inspired: Alfred Megally photography

seen: "Little Town" (Guanajuato, Mexico)

This is brilliant. Today, I'm inspired by the world's color.  (And want to see all of it first hand.)

inspired: untraditional family photos

seen: pajama party photo shoot

[via on-hand + modern]

framed: Lauren Pressey Photography

by: Lauren Pressey

Lauren Pressey Photography

[blog]

Los Angeles

The Sam Project

Motherhood is nothing short of scary.  I am constantly searching for balance.  To focus on one thing at a time.  To give my children, most importantly, my all.  In my 2 1/2 short years of parenting, I continue to believe having a daughter might just prove to be the scariest endeavor I'll face.  I fear doing, saying, or being the wrong thing and I'm well aware that we haven't even begun to scratch the surface.

This is Sam in a dress I once wore.  To see her as so much of myself gives me perspective.  Perspective on my ability to do my best as a mother and the hope that my best might be worth remembering.  

*****

[See previous "framed" features here.]

framed: joyce smith photography

by: Joyce Smith
Joyce Smith Photography
[joyce smith blog]

Bryn Mawr, PA

snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

I'm a seventh-generation Floridian (did you know that there was such a thing?) who subscribed to Yankee magazine when she was eleven. When I was eight and visiting family in Buffalo I pogoed up and down on my cousin's bed and marveled that she wasn't absolutely flabbergasted and thrilled at that white stuff falling from the sky. When I attended graduate school in Chicago I trudged a mile each way to class in the snow and loved everything except the icy cold on my ears. And even now--even after the startling snowstorms we had last year in Pennsylvania--I adore the snow.  It reminds me of my late father, the Buffalonian who couldn't escape to Florida quickly enough. It reminds me of my first winter living in Arkansas when I played so long outside that I nearly developed frostbite. It reminds me of the Coleridge poem "Frost at Midnight" and how thrilling it was to receive an A from the teacher I idolized in college when I explicated it. It reminds me of how precious and fleeting the seasons of our life are (after all, could a Florida kid who wanted to be a Vermonter be terribly happy-go-lucky?).  Most of all, though, it reminds me, as I watch my own daughter frolic in the snow, to hold onto childlike glee and wonder whenever I can.

*****

[See previous "framed" features here.]

inspired: simplicity photography

seen: photo by Simplicity photography

The photography is amazing & the sisterhood very sweet... but that quilt is especially brilliant.

[And another bright quilt to love: material obsession.]

you're invited: 30 strangers

seen: portraits of mothers and daughters by Justin Hackworth

“Over 30 days, I shot portraits of 30 people I didn’t know,” Hackworth says. “That experience was fascinating, so I wanted to do it again. But it really became more meaningful when I focused on a theme that could give something back to the community.”  

Justin calls his project/fundraiser 30 Strangers (part III: portraits of mothers and daughters) and is sharing his exhibit on July 2 in Provo, UT.  Art and activism will come together as he continues to raise funds for the Center for Women & Children in Crisis.  

You're invited to the opening: 

July 2, 6-9pm.  

26 West Center Street, near the corner of University Avenue and Center Street in Provo, Utah. 

During the show opening, Justin is offering a donation in lieu of a sitting fee to raise additional funds for the shelter.

See portraits of past exhibits here. Justin's blog can be found here.

framed: sassa art photography

Cassandra Allred

Sassa Art Photography

Philadelphia

Right now my world is full of unknown certainty: Certainty of a new life, a move to a new state, and a new job for my husband. Yet the unknown is what tomorrow has in store for me. I catch myself longing for the finish line and living in my future plans and dreams, a series of  “when we… then I’ll”. I forget to live and enjoy the moment and to enjoy the journey that will someday take me there.  I’m reminded of this, each day, as I watch my son grow before my eyes. Days, weeks, months… where does the time go? Although my life is somewhat of a blur, my focus is where it should be: on the eyes of my son and family.  

*****

[see previous "framed" features here.]

framed: sheena jibson photography

Sheena Jibson

sheena jibson photography

The Little Red House

SLC, Utah

Some people's lives are measured in grand events. A promotion at work. A cross-country move. A fabulous vacation to a foreign land. My life is measured in the teeniest of tiny events....sometimes so small, they might go missed if I wasn't always on the lookout. Like how messy she can get from licking just ONE spoon. A homemade Valentine from a very proud little 4 (and 1/2!) year old boy. An extra tight squeeze from my favorite person when he comes home from work at night. My days are full of these little moments--they're not worth any money, and they won't make me famous....but they make up my world, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

*****

[See previous "framed" features here.]

framed: darling art photography

Rebecca Mudrick

Darling Art Photography

Chapel Hill, North Carolina

I stumbled across this photograph a few days ago and gasped.  Look at how soft he is.  How little.  How round.  He’s grown up since this image was taken - he’ll soon be five.  And as much as I’ve tried to appreciate the simplicity and bliss of raising a young child, I wonder how time went by so fast.  And how I can remember so little of it when I wanted to remember each detail.

Once upon a time I was an overwhelmed, unhappy young mother of two babies.  I couldn’t wait for my boys to grow up.  I wanted the time to fly by.  And then somewhere along the way I grew into motherhood.  Now I am a mother of four who prays each day for time to slow down.  Because they really do grow up too fast.

*****

[See previous "framed" features here.]

framed: cody buell photography

Cody Buell

Cody Buell Photography

Saratoga Springs, UT

My love for photography lies in the way it interprets the world around us.  The imperfections of a photograph, what it shows and does not, the apparent circumstances, all add up to describe a moment or influence a mood in a way no other medium can.

*****

[See previous "framed" features here.]

framed: blue lily photo

Wendy Whitacre

Blue Lily Photo

Temecula, CA

[blog]

I've never seen life in black and white.  The color cast off all objects and experiences is too tangible to ignore- I prefer to experience life through a kaleidoscope of hues and values.   I remember when I realized that perhaps color was more important to me than most my age.  When glancing into my friends' closets as a teen, I saw clothes in black, grey, white... a color here and there. Whereas my wardrobe was more suited to Punky Brewster (still is).

What is it about color? Is it the tangible effect it has on our moods? To me it has an intoxicating effect on the eyes- spreading through the body until all is left warm, happy, content.

I love to live my life in color.

framed

To celebrate the new twenty-ten: your favorite photographers will be featured.  Their stories, told their way.

Check in most Tuesdays.