When the Universe Tells You What You Need To Hear

Today, I'll admit I was a bit grumpy.  I was taking my daughter to a gymnastics camp and I was grumpy about it.  A little background:  I was a swimmer.  My mother and father were swimmers. And when my daughter started swimming and showed a good deal of talent, we were beyond excited.

Fast forward to today and the possibility of my daughter NOT wanting to swim anymore.  "Mom, I want to try gymnastics."  to which I replied that most girls in gymnastics started when they were really, really young.  "But I just don't think I want to swim anymore."

Whhhhhaaaaat??

So begrudgingly, I enrolled her in a gymnastics camp for a week.  And this morning, when I took her, I was quiet.  So quiet, that she asked if everything was alright.  "NO!" I screamed on the inside, "NO! You don't want to swim anymore!! It's your gift and you're leaving it behind!"  But on the outside, "Everything's fine--let's get you inside and signed in."

Standing there waiting, a mom with her child started talking to my daughter.  Something ordinarily I would do in an effort to facilitate a friendly connection for my daughter in the class, but was too grumpy to do.  She asked if she had done gymnastics before and I answered that she was just trying it--she's actually a swimmer.  "Oh, how great to do gymnastics--great for cross training and strength--great experiences! I was a swimmer and I did gymnastics for a little bit and it really helped my butterfly!" And BOOM, just like that, I realized just how wrong I have been.

When I was in college at the University of Arizona, I moaned and groaned about taking classes that were NOT photography.   Not general ed classes, but the ones I was required to take for my degree--painting, graphic design, jewelry, drawing.  I ONLY WANTED TO TAKE PHOTOGRAPHY.

I. AM. A. PHOTOGRAPHER.

But looking back, I realize just how well rounded they made me.  They gave me structure, experiences and framework that I never would have gotten had I had only photography classes.  And several years after graduation, after working in the photography industry from the time I was 16, I left photography for a while.  And when I returned, my path in that other career lent structure, experiences and a framework to my photography.  Frankly, I might not be where I am now in my photography career without having left it.

And maybe my daughter would leave swimming and never go back or maybe leave it just for a while.

I almost cried.  You know that feeling you have when you realize you've been so wrong and want so badly to apologize?

I introduced myself and thanked her for her words.  "It's so ironic to meet you today and hear your thoughts, I really needed to hear those words."

And then she introduced herself to me... "I'm Angel."

In my datebook: Ansel Adams, Edward S. Curtis and Edward Weston: Photographers of the American West--Exhibition at Bowers Museum

It could be that most of the image in the show are on loan from the University of Arizona's Center for Creative Photography and that I've had a chance to see them at one time or another during my time there as a student--however, I still can't wait to see this show.

Since studying them in college, (particularly Adams and Weston) I have loved the idea of Adams and Weston's group f.64, called that in reference to the smallest aperture opening on their large format cameras enabling them to create images with incredible depth of field and sharpness.  (Contrasting with the wide apertures and concurrent bokah that are so in vogue today) (I especially loved photographer Willard Van Dyke's home gallery space called 683 "as our way of thumbing our nose at the New York people who didn't know us."  Brilliant.)

The influence that Adams had on photography, still today a growing and changing art, is so vast--from the Zone system to his idea of (pre)visualizing an image prior to shooting it, to an understanding of light like few others.

But my favorite has, and I think always will be, Edward Weston.  Perhaps it is seeing the growth in his work or romanticizing his life in the Daybooks (his personal journals) or the way he took ordinary to sublime.  I was so excited last year, when we took our trip to Pt. Lobos where he took his last images brought me that much closer to my favorite photographer.

Whatever you think of Adams' landscapes and Weston's Pepper No 30, their work helped shape photography as we know it.  Well worth the visit.

Now through November 29, this show with three of the most well known 20th century photographers is happening at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.  I'm planning on it, how about you?

Succulent
Laura Schmidt

Featuring: A Theory in Motion Pilates Studio

Several years ago, I shot for Tamara Wiper, owner of A Theory in Motion Pilates Studio.  It was a completely creative shoot and we ended up with some great images that are now hanging as metal prints in the studio's reception area.   I really enjoy seeing my images in the spaces for which they are created.

This time our shoot was geared toward updating her website, so I returned to her studio to create more images.  We planned well in advance, creating a shot list to identify specific images as our goal.  We had limited timeframe to shoot within and we wanted to make sure we were able to achieve all that we needed to within the allotted time.  

 I'm completely inspired by Tamara's knowledge and fitness level.  I do know first hand that she's an amazing Pilates teacher--I trained with her before I was pregnant with Taylor and never felt more strong and flexible.  I wanted to create images for her that truly portrayed her commitment to her clients and her art.   While we shot specifically towards creating images for her site, I was inspired to play a little with a few artistic versions.

Inspired to try Pilates?  You can reach Tamara's studio at 949-863-9038.