The last order has been placed and family sessions are completed for 2010! This time of year is when I get excited for the New Year and all that is to come. My creative juices start to flow and I start photographing just for me. Simple things, like a center piece filled with ornaments, are given a second glance and are seen as so much more than just a bowl of decorations. I start to look at people, objects, nature… and really reflect on the emotion they stir within me. I want my images to reflect those emotions which I think is the real difference between a snap shot and real photography.
For example, the Christmas season is in full swing and the big day is lurking right around the corner. We want so badly for each detail to reflect perfection. My focus quickly slips to monetary “things” and feeling as if I have to provide my children with absolutely EVERYTHING on their wish list. As I glance down at my piles of gifts for each child I cannot help but think, “Is this enough?” I mean, really? I hate that I think this way at times. Our world is overflowing with so much”stuff.” And these enormous piles of gifts on my basement floor that are awaiting to be disguised in their blanket of Christmas Tree wrapping paper is no more than more “stuff.” Through it all, I do my best to teach my kids the true meaning of Christmas and take time to slow down and reflect of my family and friends. You know… the stuff that really matters! So, this is what brings me to this image. Last Sunday, as I was writing my Christmas to do list while sitting at my kitchen table, I looked at these decorations that have been laying before me for days and this time they provided me with a new emotion. A sense of much needed calmness that I felt compelled to capture and reflect upon.
“All is Calm”
