Category : iPhoneography

The folks at the IMPOSSIBLE Project are forging ahead into a whole new territory of photography. As you know, I’m a huge fan of these folks who swept in and saved the last Polaroid production factory back in 2008. Since then, a super dedicated team has been working diligently to keep instant film as a medium alive and well. The IMPOSSIBLE Project folks have come so far in such a short time, and their incredible work allows photographers (like ME!) to keep enjoying and shooting with their vintage Polaroid cameras. Personally, I’m not sure where I’d be in my creative photography journey if it weren’t for the IMPOSSIBLE Project.

So while instant film is the name of the game for the IMPOSSIBLE Project, the folks there know that we also live in a digital age with amazing cameras built into our phones. In their brilliance, the IMPOSSIBLE Project is MERGING these two mediums. Yup. You read that correctly. The IMPOSSIBLE Project held an uber successful Kickstarter campaign last fall to develop and bring us the IMPOSSIBLE Instant Lab. The Instant Lab allows you to take your digital iPhone photos and transform them into analog instant film photographs. If you’re like me, you’re thinking: O.M.G.

I’m sharing more over at Mortal Muses today about the IMPOSSIBLE Instant Lab and how I got this awesome instant film version of an iPhone photo I took. Come check it out HERE!

1. What is your favorite word? Breathe

2. What is your least favorite word? Panties

3. What turns you on? Wit, authenticity, and pie-making skills

4. What turns you off? Small-mindedness

5. What sound do you love? Ocean waves crashing to the beach

6. What sound do you hate? Jackhammers

7. What is your favorite curse word? Fuck

8. What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Travel photographer and food critic

9. What profession would you not like to do? Prostitute

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? You are loved, always have been and always will be.

Now, your turn.

PS–questions from James Lipton’s Inside the Actors Studio.

Have you ever shot photos throughout your day — a typical, ordinary day — to just document it and tell your story? Me neither. I’m over at Mortal Muses today sharing my Sunday through 4 images I shot with my iPhone within 24 hours. As most Sundays do, here’s how ours started after Parker was fed and walked…

I hope you click here to see the rest of my Sunday. Hope it inspires you to capture your own ordinary and beautiful days.

Life has been a bit of a blur lately. Work has kept me swirling as I try to keep my head above water. And although I have felt completely overwhelmed and behind, Tony and I had a long-awaited for trip booked where we headed south last week to meet up with some dear friends (who we see WAY too infrequently) in a new-to-all-of-us-city. Then, approximately six hours after returning home, I was at the hospital having eye surgery to correct some problems I’ve had as a result of complications from my follow-up treatment a few years ago. I told you, a BLUR, literally and figuratively.

So within the week, life has gone from this…

to this…

A blur, I’m telling you — full on shenanigans to fashionable hospital gowns and eyes covered with ice-packs. So as I rest up and tend to some TLC for my self, I’m thinking of all I have to share with you. I still want to update you on my favorite film from the True/False festival (I haven’t forgotten). Then I want to fill you in on the highlights from our trip to Nashville (although that photo above does sum it up quite well!). Last but perhaps most reverberating, I had a great — and difficult — opportunity appear that has allowed me to work a bit deeper with my word for the year, and I want to tell you all about that, too.

But for now, I’m going to soak in the tub. Eat some soup. Practice self-care.

The start to the year also marks Tony’s birthday. Suffice it to say that Tony isn’t big on celebrating his “special day.” I’m not sure if he doesn’t like the attention and focus all on him, or if it’s a vestige of his birthday occurring after the brouhaha of the holidays. Perhaps he grew accustomed to it being a bit of an oversight or combo-with-Christmas kind of birthday. Whatever it may be, Tony never likes to do much to celebrate. I, on the other hand, am a celebrator. I think it is important to mark both the milestones and the small victories as we travel through this life. But since it is his day, I reign in what I want to do for him on his birthday and let him set the pace.

