Ali Edwards's Blog, page 209
November 4, 2014
December Daily® 2014 | Kit Updates
I'm interrupting my Week In The Life™ posting to share some updates on the 2014 December Daily® kit.
There are now real-live photos of the products available the kit on the pre-order page and I'm getting super excited to play with these fun holiday products.
In addition I've got a couple cool announcements:
1. While supplies last, all pre-orders will include double the original amount of papers. Rather than 20 double-sided papers, you'll get 40 double-sided papers which will allow you to use all the designs.
2. All international orders will be upgraded to expedited shipping, free of charge. That's pretty awesome. If you are international customer who already paid for expedited shipping we will refund you. Please note that you will still pay the $8 basic international shipping fee but we'll cover the cost to upgrade it to the expedited shipping option ($30). Shipping is free to US addresses.
3. The 6x8 albums are cloth covered in your choice of red or cream - swatches of those two options should be up on the sale page sometime today (it's in progress). I'll be using the red album this year. If you've already pre-ordered and decided you'd like to change to a different color you can start a conversation with Customer Service and they will take care of you!
Take a look at the full content list and order your kit here. Kits will be shipping mid-November.
I'll be tackling some foundation pages soon along with releasing some new overlays and templates for 2014.
Want to learn more about December Daily®? If you want to start getting in the holiday documenting mood go here to watch a video and check out my past albums. You can also scroll through my December Daily® blog archives here.
Here's a closer look at the items:
Double-sided pattern papers. Again, if you pre-order you'll get two sets so you can use both the front and the back.
Really awesome TALL gold-foil chipboard alphabet.
Sticker sheets including a white white alpha, kraft postage stamp and super cool word tabs.
The kit includes three chipboard pages - this year I plan to mix in some other pages besides the ones in the page protectors. The chipboard pages include a checklist, a calendar + a circle die-cut page that I can't wait to use.
There are die-cut gold foil labels (in the top image they look black or a very dark red - it's because they are hard to photograph) and plastic words in my handwriting: tradition, twinkle, twentyfive, december, and celebrate.
A 4x6 stamp set.
Wood veneer numbers that go up to 31 + gold glitter chipboard trees, hearts and stars + 3 rubber banners (like the December Daily® one shown above).
December Daily® is a registered trademark of Ali Edwards Design Inc. The only companies that have permission to use the trademark on any memory keeping products is Studio Calico or Ali Edwards Design Inc.
November 3, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Sunday Words & Photos
Thank you so much for playing along this past week for my annual Week In The Life™ adventure.
I hope that you enjoyed the process. I hope that you took some images that tell the story of your life right now in just the way you want to communicate it. I hope that you learned something about yourself in the process of documenting via photos and words.
As you will see below, I took the least amount of photos of any day this week yesterday. I embrace that fully. What I did capture is very much what most of my day entailed.
Sometimes when I don't pick up the camera, for this reason or that, I like to approach the story by writing about the photos I didn't take. It's a different way to capture the story that's a nice option for those days and times when you might have simply take photos with your mind. I'll add that writing below my photos.
Later this week I'll be back to share my process for putting this all together into a tangible album. Bring on the next phase of this project!
PS | In case you've been wondering all week I've been using my Daily Stories And Photos word art on my main photos. If you like that look and want to add it to your own photos you can purchase it here.
SUNDAY PHOTOS & WORDS
About 30 DSLR + 18 iphone.
The story of today is that the clocks fell back an hour as part of Daylight Savings time.
Sundays are for sleeping in.
The story of today is that my parents stopped by on their way to Tacoma. I love when they stop by, even for just a short visit. Stopping by usually entails lots of hugs and conversation and kids yelling with excitement and a hot cup of coffee.
The story of today includes conversations around my table. I love Sundays for lingering table conversations. I love that some of my favorite people were all together in one spot. You can read more about the story of this table here. It's a great example of the power of repetitive photography in storytelling.
The story of today includes noticing shapes as I look through the lens. And dishes. Always dishes.
The story of today is that I spent a lot of time at my desk from early afternoon into the late evening catching up on work and getting ready for my Lens Of Joy workshop to begin today (registration is open until November 8th). The truth is this is a place I'm very comfortable.
