TC

In one word. Three-year-old-boy. (Technically that is more than one word, but using the hyphen makes it eligible.)

The Experience. I got my exercise with this one. Where do little boys get their energy from? He wasn’t a fan of having his picture made, but when I could get him still for a second he was a pro. Confession time, I did use auto focus during parts of his session. My eyes and hands just do not work at the same speed as little boys. Ha!!! I had a lot of fun with him, and at the end of the day I think I made a great friend. I always love meeting new kids and seeing them warm up to me. This little guy is such a sweetheart, and I hope to see him again.

Favorites from the session.

Jacob and Josie

In one word. Joy.

The Experience. I have to say that these are two of the sweetest, well mannered kids I know. Jacob was such a gentleman and so helpful with his little sister. He was so good, in fact, I may borrow him for some upcoming sessions. Josie was just a little ball of sass and I loved it. Both of these kids were such a joy to work with and so willing to do what I asked them to. Considering there was a wonderful playground just a few yards away, I was very amazed by their level of understanding and patience. I have to add that Davi and Darek should be very proud of these two.

Favorites from the session.

A couple of weeks ago I started another blog somewhere else just to focus on photography and link it up to my website. That idea, although well intended, never really took flight. So I’m back here….again. Familiarity is sustaining, so I’ll stick to what I know.

Here are some faces from my recent sessions. Most of these images were edited in Photoshop Elements with the Wonderland action set from Paint the Moon.

Keisha.

In one word. Beautiful.

The Experience. Keisha is thirteen years old, and all I can say is that I wish that I had been this beautiful at thirteen. I didn’t really blossom until later, much later. Truth be told I’m still waiting for that shining moment. Pretty sure as the thirties rage on, it may never come. Oh, I’m supposed to be talking about Keisha, not about myself. She’s an absolute stunner, and her daddy better be ready when she turns 16. She was a natural in front of the camera too. I love when they make it easy for me. This age is so great to photograph because during these sessions I find, (especially with girls) they have a new sense of confidence in themselves.

::Begin guilt induced marketing ploy:: Parents don’t you want to capture your child as they bloom? Give them a new found sense of confidence? A lifestyle portrait session is a perfect opportunity to do this.

Favorites from the session.

(This reminds me of an A&F ad.)

World I Know - "Mammy's Hair Pin"

I've actually got quite a few more pics to edit and blog for this project, but I wanted to share this one first. Most of these will be family-centric and this one is no exception.

Mammy's Pin

The lady that wore this pin in her hair, more than 40 years ago, is someone that I never got to meet. She had been far removed from this world long before I came along. But she is a huge part of my life and the person I am and more importantly the person I am destined to be. Mammy is my great-grandmother.

Traditions and legacies are a part of every family. Some are rich and full of history, and others are quiet and less interesting. My family legacy, for the most part, is a bit obscure and unknown. There are no real stories of invention or evolution, no surprise or greatness to be noted. My great grandmother was orphaned at a young age after both parents died unexpectedly close together and she became dependent upon whoever could help to raise her. She married young, uneducated and penniless, and began to raise and culture a family in the mountains in a little place called Rock Creek. As time passed by there was no family heirlooms, fortunes, or inheritances to be passed on. Material possessions were humble to a family living each day desperately to survive the next. The floor of their cabin was made of dirt and my grandmother tells vividly how in the winter they'd wake up to a blanket of snow covering the inside of their home and if not for the hog that they shared space with they'd have surely frozen to death. It's not a tale of greatness or innovativeness but survival, and strength, and humility....those things make up the legacy of our family. Mammy's story isn't a feel-good rags to riches tale. She died as humbly as she was born.

I acquired this pin recently after the death of my great aunt. Her daughters graciously gave my grandmother some items belonging to Mammy that had been kept, and one of those items was a leather purse belonging to Mammy in the latter part of her life. Inside the purse was a coin purse with several barrettes and costume jewelry. It was an invaluable experience to look through the belongings of someone I never met but felt such a huge connection to. Each item in its unique simplicity created a rush of emotion that is almost unexplainable. My imagination was in overdrive trying to see this lady, my great-grandmother, as the person she was, shaped by unjust circumstances and a harsh life. I asked my grandmother for this particular hairpin to keep as my own to serve as a tangible reminder of the legacy I now realized that I was a part of. I guess most people would be ashamed to admit their legacy was one of generational poverty and tragedy but I'm quite proud of it.

