Blue Yonder

That Said...

Well, now that we've talked about composition and cropping and what not, I thought I'd make the case for not messing too much with your photos. I told you, I'm kind of a purist, and here's why:

I ran across this one a couple of days ago, and I just keep staring at it.

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That little muffin that's about to slide off the horse is me.

See the hand that's on the right edge of the shot? I think that's either my mom or grandma, ready to catch me.

Now look over on the stove. See that metal pot? I can say with absolute certainty that it's full of biscuits. I know this, because that's my great grandmother's stove and that pot was ALWAYS full of biscuits.

See the big cans of grapefruit juice sitting beside the stove? I remember watching my great grandmother open those cans. I remember seeing them in the fridge. In the same way, I remember that linoleum floor, and that wooden door. I can hear the hollow sound of walking on that floor, and the creak of old hinges.

Whoever took this photo was intending to get a picture of a cute (if I do say so myself) kid on a horse, but instead, they got so much more. They got loving hands ready and waiting to catch a little one. They got tradition and nostalgia. They got vintage and warmth. They got tastes and smells and sounds.

The photographer probably had this shot developed and thought, "Too bad, you can tell she's slipping, and all that junk is in the background and those hands are mucking up the photo...." But to me, this shot is so much better than the one that was intended.

So I guess the lesson is, pretty is nice, perfect is admirable, but sometimes the mess of life is sweeter still.
I'm going to try to remember that, the next time I am tempted to hit that crop button.

Photo Mojo

Every now and again a sweet reader will write in, asking for photography tips.

I find this really, truly flattering, but I don't really know how to answer. I'm not a trained photographer. I don't know how half the buttons on my camera work. I'm just a girl who takes a lot (A LOT) of pictures.

So, as much as I'd like to, I can't really impart any real photography wisdom, I can only tell you what I do, and hope that maybe it will work for you too:

1) I think that my skills have grown a lot in the past year, and that's in large part due to this blog. Having a blog has required me to take photos almost every day. Where before, I might save the photo taking for big events, outings or occasions, now I take pictures of every little thing. The daily practice has taught me a lot about my camera, how it works in different settings. and also a lot about myself, what I find beautiful, what I want to remember, my own style.

The very best advice I can give is to just take lots of pictures. Take your camera everywhere. Take pictures of everything; your lunch, your doorknob, your steering wheel while you wait in the carpool line, the squirrel that won't leave your birdfeeder alone. Pretty soon, you'll learn a lot about your camera, your style, and you'll start paying closer attention to your everyday world. You'll find yourself taking lots of mental photos, composing shots even when you don't have your camera at hand.

As an added bonus, the constant photo taking has totally desensitized my children to the camera. They used to balk when I brought it out, now they've come to expect as much, and even ask, "Hey momma, you wanna take a picture of this (... rock, playdoh snake, flying leap off the couch...)? Should any of my boys become politicians or actors, they will feel perfectly at home with the paparazzi.

2) I never use the flash. Never. Well, I take that back, I try sometimes, but I've yet to take a good photo with the flash. Maybe if I learned what all those buttons did, I could adjust the flash levels or something, but since I don't know how to do that, I just don't use it. Most of the photos you see here at Blue Yonder were taken outside, or very near a sunny window.

3) I try things from lots of different angles. If I'm taking a photo of a boy playing in the water I might take one from below him and catch a lot of the water spray, and another above and capture his swirly wet hair, one real close to see the drops on his skin, and one from behind to capture the plumber impersonation (why it that my kids fannies cannot hold up a wet swimsuit?).

Photos that are all looking dead on, straight at the subject have their place, but more often than not, a different angle will add to the interest of the shot.

4) I get real close. Most of my photos focus on one particular detail that I'd like to remember... dirty fingernails holding a fluffy chick, rather than the whole boy and the whole chicken.

5) I don't really edit my photos much. I may crop them a little, raise the contrast or sharpness, but that's about it. I use iPhoto for those things. Sometimes, if I want the photo to be a particular size, or if I want to add text, I use Picnik. I know that a lot can be done to improve photos with more extensive editing programs but 1)I'm too lazy busy too learn how to use them. and 2)I'm kind of a purist. I don't like the idea of things altered too much.

So that's it. That's about all I know on the subject.

Here's a few tips though, from some amazing photobugs that know far more than me!

The Pioneer Woman
Stephanie, of Little Birds
Alicia of Posie Gets Cozy
And the one that will change your life: 21 Ways to Improve Your Photographs

Alright then, get to shootin'!

6,000 Words @ Six One Way

I am very excited, beyond excited, really, to make an annoucement today. It's one that I've been itching to share for weeks now.

I finally get to spill the beans!

A few months back, not too long after I began this little blog, I met a person who can only be described as a kindred spirit.

Eren, of This Vintage Chica is not only a talented, loving mama with an eye for vintage style, she's also one of the sweetest people you'll ever come to know. She and I were meant to be friends - both with three young boys, both with a love of old stuff, both born of that mix of rugged independence wrapped in cotton and leather, otherwise known as Texas.

If I didn't know better, I'd swear we were separated at birth.

Needless to say, I was over the moon and flattered beyond all reason when Eren asked me to partner with her on a new collaborative project.

Two Mamas.

Six Boys Between Us.

One Passion - Capturing Motherhood Through the Lens of a Camera.

You can follow our journey with a new post each Monday at Six One Way

You know, I love to write. It is one of my most deeply felt passions, but photography has become a new love for me, in it's own right. I'm fascinated by the idea of a language, as an art form, that can't be marred by spelling mistakes or poor word choices. I'm excited by the opportunity, and the challenge of sharing my world with you, with no words at all.

So please, join us at the table each week, for 6,000 words, in photo form, on the joy of motherhood and the messy business of raising young men.