One of these days I'd love to do a time-lapse in this space. I like how these three shots show the changing light outside over the course of the day.
THE PHOTOS I DIDN'T TAKE
Dropping Simon and Anna off at Chris' house for the night to help celebrate his birthday. Stopping at Taco Bell because they really wanted to get him a burrito and a taco - it goes along with a song they sing with him (or something he says to them - need to get clarification on that). Simon was really excited to take lunch to him.
The egg scramble my sister made for breakfast that was delicious.
My cup of coffee at 7pm to help me get through my evening workload.
More photos of the girls (Anna and her cousin Gabrielle) playing and arguing, playing and arguing.
Me eating leftover Halloween candy.
Me hugging my sister as we said goodbye before she and Gabrielle leave early tomorrow morning. I'm so thankful to have her visit.
SHARE YOUR SUNDAY
I'd love to have you share a link to your SUNDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
November 2, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Saturday Words & Photos
Words matter.
They add context and personalize our overall memory keeping experience. They also answer the reason why like I mentioned on Thursday's photos - the why adds so much. Thanks for playing along with my reminder yesterday and I appreciate those of you who are taking it to heart for your own words and stories. I hope it encourages you to tell more.
Today I'm going to share what Saturdays are for around here.
My weekends aren't always the same. Chris and I share weekend time with the kids so there are many weekends I'm on my own. This weekend the kids are here with me (last year when I did this project they were with Chris). Most weekends with the kids are really low key - hanging out, recharging, relaxing. Today was a little outside the norm, but it was awesome.
As I know many of you are, I'm looking forward to being done with the intensity of the documentation. I let up quite a bit by this time in the week and I'm totally okay with that. Take some time today to see what images you might be missing or what photos would make good fill-ins if you haven't taken as many as you'd like over the course of the week.
I'll be back tomorrow to share my final day of words and photos and then later next week I'll share my process for getting all the content into an album.
SATURDAY PHOTOS & WORDS
About 130 DSLR photos + 28 iphone.
Saturdays are for waking up later than the usual 5:30am or 6am alarm for kids and school during the week.
Of course, everyday is for coffee.
Saturdays are for all kinds of imaginative play. This is especially more fun when your cousin is in town and you are both wearing pink bathrobes.
Saturdays are for computer games in your robe at Mom's desk.
Saturdays are for baths in the middle of the day.
Saturdays are for trips to Home Depot for new exterior door hardware.
Saturdays are for lounging on the couch. Or in the case of this story, Anna needing some quiet time away from her cousin.
Saturdays are for these kinds of looks.
Sometimes Saturdays are for staying home all day and sometimes Saturdays are for adventures. This particular Saturday included a big adventure for my sister, Aaron, Simon and I as Jessica got tickets to the University of Oregon football game against Stanford.
We took a cab from my house over to the Stadium and Simon jumped right in the front seat.
Many of you know that I went to Oregon State and I'm definitely a Beaver fan. I will always be a Beaver fan. But man it was fun to go to Autzen and watch the Ducks.
And I loved having my sister be the one to take me.
Saturdays are for meeting up with friends who know just how to engage Simon.
Saturdays are for laughing.
Saturdays are for capturing life in whole new environments.
This is right up there as a favorite photo for the whole week. This is precisely why I carry that big camera around.
Jessica and Simon sat together one row in front of us and a few seats down the aisle. At first he was completely disinterested and we'd brought along his headphones and phone on the likely chance the whole thing would be too much for him. He ended up doing awesome and so much of it had to do with Jessica's support and encouragement and teaching him different aspects of the game.
The moment I saw him engaged and interested I was so, so happy.
Saturdays are for getting out of the house.
Saturdays are for doing things together.
Saturdays are for moments.
Jessica took this shot of Simon and shared the following on Instagram, "That moment - when your sweet little nephew - who really wasn't interested in going to the game - embraces his first football experience, learns some of the rules of the game, and totally gets into the excitement of it all."
Now that is absolutely what Saturday's are for. Love you Jessica.
SHARE YOUR SATURDAY
I'd love to have you share a link to your SATURDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
November 1, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Friday Words & Photos
I hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.