Its monetary value is nothing, by most standards mere garbage. But to me, it's better than a family fortune because it symbolizes those things passed down to me from my grandmother that aren't material.  This is a little piece of treasure to remind me of the wonderful place I come from. I can only imagine the sacrifices and struggles my great-grandmother had to endure raising her family in the mountains, working to keep a farm and serving as a midwife to the area so wrecked with poverty there was no other social class. Each time that I see this pin, I'm reminded of her struggle, and the struggles of my grandmother, and my own mother that have allowed me to have this chance at a better life than the one they lived and in turn I hope to give my child a better life and more opportunities than what was afforded to me. I hope more than that she finds humility and greatness in the person that she is because of the foundations laid before her by the precious, dedicated, devoted women in our family. The women who persevered through the most unfortunate of circumstances and leaned on their faith and their undeniable love for their families to keep going. A simple pin of rusted metal and plastic is all I have of my great-grandmother that I can lay hands on, but what's in my heart, the pieces that continue to push me through the hardest parts of life, belong to her too. That's a legacy worth sharing.

The World I Know

I was inspired recently by a photo challenge on social media to reach out and capture the world in a different way. Essentially, the things that you can identify with and define life in its beautiful everyday ordinariness become the subject of your lens. Sounds beautiful doesn't it?

Instead of focusing on people or places, I have found that I'm drawn to the simple objects and this project "The World I Know" is the perfect opportunity for me to explore the pieces of the world that I can identity with.  Each piece has been chosen based on the impact it has on my life. It's a huge part of the person I am and the "world" that I know.

The first photo that I want to share is fairly simple- my grandmother's metal measuring cup. I know you're thinking how strange but hopefully you'll understand the significance soon.

My grandmother was such a huge part of my life growing up. Every moment that I could I spent with her and my grandfather. There certainly are no shortage of memories and almost all of them make me smile. My grandfather passed away in 1998 and his sweet grin is forever etched into my heart. He and I listened to countless UT football and basketball games on his bedside radio. He preferred to listen than watch because what you "hear is better than what you see." He was health conscious and kept his things in a neat order thanks to the time he spent with the US Army. He was my mentor, cheer leader, and friend. I miss him greatly.

I am so blessed to still have my "mamaw" and her wonderful cooking every Sunday after church. It's a small tradition in my life but is the one that I love the most. As a child, I can remember sitting on the porch swing in the summer eating cornbread and milk or an ice cream cone. Sometimes she'd sing or tell stories,  but most of the time she listened to me rattle on about nonsense or my flight-of-fancy thoughts. Not one time did my grandmother every dismiss me and my curiosities as childish or insignificant. In fact, she made me feel like the most important person in the world. Things like that are important to a kid. I was always content there, and I still am. Her house just feels like home.

For every special person in our lives there is always a trigger. Something that will allow the memories to cascade from our minds and fall upon our hearts one more time. Sometimes a picture can transport us to the memories of those we love and we're reminded of the way their eyes twinkle when they laugh, or the way they smell when they're getting dressed up for church, or the familiar sound of the way they walk down the hall in the morning. For me, my mamaw's metal cup reminds me of her more than anything else in her house. I'll leave the imagery and the symbolism to you the reader, but I could live to be a 100 and I'm not sure that I will ever take another photograph that has any more meaning than this one.

It's just an old measuring cup. I'm not sure anyone in the family even remembers where it came from since it's just always been there. It's dented and stained to the point some of the words aren't legible and the bottom doesn't sit flush on a surface. I'm quite sure that it was never actually used to measure anything, but more than anything else in the kitchen it's been useful. All of us grand kids have drank out of it and would fight over who got to use it. My grandma still uses it to drink her milk and of course milk and cornbread. Despite being weathered it's still very much an important fixture in the kitchen.

Every Sunday I check the counter to make sure its in the right spot, searching for the familiarity of home. Each week the age is a little more apparent as the wear and tear of the years begins to show on the metal and it sets a little more crooked and looks a little more tarnished. Its age becomes clearer with each passing week and I can't help but wonder how much longer it will be a fixture on the counter. But yet it's still the first thing I search for because despite being weathered it's important to me. I can look at my grandmother and see that she too seems to be aging a little bit more each week, reminding me that age is creeping up on her as well.  I see this photo and I vividly imagine her frail, crooked fingers around it, bringing it up to her lips and savoring the last swallow of milk, then rinsing it out at the sink, and placing it back in it's spot on the counter.  No matter how many days she and I may share I will always think of her and think of home and remember the love and care she shows continuously. Life is constrained by time and that makes each memory invaluable.

I suppose that at the close of life, memories are what matters most and how we process those memories is the most important part.

