Call & Response

a photographic dialogue

Imitation

The Call: Happy Birthday, Tommy! — Jessica

Today he is an authentic six year old — accept no imitations!
(We don’t normally run around without shirts. He requested waffles for his special birthday dinner and then spilled some sticky syrup on himself.)


Response: Tilt-Shift Imitation — Cheryl

A few months ago, I discovered tilt-shift photography and thought, “Maybe someday, I’ll get a lens.” Then, a few days ago, one of my Flickr contacts posted a tilt-shift photo. When I commented on the technique, he mentioned that he achieved the tilt-shift effect with the diorama filter on his Olympus camera. Well, guess what! My new Olympus E-5 has the diorama filter, but using it on closeups left me scratching my head about its effects. Today, I tried it out in the “city.” I’m not completely satisfied with this shot or the others I took today, but given the right subject, I think it will get me great imitations of photos I would need an expensive lens (or lots of time in Photoshop) to achieve otherwise.

Nature

The Call: Feather Abstract — Cheryl

We almost live in the woods, so there’s plenty of nature outside my door. That does not mean, however, that I don’t want any of it in my house. Henry found this feather a few years ago, and I’ve held onto it since. Right now, it resides on my handpainted magnetic canvas, accompanied by photos, postcards, receipts and even a Cosmo Kramer cutout from the back of a cereal box.



The Response: Green & Bare — Jessica

I had a beautiful shot from yesterday’s walk around the park that would’ve fit the nature call. But it was yesterday’s shot. Today was not as conducive to getting out doors (even though the weather was MUCH better) and so I only had this last minute grab from our back yard. I do like the way the evergreen bush contrasts with the bare maple tree branches. But that’s about as good as I can do. There is always tomorrow.

Treat

The Call: An Abundance of Acorns — Jessica

It’s no wonder the squirrels around here are so fat this winter — you should see the acorns just rotting away all over the ground.

Catherine, Luke, Danny and I went to the playground this afternoon to walk down by the creek to gather rocks for Catherine’s geology badge when it began to sprinkle. Since I didn’t want to get stuck all the way down by the creek if it really started to rain, we stayed around the playground instead. Catherine and Luke ran and tossed balls and screamed at the top of their lungs while Danny and I strolled around with the camera. What a treat!

It was then that I noticed all the squirrel treats laying on the ground. Poor squirrels! They got nice and fat this winter and we haven’t had much snow at all!


Response: Make Mine Chocolate — Cheryl

Treats around here generally involve chocolate.

Fetch

The Call: Snow Dog — Cheryl

Caddie is nearly 13 years old and has arthritis in her back legs. When there’s snow on the ground and a stick to fetch, though, you’d think she was no more than two or three years old.


The Response: Drying Pin People — Jessica

“Quick Catherine, fetch some paint and let’s get crafty!”

We spent a bit of time this afternoon painting the clothes pins to make alphabet people for the three-year old. Luke was very excited. Tomorrow we can paint in the faces and the letters after we pull off the painter’s tape. Maybe I can make that picture work for the tomorrow’s call…

Friend

The Call: Pixie — Jessica

Pixie, my daughter’s cavalier spaniel, lies on her lap while she finishes reading her school work.

My dear old dog, most constant of all friends.
—William Croswell Doane


Response: The Family that Plays Together … — Cheryl

I’m very thankful that my kids are friends as much as they are siblings.

Unlock

The Call: Searching for the Key — Cheryl

Yesterday, my father-in-law asked me about creativity. He thinks he has none and wondered about cultivating it. I don’t think there’s any one key to unlocking the secret. It seems to me that cultivating creativity involves a multifaceted strategy that includes giving oneself permission to fail, allowing oneself time to experiment and learn with no guaranteed reward of a beautiful product (I wrote about this recently in a post called “Process versus Product”), and developing confidence through experience.


The Response: Master Brand Lock — Jessica

Continuous effort – not strength or intelligence – is the key to unlocking our potential.
— Winston Churchill

The lock is used to store the kids’ laptops when they are not using them. Sometimes we are better about locking them up than at other times.

Repeat

The Call: Sunrise — Jessica

I am very thankful that each day the sun comes up and gives me another opportunity to try and capture its beauty. Everytime, I learn something new and hopefully next time the picture will be that much better. This time, I learned that my windows are really dirty and need to be cleaned. I will repeat tomorrow, as long as the sun comes shining through.


Response: Coffee How-to — Cheryl

Fill the coffeemaker with water. Measure and grind the beans. Add to coffeemaker. Don’t forget the filter! Brew. Pour into cup (with a tablespoon of light cream). Sip and savor. Repeat tomorrow.

Theory

The Call: Checkers in Living Color — Cheryl

We got Skippity for Christmas. In theory, it’s like checkers. In reality, it’s much more fun.