In honor of a crazy-full day of work and family and friends, I'm skipping the words and just sharing the photos today.
There are definitely things I want to say about these images and stories to tell (like how both the girls had meltdowns way before it was time to trick-or-treat which left me carving the pumpkins on my own with my Coors Light).
As you look through the photos I invite you to think about the difference the words make. If I do tell you more, how does that impact your experience?
My house was full again this year for Halloween and for that I am so very thankful.
FRIDAY WORDS & PHOTOS
About 116 DSLR shots + 28 iPhone shots.
SHARE YOUR FRIDAY
I'd love to have you share a link to your FRIDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the
free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
October 31, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Thursday Words & Photos
Happy Friday (and Happy Halloween).
As I went back through my photos today I decided to tell the story of each photo using the phrase "The Reason Why."
Why did I take this photo? What's the story? How does it add to the overall story of this week in our life? Or simply, why did I want to take a moment of my life to record this?
This is a good tool as you begin editing your own photos from the week and solidify the stories you want to tell.
THURSDAY PHOTOS & STORIES
About 50 DSLR shots + 18 iphone shots. All the ones shown below are from my DSLR.
The Reason Why | Rather than take another photo of me at my desk I looked around for a different story. Three cups of coffee on my desk first thing in the morning tells the story of long work hours. Two cold cups from yesterday and one hot cup from this morning.
The Reason Why | Tennis shoes. Flip flops. Moccasins. Each pair of shoes carries their own story - of miles and trips and sandy beaches and hours sitting at my desk. I also like the composition of this shot because it gives me room to write on the left side.
The Reason Why | This is the view outside my kids bathroom window. There are some days I walk by and turn my head to look out and my breath is taken away by the colors in the sky. Looking out the windows of my house are pause points in my day. They remind me to take a breath and bring me back to the present moment vs. whatever is rattling around and around in my head.
The Reason Why | Simply because I love these car shots (camera on the dashboard using the self-timer). Anna's in her jammies and bathrobe (another no-school day for conferences). I took a shower. Simon looking down at his phone and pursing his lips (which is a tic, not a funny face for the camera).
The Reason Why | Because I like documenting what she's into. I love that she still plays with the Playmobil people. I'm a big fan setting the camera down on the counter for a completely different angle vs. me just holding up the camera to my face.
The Reason Why | For the love of fall color.
The Reason Why | Because I like that she wants to make stuff. Today she made a sign welcoming her cousin to our house.
The Reason Why | Because I love her excitement and her love.
The Reason Why | This could be my favorite of the day. The way she sits on the stool with her feet tucked under. The fact that this is a quiet play spot for her. It's the place she often flies under the radar in the evening.
The Reason Why | Simon's room is another spot I walk by throughout the day and am always interested in the light and the lines of the blinds. I also often find George here, snuggled into the unmade bedding.
The Reason Why | Because I curled my hair in preparation to do a Google Hangout for Creative Live. The video ended up not working quite right so the students just see a photo of me.
The Reason Why | Evidence that Anna was here.
The Reason Why | There I am. Again. Better focus today. Things crossed off my list.
The Reason Why | I love this spot. When I opened the front door I saw her sitting on the front porch waiting for Jessica and Gabrielle to arrive. She had the pink headphones on and was playing a game. She had asked a million and one times when they would be arriving. It's so hard to wait when you are a kid (and sometimes when you are an adult too).
The Reason Why | Because there can never be enough cousin shots. These two were born a month apart and live on opposite coasts. I've loved documenting the two of them anytime they are together.
The Reason Why | I changed my shirt for my on camera time on Creative Live but the video didn't end up working so the students just saw a headshot of me while I chatted with Nicole Samuels about memory keeping.
The Reason Why | There are so many tasks we do throughout the day. Laundry. Dishes. Helping. Working. Fixing. Reminding. Hugging. Reinforcing. Redirecting. This one involved taken some of the un-eaten popcorn and saving it for later. The girls had needed a snack and some quiet time so we did hot cocoa and popcorn while they watched Mr. Peabody & Sherman.
