goodbye eve arnold...

self-portrait by eve arnold

i'd like to pay tribute to the wonderful photojournalist and first female magnum member, eve arnold, who passed away yesterday at the age of 99.  ms. arnold paved the way for us female photojournalists with compassion, wit and grace.  her philosophy, "if a photographer cares about the people before the lens and is compassionate, much is given. it is the photographer, not the camera, that is the instrument," is close to my heart and i have tried to maintain this sentiment in my own career.  to to see a fuller body of her work visit her gallery at magnum.

all images by eve arnold

scenes from a life...

tula mirth, halloween 2011 by juli

my daughter, the muse

tula mirth, age 5

i take a lot of photos of strangers and really have always preferred photographing people i don't know but my daughter has kind of changed all that.  i can't just take a "snapshot" of her making some childhood milestone.  i like to approach recording her life with the same thought that i would put into any documentary project.  there she is growing, learning and being imaginative...and i am just so amazed.

happy mama's day!

hooray it's mama's day, by juli

scenes from a life...

spring toes, by juli

"open your heart:

i'll give you a treasure

of tiniest world

a piece of forever..."

(excerpted from xlvi by e.e. cummings)

interesting civil war portraits

at the 150th anniversary of the civil war, there is a deluge of old and new photos being passed around.  civil war re-enactors are getting a lot of attention in particular as they are always a visually interesting group to spend some time with but many of the photos tend to be the same.  this portrait project published by time and shot by gregg segal is quite different than anything i have seen.  segal worked with the re-enactors to construct scenes at historic battle sites that have been compromised by modern development.  it is though-provoking project and worth some time.

a love story...

my husband and i are coming up on our one year wedding anniversary, and today i was thinking back on our engagement trip, which was sort of a honeymoon part 1. we flew to portland, oregon for a friend's wedding and spent the next few days driving down the pacific coast highway, ending in san francisco.

at the end of the first day of our drive, jay pulled off at a cozy northern california beach town called trinidad.  i had wanted to stop at every sign that advertised a scenic lookout, while jay was trying to hurry to get to this town by sunset!  we walked a little on the beach and sat on a rock (i was so nervous - by this time i knew what was coming) and jay pulled a ring out of his pocket.  he had successfully hidden it all weekend, carrying his little messenger bag everywhere and never letting me near it!  we managed to snap a few photos of the spot before our camera and phone batteries died!

it was the most exciting thing that ever happened to us.

the view from our rock

a view of the beach from a nearby hill.  our camera died literally right after this!

the next day we drove through the redwood forest and managed to get this decent photo of the two of us.  i think jay spent about an hour trying to get the camera perched just right on top of the car, press the button, run over, and pose just in time before the camera clicked.  normally, i would be impatient with this sort of nonsense, but i remember sitting in the haunting, spiritual silence of those giant trees and feeling totally relaxed while he fiddled with the camera.

we were like giddy little children on that trip, and i hope that never goes away.

we spent the end of our trip in san francisco, traipsing all over the city, usually ending up in north beach for coffee, food, and late night beverages.

we got married april 17, 2010, after which we continued our journey down the pacific coast highway from san francisco to los angeles...part 2.

i will reserve wedding photos for another post, but i should say that is how i met fellow slow life blogger, juli, our wedding photographer!  juli and her buddy tim snapped some unbelievable photos, and now she is my treasured friend.  here is a preview...

dogs + photography = love

courtesy of martin usborne via ZUMA

the sweet, longing faces of dogs photographed while waiting inside cars for their humans is one of my favorite essays at the moment.  see all of "waiting for godot" by martin usborne on ZUMA's pictures of the day.

hugh morton

hugh morton is one of the most well-known and influential photographers to hail from the state of north carolina. morton, a noted conservationist, inherited grandfather mountain and surrounding land in 1952 and dedicated much of his life to making it a beautiful tourist attraction.

morton chronicled life in north carolina from the 1930's until his death in 2006. he covered everything from political figures and nature to sports and university life.

a team of archivists with the university of north carolina libraries has been working since morton's death to catalog his 250,000 or so photographs. follow their blog, a view to hugh.

morton with mildred the bear, from grandfather.com

grandfather mountain overlook (1970's - 1980's), from hugh morton collection of photographs and film

grandfather mountain camera clinic (1950s - early 1960s), from a view to hugh

bear cubs, grandfather mountain (1983), from a view to hugh

you know this guy, 1983, from hugh morton collection of photographs and films

jfk addresses nc caucus at the 1956 democratic national convention, from hugh morton collection of photographs and films

(many thanks to my dear friend elizabeth hull for pointing me in this direction)

clint, recycling czar

by juli

little shoes...

by juli

i admired the little shoes kicked off just inside our back door today.  these belong to the feet of my ever-growing daughter who seems to have shoes spread about in every room of our house.  i think about those feet when they were so tiny and the only thing she would allow on them in those days were my kisses.  shoes and socks were almost always shed immediately.  and now, those feet march, stomp, jump, kick, run...and are growing up.  sigh.

farm animal sanctuary project

i just stumbled across the farm animal sanctuary project photo exhibit by nashvillian sharon lee hart. farm sanctuaries are a safe haven for abused and mistreated animals, namely, those victimized by harsh food production. the photographer visited the farms in hopes of capturing the individuality of each animal. ultimately, her goal was to raise awareness of farm animal cruelty.

20% of the proceeds from the exhibit were donated to the animal sanctuaries.

learn more about farm animal shelters.

Unnamed Rooster, Resident of Grateful Acres

Herman, Resident of SASHA Farm

Mrs. Lovett, Resident of Kindred Spirits Animal Sanctuary

Aries, Resident of Catskill Animal Sanctuary

Penelope, Resident of Farm Sanctuary