“If you don’t have any shadows you’re not in the light” ~Lady Gaga~
“Light and shadow are opposite sides of the same coin. We can illuminate our paths or darken our way. It is a matter of choice.”
“To light a candle is to cast a shadow” ~Ursula K LeGuin
“If there is any wisdom running through my life now, in my walking on this earth, it came from listening in the Great Silence to the stones, trees, space, the wild animals, to the pulse of all life as my heartbeat.” Vijali Hamilton
Greta sat for me so I could experiment with some low-key lighting for a personal project I’m working on. It was going to be all black and white with minimal post processing. Now I find myself playing with color and layering of old, dusty, scratchy images. That seems to be how my creative process works. Starting off with an idea and playing around until what wants to be expressed reveals itself. Is that what it’s like for you?
Clients often ask me what I enjoy doing more, Massage Therapy or Photography. The answer? They both energize me in different ways and have more in common than you’d think. In both spaces I’m working with people and quite often, their insecurities. There’s a lot of ‘space holding’ involved. Ensuring that no matter what type of work we’re doing the person feels safe, respected and witnessed. In both professions I get to meet fun, interesting people and always have the goal of having them leave me feeling better [about them selves] then before we met.
Last week I got to do a head shot for a gentleman who is training for an Iron Man competition [wow]!
Yesterday I had just enough time between massage clients to play with some photography techniques for a photo group I recently joined. Our prompt for this week was that the image had to be “artistic and red”. I played around with studio lighting, no lighting at all, long exposure, having a fan blow on the flower petals, etc … and choose this as the image to share with the group.
Then I had a massage client who had a major shift in her body during our session. No matter what’s going on in the studio it’s always about creativity, growth and supporting people in living their best life and I’m so grateful for each connection, no matter how it’s made.
A local photography group I’ve just joined has decided to challenge ourselves with a 52 week photo project. Rather than coming up with our own list we are following along with one that has already been published online – the Dogwood 52 Photography Challenge.
It’s a lot of fun to see how other people choose to express themselves and it’s motivating to be accountable to a group of people. I’ve been batting around an idea for a while now, but always put it last on my list of things to do. This week 1 challenge at least ‘forced’ me to start playing with the idea and to take one step towards executing what I really want. Yay!
Week One:
The next few days in the studio will be spent finishing up some gift items and various projects. I get so many requests for these photo coasters – which can also be used as art tiles – that I’m making up a few dozen sets. They are so perfect for housewarming presents, thank you’s, teacher appreciation …. anything really …. that I sell out of them almost as soon as they are made. They are all handmade from my original photos.
I’m just loving when I can close the studio before dusk …. grab my camera …. and chase the sun. I’ve been exploring a trail that is part of an old abandoned farm. Parts of the land have been leased to a local farmer …. and the corn is getting high. A fellow trail walker last night told me that George Washington once camped here.
Corn … in CT … at the golden hour. I think this would be a beautiful spot for a portrait.
“so then he pulled a 360 on me…” will be available in an 8×8 print late May 2014.
Coming soon – some fun, flirty photography that will be great for any space in your home that needs a little cheeriness. I’ve ordered some 8×8 prints today, along with handmade, white frames from a seller on Etsy. Come into the studio later in May to check them out.
Tania Palermo [Studio on Main] 