The Reason Why | Because once they reach a certain age those bathtub shots just aren't appropriate. It so reminded me of all the shots I took when both were babies and toddlers in the bathtub.
The Reason Why | Another favorite. I love capturing my kids doing what they do. The light in Simon's room is so great for lighting Simon as he reads or plays with legos. I've taken this kind of shot so many times over the years and it remains one of my favorite things to photograph.
I stopped documenting earlier in the evening tonight to give myself a little break from the late night blog post writing.
Be safe tonight and have fun!
SHARE YOUR THURSDAY
I'd love to have you share a link to your THURSDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the
free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
October 30, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Wednesday Words & Photos
For Week In The Life™, Wednesdays seem to be the day people find their groove or give up.
Don't give up.
There's a middle ground. After doing this many times I expect to let up on my enthusiasm a bit by mid-week, but I keep going.
And as you've seen over the last few days, I do a whole lot of the same stuff every day. Some people might find it boring, I find it normal. I actually like that I can take almost the exact same shot of me sitting at my desk or waiting for my coffee or saying the prayer for the kids at night. Those activities are my life, little things (and bigger things like sitting at my desk to work) are what make up most of my days.
One of the reasons I do this project annually is to celebrate those little everyday repetitions.
Some of you have heard me tell the story of being in the middle of Week In The Life™ in 2011 and that being the week that Chris decided for sure that he was leaving. It wasn't intentional or mean-spirited to make his final decision during that week, it's just what happened. Was it crazy to keep going and documenting? Probably, but it's a big part of my job and it just happens to be that my job includes sharing the stories of my life. If I wasn't doing this as part of my job I might have just bagged it for that year because it's hard to make sense of anything at a time like that (a very big understatement). Of course at the time I didn't come on here and write it all out because it wasn't the time or the place for that specific story. But I know when I look back through those photos and that album exactly how I felt.
What I learned (and knew already to a certain extent) is that the process of documenting our lives helps to shed light on what is good even in the middle of the most challenging times. It can teach us to look for the best parts of our lives, of ourselves, if we are simply willing to watch and listen and open up.
If you are looking for more support and ideas for working through this project please remember we've got an awesome, active Week In The Life™ community set up that you can access for free here.
WEDNESDAY PHOTOS & STORIES
About 70 with my DSLR + 30 with my iPhone.
The story of today is that it felt really normal.
Simon might have eaten two chocolate chip cookies for breakfast and Anna might have begged me to take her to the mall because she could not go another day without having glasses like everyone else in the house, but other than that it was quiet and the kind of pace I like to have during the week.
The story of today is that after dropping Simon off at school, Anna and I came back and I took the garbage out, broke down that big pile of cardboard boxes for recycling, and ate oatmeal with almonds, raisins, cranberries and bananas.
The story of today includes Anna being off school for conferences. She made it for a bit playing in her room until the idea about going to the mall popped into her head. I'm not a big mall-goer so I'm not sure exactly where "take me to the mall" came from but she was pretty intent on making that happen.
Before we ventured over there to find her some play glasses she got dressed - head to toe pink naturally - including very pink lipstick. I'm cool with her wearing lipstick around the house generally but not to school or other activities. Again, the lipstick is really not my influence (ahem, Katie) but I gotta appreciate that she's got her own ideas about who and what and where and why.
So with all that pink going on I asked her if I could take a couple photos and not surprisingly she thought that was an okay idea.
Yeah.
She's five. And she's awesome.
There's a little room outside my office where we shoot most of my projects. It's got really nice light and white walls.
For the two images above I switched my lens to the fixed 50mm 1.4 - people often refer to it as a portrait lens.
Above you can see (in Aperture - the photo management program I use) all the shots I took of her. Some silly. Some serious. Some blurry.
I don't take these kind of photos all the time because I usually trend towards more everyday environment shots, but man I'm so glad I did this today. This project is a great reminder and chance to take some shots like this of family members or friends. Hoping to get Simon in front of that wall this week too.
The story of today includes a trip to Costco for Halloween candy and hot dogs. We did quickly hit the mall before this where she found those glasses at Claire's.
The story of today includes four giant bags of Halloween candy for Friday night.
The story of today includes a nap.