Since it was still winter break and we were both “off school,” we had the luxury of not having to work and got to spend the day together. After my prodding and asking perhaps a million times what he wanted to do for his birthday, Tony decided he wanted to go out for lunch and get cheeseburgers, and then see a matinee movie. So, we headed downtown, enjoyed some Five Guys, and went to see Hitchcock (the movie is great if you haven’t seen it — Anthony Hopkins is a fantastic Alfred). It feels so decadent to see a movie in the middle of the day on a Wednesday. As we left the movie and started for home — Tony wanted to make soup for dinner and hang out at home for the evening — we had some fun goofing around as we walked back to the car.

As we passed some interesting architecture, Tony stopped to snap a few photos on his iPhone. I caught him ‘gramming, as they say. This is one of those little things that I love about Tony. Over the past few years, I have grown into a photographer and have developed a dedicated practice of my craft. Photography has grown to be the single thing I do the majority of the time (besides work). While much of this has been apart from Tony and is “my thing,” Tony has gotten involved in iPhoneography and using Intstagram. He is quite fond of Hipstamatic, and most often processes in black and white (you can follow him — his handle on IG is underdog30). What I love about Tony Instagramming is that this is something that we can share. It is so much fun being out together and seeing similar things we want to Instagram (often with one of us “calling” a shot ours!), as well as seeing what he captures while we are out doing our own thing and not together. Although I think it is critically important for each person in a couple to have their own interests, activities, and identities, I also think it’s vital to have things in common. It makes me happy that a small thing like iPhoneography and Instagram is something we can share.

As we continued our walk to the car, Tony had a spring in his step. I’m not even sure I remember what brought on his jumping into the air, but what I do hold on to is our laughter and giggling and enjoying being together. After all these many years, he still makes me laugh. We still have fun together. Yes, we love one another, but we like each other, too. He’s still got it.

Happy Birthday, Monk. Lyo? xoxo

I’m over at Mortal Muses today talking about capturing our lives mobile-y. I have been so grateful in many moments that I have a small, easy to handle camera phone to capture parts of my life that otherwise may have fallen by the wayside. Here are just a few photos from my iPhone over the past two weeks…

I hope you click through and check out the rest of my post here.

Are you more comfortable behind the lens rather than in front of it? Most photographers are, and I’m noticing that most women are, too. But what gets lost or what is missing if YOU aren’t in the photo? If you aren’t part of all the scenes you’ve worked hard to capture as memories for yourself? I’ve learned that oh-so-much goodness can come from being brave and delving into the work of self-portraits.

I strongly encourage you to try taking some self-portraits. Even if you never share them, upload them to Instagram or Flickr, or show them to a soul. Take some. Play. See yourself differently. I promise it will be worth it.

I’m musing on self-portraits and using mobile photography to capture yourself over at Mortal Muses today. I hope you click through to check it out.

This season. This fall. This crisp air.

These gorgeous leaves. These rays of golden sun. These moments.

For the love of autumn.

Ahh…the chill in the air, the glorious color across the landscape, the crisp leaves beneath my feet. Autumn is arriving. My favorite season. It is a relief from the brutal summer heat and a respite before the blustery cold of winter that will be here all too soon. But let me stay in the present. Right now. And indulge in autumn…and some poetry.

Song for Autumn by Mary Olive

In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
warm caves, begin to think

of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.

I’m over at Mortal Muses today encouraging folks to share their iPhoneography and mobile photography. We have some beautiful images in our Mobile Monday Flickr group. Check these out…

1. Slow Erase, 2. August Break :: 8.13.12, 3. letting go, 4. to the shores of freedom, where no one lives, 5. I didn’t see the faint rainbow when I took this shot. Happy surprise., 6. Oregon at her best #sselevate, 7. Some lines are sharper than others.., 8. Untitled, 9. Altogether too good to miss

I hope you join us in sharing your iPhoneography! You can read the rest of my post here.