast of three pieces of toast cut out into the letters H-U-G, decorated with wild blueberry preserves (my favorite!) and fresh blueberries. (Seriously, how cute is that?!)
3. After breakfast, read a good book on the porch. (A Path with Heart by Jack Kornfield is chock-full of wisdom for living a more meaningful and mindful life. I'm underlining like crazy!)
4. If you're not much of a cake person, have ice cream cones instead. Preferably, with lots of sprinkles (or jimmies, or shots, or whatever you call those little candy toppings in your neck of the woods).
6. Take one of your favorite people with you to one of those little shops where you can paint your own pottery while chatting and listening to more good music.
7. End the day eating dinner with your favorite people in the world, (which is hopefully your family), preferably at a Mexican restaurant (which always feels like a fiesta). Get just a little bit tipsy on frozen strawberry margaritas, so that you can't take a proper photograph of the event. Pretend you were aiming for "an artsy shot" instead.
8. Tuck into bed, completely grateful for the day and all of the simple but wonderful things it held out to you.
How 'bout you? How do you celebrate your big birthdays? I'd love to hear!
Well, I'm back down on Planet Earth! I just returned from BlogHer15 in New York and it was quite a trip!
I don't mean the train trip or the crazy cab ride; I mean it was an almost surreal mental trip, seeing my winning photograph on a continuous-loop slideshow with the other six winning photographs, blown up onto two movie screens on each side of the stage at the New York Hilton. My little picture of apples, super-sized in the Big Apple! Yep, that was definitely trippy...
The award inspired me to keep on aiming for pictures of simple, natural beauty.
Here's something else--or rather, somebody--who inspired me at BlogHer: Christy Turlington Burns.
(That's her on the left, at one of the BlogHer panels.)
I remember, years ago when I still lived in New York, going to a little vegetarian restaurant way downtown and seeing Christy Turlington eating dinner with a friend across the room. This was when she was one of the top supermodels in the world, so it was a shocker to see her out-and-about and mingling with mere mortals, low-key with little makeup, yet still gorgeous in an other-worldly way that only supermodels can attain. She still is gorgeous today, but now she's the founder of Every Mother Counts, a non-profit organization dedicated to making pregnancy and childbirth safe for every mother--which makes her even more beautiful.
Not a life-saver, but nonetheless inspiring to me at BlogHer: Gwyneth Paltrow.
I know that some people love Gwyneth and some people can't stand her, but I'm in the first camp. I like a successful girl with a healthy sense of slightly sarcastic humor, somebody who is not deterred by negativity or big bumps in the road of life, and Gwyneth delivered the goods at BlogHer. She was asked how she handled life with her children while her marriage to musician Chris Martin was breaking up, and I loved her response:
“One of the things I said to them originally when we were separating was, 'You know, Daddy and I are famous and there’s going to be a lot of stuff out there, and I can’t control what you’re going to see and what you’re not going to see, and what your friends are going to say or ask, but you know what it is to be here in this house. You know what’s real. You know how much we love you. You know we love each other.' I think they understand there’s a difference between the outside world and the inside world.”
Even for us non-celebs, I think it's always good to remember that much of what we see in the media is just hype and hysteria.
I took some library books with me to New York (because there's just no way I'm going anywhere without books), and these are the ones that inspired me the most--all blending art with science, one of my favorite combinations:
Chris Hadfield's You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes: Photographs from the International Space Station. Hadfield is the Canadian astronaut who famously sang a version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" while still in space. (That video has over 26 million views on YouTube--it's in the "Related Articles" section at the bottom.) His book surprised me because I found his writing and photographic views of the world to be downright poetic.
And last but most definitely not least, the highlight of my trip was meeting Jayla, the three-week-old daughter of my long-time friend, Caren. Just look at that little face!
Wow. Just wow.
It brought me right back to when my own children (now 8 and 11) were this teeny-tiny. Time flies, indeed.
Babies are always inspiring to me because they're so new to the world, so fresh and flawless, and the very essence of hope is right there in their eyes, gazing right back at us, and glimmering.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Pssssssst!Early Bird enrollment for the next session of my online photography course,The Art of Photography: How to Take Your Pictures to the Next Level,ends just one week from today, 7/31/15 (12:00 midnight EST). Save $15 by enrolling earlyand join me in August to create some inspiring pictures of your own!