And a ride home on the bus. I can't wait to do some sort of comparison with this shot and others I've taken of him and the bus over the years. These days he only rides it home once a week and I (or Chris or Katie) pick him up on the other days. He could ride it everyday but it's long (because it's a special needs bus). He doesn't seem to mind. Mainly I just want to keep him on there at least once a week so it continues to be part of his routine in case we needed to adjust it to more days a week for one reason or another.
Some of the photos I took today I ended up editing using Milk & Cookies BW in Rad Lab.
Rad Lab is super easy because all I have to do is open a photo in Photoshop, click a button to launch it and then click once more to select an adjustment/filter for the photo. My consistent personal favorite is “lights on” which seems to lighten and brighten just enough.
The story of today included Simon calling my Mom to interview her for a school project on family trees. He talked to her for a half hour or so, asking questions about her parents and grandparents and who they were and where they lived and what they did. I loved listening to him talk to her and I know she was happy on the other end. They have a special relationship those two. He's also getting easier to understand on the phone which makes these kinds of conversations more fun.
The story of today includes chicken drumsticks, rice, and fruit for dinner.
The story of today includes me taking a little nap while the kids watched TV after dinner. I like our hang out time. I like our big brown couch.
SHARE YOUR WEDNESDAY
I'd love to have you share a link to your WEDNESDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
October 29, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Tuesday Words & Photos
Welcome back to Week In The Life™ 2014.
On Monday I took a lot of shots that included me and the people I interact with most. Today (Tuesday) I decided to simply focus on what I see and use that as the jumping off point for my images and my words.
As some of you noticed yesterday, I generally like to use a wider angle lens (the 24-70 opened all the way up) because I like to include the environment in my photos. It goes along with my "tell me more" philosophy. What else tells a story within the photo? What insignificant background stuff will be interesting in years to come? How can I tell more of the story?
Today I went for a bit more balance and intentionally included some closer shots as well as more stuff around the house.
Every photo we take includes a story - many include multiple stories that go layers deep. You tell one and realize how hard it is to tell one without telling another (or giving context) and so on. So many threads and opportunities in each photo.
The story of today includes these thoughts:
My kids are growing up. Wow. And this isn't in the sad, longing-for-those-baby-years sort of feeling. My main thought right now is this: my kids are RAD. They are good kids. Of course they both have their own stuff, like every other human on the planet, but I love the people they are becoming.
I'm doing the best I can with what I have in front of me right now.
Have you guys noticed how people are talking about story everywhere? I know it's not really something new and maybe it's one of those things where once you become aware of it you see it all over the place, but man, it's really everywhere. From business to sports to global development to fundraising to education and on and on. Stories are powerful things. I was reminded again how lucky we are that we get to tell our own stories, that we get to define the narrative of our lives by simply taking photos and writing down the words. How awesome that we get to give our voice to the world and our families and friends - however shy, loud, etc.
#storiesmatter
Today is also the day that I remind you that this isn't a competition or a race.
The concept of seeing your life, and yourself, though the lens is a powerful one. Adding words to those thoughts adds a whole other layer of context and depth.
TUESDAY PHOTOS & STORIES
About 100 DSLR + about 19 iPhone shots
Tuesday began and ended with rain. The hard kind of rain that you can hear stomping down on the roof.
I saw myself, up at about 6:30am after multiple snoozes, sitting at my desk first thing even before a fresh cup of coffee. Checking in, reading, thinking, planning, assessing, responding, deleting. I'm one of those people that starts fast - before I'm out of bed I've got ten things I'm clicking through on my list.
It's a blessing and a challenge.
I saw myself getting my first cup of coffee, taking my medications, and playing with the self-timer again.
Something I'm personally working on with my photography as you might have noticed, is embracing the contrast between dark and light and figuring out how to effectively capture that through my lens.
I think sometimes I shy away from darker images because I want the nice, clean, bright white images (or because that's what I want my life to look like - how many times have I said I want to dip my entire house in white paint?). But man those darker ones tell good, interesting stories. They communicate a completely different mood and often a different time. They actually feel different. They are far from perfect, often including grain or noise.
Much like life itself.
