Photo Mania

Nothing makes my day more than sharing my photographs with others. I adore the entire process of photography. From the moment of pressing the shutter....to the perusing of the digital files....editing and cropping....to printing or sharing online. Each step of the way brings me a certain amount of joy, however, none so much as seeing the final product, and hearing the thoughts of others.

Recently, I stumbled upon the following little story and it struck a cord. I was finally able to put words to what has been bothering me. When Jack London had his portrait made by the noted San Francisco photographer Arnold Genthe, London began the encounter with effusive praise for the photographic art of his friend and fellow bohemian, Genthe. "you must have a wonderful camera...It must be the best camera in the world...You must show me your camera." Genthe then used his standard studio camera to make what has since become a classic picture of Jack London. When the sitting was finished, Genthe could not contain himself: "I have read your books, Jack, and I think they are important works of art. You must have a wonderful typewriter."

My advice for great pictures is to take the camera you currently own, and just start snapping, and I mean really snapping. It is through practice that one starts to see improvement. Just remember, it isn't the EXACT camera that makes the photographs you love. Someone is behind that lens....and has some natural talent, or worked hard, or most likely....BOTH!

People often think that Ayden is just easy to photograph. Honestly, that is partly correct. He is easy because he is used to the camera being attached to my hand, but he certainly doesn't just sit there and take direction. I have to keep him distracted and entertained, plus move with him. I usually snap approximately 50 shots in about 10 minutes or so. Chris is always amazed when he looks at the quantity I shoot in one day!

You don't take a photograph. You ask, quietly, to borrow it.

~Author Unknown

People are so wonderful that a photographer has only to wait for that breathless moment to capture what he wants on film.

~Weegee

The pictures you want tomorrow, you have to take today.

- Kodak advertisement

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.

~Eudora Welty

There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.

~Ansel Adams

When you find yourself beginning to feel a bond between yourself and the people you photograph, when you laugh and cry with their laughter and tears, you will know you are on the right track.

~Arthur Fellig

Sometimes I do get to places just when God's ready to have somebody click the shutter. ~Ansel Adams

Along with this, I'd like to leave you with one of my favorite jokes. I imagine Ayden would very easily share this little girl's assumption.

A little girl walked to and from school daily. Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the elementary school. As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up and it started to thunder and lightning. The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child. Although it hadn't begun to rain, thunder and lightning began cutting through the sky. Full of concern, the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school. As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up and smile. Another and another were to follow quickly and with each the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile. When the mother's car drew up beside the child she lowered the window and called to her, "What are you doing? Why do you keep stopping?"

The child answered, "I stop and smile because God keeps taking my picture."