Facebook

Several people suggested that I create a facebook page for my photography (gulp) business (it still scares the crazy outta me to call it that.) Well on their advice I did create a page. I'm not sure how to pimp myself over there because what I'm doing isn't working. Haha!!!! Actually I've had a pretty good response. Better than I thought anyway. If you haven't liked the page, then I'd appreciate you doing so.

http://www.facebook.com/crystalyphotography

These are my most recent photos. This is sweet Karmen and she's just a doll. She was very intense and serious during our session, I think she's still a little unsure about the camera. Enjoy!

~C

I just never really know....

Almost daily I think about this blog and about the four times per year that I actually post something here. I never believe that my thoughts are necessarily blog-worthy and therefore they never actually get from my mind to the computer screen. I'm quite boring in real life. I mean do you really want to know that I painted my living room mushed pea green this week? Nah, probably not. I mean maybe you are thinking of painting a room and because I did you are now inspired. Isn't that what the blogging experience is about? Inspiration. I mean I read a blog once that inspired me to make a wreath for my door, and of course the thousands of photography blogs that I stalk are always a source of inspiration. I'm just not all that convinced that I have blog-worthy thoughts.

I don't really consider myself inspiring, in fact, mediocre at best. But being average I've determined is okay. I mean we need average people in the world or else the unique ones wouldn't stand out. I guess I've never really defined what my blog is about and so I'm not sure what I should write about. In the beginning I guess it was a way to talk about my family, and then I gravitated toward  my photography. I just never found anything consistent enough to compel me to be a faithful blogger. End result is the lack in posts.

I've concluded that I'm kind of random and scatter brained, so this blog is a great insight into my life. For the moment, until something shinier comes along, I'll just write what I want with no real pressure.

In the spirit of the keepn' young theme, complete with useless random information from my average life, and my hobby as a photographer, here is my latest blog divided into my two favorite interests.

Family life is the same. Busy, crazy, inundated with stress and extremely hard to balance. Exactly average. The same as every other American mom. My living room is mushed pea green - I already mentioned that though. I got my hair dyed this week. Lily and I are addicted to karaoke. I got Zumba for the Xbox two weeks ago and have done it once. The slogan is ditch the workout join the party. I'm southern. We go to parties to eat food and see who has their hair back combed the highest. We don't dance to latino music. I've had heartburn for the last week. I bet it was caused by the Zumba. Parties are known to induce indigestion. American Idol started this week. It's actually good. Steven Tyler is more entertaining than Simon, Paula, Ellen and that other girl that nobody knew was on there the last two years. It's amazing how life is defined by TV and the setting of the DVR. Can you remember when you had to be home to set the VCR?  Now we can record to DVR with a phone app. I've eaten almost a whole bag of Hershey kisses with almonds in the last two days. I bought them for Lily's valentine treat bags for her classmates but decided that  kids don't need much chocolate anyway. I'm doing them a total solid.

On to photography. I'm still working at it. Since I'm pretty much a location shooter I don't have a whole lot of clients when it's a constant 20 degrees outside. I'm okay with that. I loathe the winter. and any activity that allows me to be outside when I can see my breath.  I try to respect the season because, you know God has some reason for it, and I certainly am in no position to question him. But winter is stressful for me. Seasonal affective disorder or something like that. It's a real disease, google it. I tend to hibernate as much as possible until the sun decides to warm up the ground and signal life to open back up and turn the world green again.

Where was I?

Oh yeah, photography. Well I recently got to work with a newborn. Newborns are by far the greatest part of becoming a photographer. I went to their home for the sessions. Yes we had two. I'm hoping it was cause because my photography skills were so amazing and Mindy just couldn't get enough, but I believe it has something more to do with that beautiful little girl, Adalynn. She wasn't too happy about wearing bows or hats, but she's beautiful without them. The last session was primarily Mindy and Addy together. I love the mother/child relationship. Addy was in a bit of a mood for some reason. I mean I get in a mood when I drive to three different McDonald's for a milkshake and all of them are conveniently out of service for cleaning. They're open until midnight, so you'd think they could put that chore off until a later hour when normal, hormonal, and stressed out women don't need a chocolate milkshake to make it through the next ten minutes without choking someone. I doubt that was the case with Addy though. Anyway, Mindy is just beautiful and has taken to motherhood really well. It's so nice to see new moms. No mother started out knowing everything. I've been doing it for six years and I'm still pretty much winging it.

Mindy, if you read this, I enjoyed our time together and getting to squeeze that sweet little honeybun. Thank you again for the opportunity.

Here is a few pics to share.