I saw myself at the breakfast table with Anna again this morning. Banana & cereal for her. Coffee for me. I stopped getting the local paper recently and I'm missing it and not quite sure what to do with myself when I sit down at the table in the very early morning.
For those of you who feel like you do the same thing everyday (there are elements of that in play here), consider different angles. Yesterday I took a shot of Anna and I eating breakfast from the other side of the room, today I set up the camera in the kitchen and set the timer.
I saw Anna, hot pink hat and rainbow shoes + her school uniform, in the backseat holding the iPad in her lap. Technology is intrenched around here again and I'm assessing how I feel about it for myself and for them. I set limits. I get lax. I want conversation. I want quiet. A lot of paradoxes all around.
And man, she's great at loving words. That's actually what comes to mind when I look at this photo tonight. She is mighty but kind.
I saw Simon, excited in his new glasses, happy that it was Taco Tuesday.
After dropping the kids off and filling the tank with gas I decided to see what I could see around the yard and in the house. I was looking for things that captured my attention. Things that represent the current season - in weather and in life.
I saw dahlias hanging on.
And tomatoes past their prime which tell a story of best intentions, of travel, of distraction and decay.
I saw George sleeping soundly on the couch after a night out.
I saw images and art on the wall and made a mental note that I want to add more and move things around. It's been a long time since I made that a priority.
I saw well-loved dolls and stuffed animals in a crib waiting for attention to be paid.
I saw the lock that needs to be replaced.
I saw outdoor chairs and a table that were purchased from a second-hand store the week we moved into this house.
I saw dishes from last night and this morning.
I saw Anna's handwriting on her door and the glass knob that needs adjusting.
I saw myself adding dishes to the dishwasher which is an act of procrastination as much as it is a necessary task.
I saw myself washing my hands in the sink and looking out the window which is one of my favorite views into the backyard.
I saw myself back at my desk. Working through a long list, yet distracted and off-focus. Tap, tap, tap on the keyboard. Listening to Dave Matthews and NPR. Chatting with Cathy. Watching the clock as it ticked toward the time I need to go get the kids.
I saw George again and wished I was curled up in that bed too.
I saw my desk filled with the current tasks at hand.
I saw the leaves changing color on the way to pick up Anna. Driving on this street (Jefferson) at this time of year is one of my favorite things because of the trees. They create an amazing canopy of bright autumn colors with trees on both sides of the street reaching out to touch the ones on the other side. I took this shot with the sunroof closed, holding my camera in one hand as I was stopped at a light.
I saw drops and drops and more drops of rain on my windshield. This is western Oregon after all.
I saw Anna at gymnastics and got the news that she's been invited to join one of the development/pre-team classes. She was super excited to know that she was going to get to start going twice a week next week.
I saw Simon's teacher filled in his martial arts worksheet. He'll be happy to turn that in during his lesson on Friday.
After returning home from after school activities (Simon at lego club and Anna at gymnastics), I saw them go about the process of putting away the dishes I had loaded earlier while I got dinner ready. I saw myself get frustrated with Anna as she melted down in the middle of the task. I saw Simon bristle at the confrontation and de-escalted myself in reaction to his body language.
I remind myself that she's five, almost six. It goes with the territory. Around here we call it "hangry" (hungy + angry = hangry). It's an after-activity-before-dinner episode that would be eliminated if I just got it together and brought her a snack to have on the way home from whatever activity she just completed.
Note to self | don't forget the after-the-activity-snack + the after-school-before-activity-snack.
This is where my Mom would tell me I was exactly like that when I was a kid.
I saw him put on his green ninja Halloween costume that came in the mail. I saw Anna run up to her room to put on her Tiana costume. I saw them chase each other around a few times with swords and a light saber. I saw him retreat when he'd had enough into the little room off the foyer and turn on the Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
I saw her get her PJ's on, brush her teeth and then climb into my bed.
I had one of those days with her where I said "just a minute Anna" one too many times. Totally on me. I saw me not giving her the time she needed to connect with me because my list is long. Thankfully I get to try again tomorrow. To keep recalibrating. To remember what are the most important things and to get stuff done in the time scheduled. Work in progress.