The Response: But What Does it Mean? — Jessica

Every time we visit with my mother-in-law, we leave with bags of Polish candy. It’s really good and this particular type is one of my favorites. She hasn’t given us any for awhile and I was surprised to find a little message on the back of the wrapper similar to Dove. I was expecting something inspirational or funny, but a friend did a quick google translate and it means, “I really love you Krowka.” Hmm. That reminds me of a certain Christmas movie where a kid gets a famous decoder ring and finally decodes the radio program message…”Drink more ovaltine.”

So much for my theory.

Adulation

The Call: Returning Order, Slowly — Jessica

We do this for the art, not the adulation. I’d rather our music get liked and we get ignored. I don’t want to be adored for anything other than the music.

— Andy Partridge

This sums up, pretty nicely, how I feel about photography. While it is nice to receive praise (and comments!) I just feel the need to keep creating — regardless of attention or inattention to my work. I do this because I can’t help but see things. Things that remind me of other things, that represent other things, that tell stories of other things: other moments, other lives, other thoughts, other feelings…

Things are slowly returning to normal and order is slowly returning to our home. I have so many thoughts and dreams and hopes for this year (and a very special project brewing in my mind) that the order can’t come quickly enough…I want to set to work!


Response: The Road — Cheryl

I must admit to a certain amount of adulation on my part when I joined Flickr a few years ago. Everyday, I’d add three photos to my photostream (new, old, it didn’t matter), submit those three to the groups I had joined, look through the contributions of others in the group, leave comment after comment, and think to myself, “everyone else is so much better than I am.” Now, there are thousands of my photos on Flickr, but very little adulation left. I’m still impressed by the work of others, but not as easily. What has changed? I have. My photography skills; my eye for good composition, light and point of view; and my equipment. Gaining experience is a great way of shoring up confidence.

Does all that mean that I’ve “arrived”? Hardly. As Robert Frost wrote, “I have miles to go before I sleep.” I’m still learning, still improving, and — most importantly — still loving the process.

Grapes

The Call: Peanut Butter and Jelly — Cheryl

On any given day, you can find an open jar of peanut butter and a knife smeared with the stuff on the kitchen counter. Quite often, it’s accompanied by an open jar of grape jelly. For Dennis, it’s a special kind of torment.


The Response: Choices — Jessica

Given the choice between nature’s candy and real candy….well, it’s not even close. The real stuff wins every time.

Dignity

The Call: At the Start of the New Year — Jessica

The dignity of every human being and the vocation corresponding to that dignity find their definitive measure in union with God. Mary, the woman of the Bible, is the most complete expression of this dignity and vocation. For no human being, male or female, created in the image and likeness of God, can in any way attain fulfilment apart from this image and likeness.

— John Paul II, MULIERIS DIGNITATEM

Well, there is dignity in work…and there is always laundry.


Response: Living and Learning — Cheryl

My husband and I don’t homeschool our children because we think we can teach them math or history or English better than anyone else. We homeschool our children because we think we, as a family, can together learn the important stuff: stuff like the fact that each and every human being — whether a stranger on the street or a younger sibling — is created in the image and likeness of God and is therefore to be treated with the respect that dignity demands.

Art

The Call: The Art of Beatrix Potter — Cheryl

In recent years, Bridget and I have become fans of Beatrix Potter’s art and life. She was a fascinating woman. We’ve enjoyed the movie, Miss Potter (starring Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor); the interactive book Beatrix Potter: A Journal (pictured here); and of course, the Peter Rabbit stories. I am now reading Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature by Linda Lear and look forward to delving into At Home with Beatrix Potter by Susan Denyer.


The Response: Shenandoah Farmland — Jessica

I did a lot of the driving today on the final leg of our trip back home — and it was some of the prettiest scenery of all. It wasn’t until my husband and I switched that I was able to pull out my camera a snap a couple of pictures of the landscape as it went by at 70mph. I’m sure that if I blew this up large, it would be blurry beyond use. But it is lovely. And making more lovely pictures (art) is something that I really want to do in the coming year. You could almost say it was a New Year’s resolution.

Happy New Year!

Farewell

The Call: Hotels — Jessica

While I was sad to say farewell to our family when it was time to return home, I won’t be sad to say farewell to hotels.


Response: Special Date — Cheryl

I tend to save anything that could be construed as history: calendars, letters, journals (no matter how young I was and how insipid the entries are), but I’m tired of making room in my life for this stuff. Last month, I bought myself a Smash Book (Bridget was loving hers), and started slowly filling it. One day, though, I realized that I could use it to hold a lot of the crap — I mean, valuable historical stuff — I’ve kept. Pasting an entire diary onto a page obviously wasn’t an option, however, so I got creative. I began ripping and stacking and stickering. I’m saving the most essential parts of the items I’ve deemed worthy enough to keep, and I’m saying farewell to the rest.

Middle

The Call: A Nap — Cheryl

This afternoon, in the middle of the commotion caused by her many siblings, Stella curled up on the couch and fell asleep.


image

The Response: Going Home — Jessica

….from the middle of the Mississippi River