I saw her walk into my office a half-hour or so later and proceed to work on writing letters and, as she calls it, "math-ing it' - meaning she was writing out numbers and counting and laughing out loud about how awesome she thought it was to add up numbers. It's hard to tell her to go back to bed when she's learning (and she doesn't have school for the next few days due to conferences).
SHARE YOUR TUESDAY
I'd love to have you share a link to your TUESDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
October 28, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Monday Words & Photos
Ah, Mondays.
My first thought tonight, as I sit down to write about the day and work through the photos, is that I'm thankful.
I'm thankful for a million different things but one of the big things today is simply the ability to capture pieces of my life through my lens.
It's a simple thing that I sometimes take for granted as I get caught up in this or that. I love being able to use my camera to tell the stories of our lives.
Before I share my photos for today I've got some general observations on the process:
One of my favorite things to do with this project is go through the photos at the end of the day. I love seeing what went right (in terms of captures) and what didn't quite go right. Ha. When I go through my photos I know without a doubt that I won't use more than one shot of the same thing. I delete the ones I will not be using.
There were some things I tried to capture today that just didn't come out right. For example, getting Anna to school. Almost all were blurry - too blurry to use. I made a note to myself to capture more of that process tomorrow.
I definitely don't try to capture every little detail of the day. I took more photos today with people in the shot vs. photos without people. As you'll see, I took a lot of self-timer shots.
I'm really conscious about light and the way things are lit/where light sources are coming from. I'm on the look out for interesting light and I'm really enjoying playing around with getting my camera to do what I want it to do. This project encourages me to experiment and I like that.
I also liked thinking through the lens of story today as well. I didn't feel as frantic as I sometimes do and I was less lax than usual in terms of writing down stuff as it was happening.
MONDAY PHOTOS & STORIES
About 200 with my
Canon 5DMKII (24-70 lens) + about 25 with my iPhone
Today began with my alarm at 5am. I took the shot at the top of the post holding out my Canon 5D and praying I didn't drop it on my head. Grabbing my phone is often the first thing I do since it's my alarm and as I was reading over some of my early morning emails I was thinking about how the iPhone was so bright in a very dark room and wondered if I could use it to light my face. I got up out of bed, grabbed my camera, got back into bed and took a couple shots (not using the timer, just holding it out and clicking the button).
Ah, yeah.
And hey, when you're the only one in the house you gotta make it happen for yourself.
I used "Monday Photos" word art from my
Daily Photos & Stories package.
The story of my morning today is that I wanted to get up earlier than the kids. I like that quiet time. It's a bit earlier than normal because when I'm doing this project I often need a bit more time to get my other projects done.
And did I say I like the quiet time?
The story of Anna's morning, which began about 6:40am, is that she found Hannah Montana on Netflix.
This school year I'm doing things a bit different in the morning. Simon, as he gets older, needs a bit more sleep. I'm letting him sleep in while Anna gets up and dressed and I get her to school. By the time I'm back Simon is up and has made himself breakfast and is dressed and ready for the day.
Did you read what I wrote above about not getting any decent shots of getting Anna to school. I kinda like the motion and movement in this one.
The story of today includes notes-to-self.
I took a bunch of shots in the car, telling the story of the time I spend driving the kids to and from school. For these shots I set the camera on the dashboard and turn on the timer.
I get what I get.
The story of today includes a boy who might have slept in a little later than he was supposed to but pulled it all together and out the door on time.
The story of today includes a stop at the grocery story after getting the kids to school.
That would be a self-timer self-portrait in the grocery store. I set the camera on the floor and hit the button and walked over to grab the Teriyaki sauce from the shelf.
And one in the parking lot.
I like the experimentation of these shots. They aren't perfectly composed. They don't have a perfect focal point. But they show pieces of my day.
The story of today includes the fact that I spent all my working hours sitting right here.
Except when I went downstairs for lunch.
And when I took a iPhone selfie after putting on my hat.
The story of today includes no shower (at least at the time of typing this up).
And the story of today wouldn't be complete without mentioning that Katie is gone this week as she spends time with her family awaiting the arrival of her first niece. Katie rocks with babies. That's going to be one lucky baby to have her for an Auntie.
The story of today includes a kid who loves when I pick him up from school. Big, full smile.
The story of today includes a kid who loves when I pick her up from school.
In her case it's actually the after-care at school - she loves it and asks to go every day.
The story of today includes an effort to get the three of us together in a shot. Fun counts.
Anna introducing Simon to Hannah Montana.
Seriously.
The story of today includes picking up Simon's new glasses. First pair.
The story of today includes boxes piled in the garage.
The story of today includes grass that's still green and leaves that are falling.
The story of today includes this cat, George Washington Edwards.
The story of today includes this Dad, who came to pick up the kids to take them to dinner with his parents to celebrate his Dad's birthday.
The story of today includes this guy, who came over to have sushi with me and then make cookies.
We both ate the sushi. I made the cookies.
The story of today includes a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors for who gets to sleep in my bed with me tonight. He won. She gets tomorrow night.
The story of today includes the bedtime prayer, Anna counting to 100, and Simon reading to me from Harry Potter.
Both are timer shots I set up myself by placing my camera on a shelf.
LENS OF JOY
Want to learn more about looking through the lens? Join me for
Lens Of Joy.
Designed with the storyteller in mind,
Lens Of Joy is a 4-week photography workshop that covers processes related to capturing life through the lens of your camera. I'll walk you through my personal workflow from picking up the camera, looking through the lens, establishing the story, experiencing the moment, composing, uploading, organizing, editing, printing and pairing the end result with words to tell a more complete story.
Get the full details
here.
SHARE A LINK TO YOUR BLOG
I'd love to have you share a link to your MONDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
October 27, 2014
Week In The Life™ 2014 | Ready, Set, Go
And so it begins.
Welcome to Week In The Life™ 2014.
My challenges to you this week:
Look for the stories. Read this post for inspiration. As you go about your day, think to yourself about how you can capture those stories with your lens. How do all these different stories weave together to create the life you are living right now?
Answer the question, "what is the truth of my day?" As you walk around your house, your office, your kids school, think about and document the truths that make up your day.
Remember that it's NOT about the products. It never has been and it never will be. Yes, they are fun and I love working with them to bring an album together, but the products are not the point. If they help get you going in the right direction then that's awesome - but don't let them detract from your experience.
Remember that the best camera is the one you have with you. Get yourself in the photos - by whatever means necessary - at the very least once per day.
Without a doubt, this project often mirrors back to me many different things about my life. It is often a catalyst for change as I see things in front of me that really can't be ignored much longer. I challenge you to think about those things this week.
Somehow I came across that quote in the image at the top of this post within the last week. What are the marvels of your everyday life?
Or skip all that intentional stuff and just have fun taking a whole lot of photos of your daily life.
Join the free Week In The Life™ community message board and gallery here.
Bottom line, I challenge you to take this opportunity to celebrate and to write and to photograph your life as you are living it right now. No one can tell this story but you.
It's the stories people. The end.
To get you going I suggest reading these posts if you haven't already:
The Really Big Getting Ready Post
Our Days Are Built With Stories
Check out how AE Digital Creative Team Member Annette Haring is getting her album ready here.
Also, for those of you wondering, there are some Week In The Life™ kits (without albums - those are all sold out) still available here.
I'll be back tomorrow morning sharing my words and photos for today.
I wish you an awesome story-aware day. Have fun looking through your lens. Have fun documenting your life. I can't wait to see what you capture.
October 24, 2014
Minted Giveaway
Today we're partnering with Minted to offer a $250 credit towards their holiday cards. Please read below for instructions on how to enter this giveaway as it's different than the normal process.
I've used Minted for my holiday cards the last couple of years (You can see them here: 2011, 2012, 2013) and have been super happy with the quality and service each time.
Minted recently released their new holiday Booklette™ and I'm smitten. I love the idea of sending a little book that includes a little more of the story behind the photos, or about your year.
They come in a variety of awesome designs and the quality is fantastic. I'm so looking forward to the holiday season and all of the happy mail it brings.
This giveaway will run from today through Sunday, November 3rd, 2014 and I'll post the winner when I receive the name back from Minted.
