out of the loop

Lenses, Baby

A few days after Thanksgiving, my grandma (on my dad's side) sends me and the rest of my siblings a "hey, if you want anything for christmas please send us a list kthxbai."

 Or something along those lines.

Being the good little granddaughter I am, I promptly sent in a request for the following:

• New Moleskin Cahiers. (I'm big on pocket-sized notebooks. And these are the golden eggs in that department.)
• This shirt by Sean Wes. (definitely a favorite artist. Still totally considering taking this handlettering class on SkillShare.)
• My very own Tilt-Shift Lens.

Introducing the lensbaby spark. Newest addition to my camera lens collection. 

Definition: Tilt-shift photography is a method of photography that utilizes tilt-shift lenses to overcome the restrictions of depth of field and perspective that normal lenses provide. A tilt-shift lens allows for the rotation of lens against the image plane (tilt), as well as the movement of lens along the image plane (shift). - Hongkiat Lim, Hongkiat.com

I mentioned in an earlier post that I wanted to start getting back into photography. Ain't gonna lie. I put a lot of pressure on my results. Portraits must be in focus... all photos must have perfect lighting... if it's indoors, don't bother... etc.

During my morning routine (eating breakfast and reading blog posts on my iPad mini) I came across this old post from A Beautiful Mess about goal-setting.

#2: Do not choose result oriented goals. Choose activity oriented goals.

...it's becoming more and more fascinating how many times I have to hear something in a multitude of ways before it clicks and becomes true.

So I gave myself permission to play and let the result of my neighborhood walk be nothing more than that: a result.

Very, very proud of my first "miniature faking" photograph. I used to play tetherball on those courts as a shy little 3rd grader.

Jon took this last one of me sitting slouchy in the middle of a soccer field.

I'm giving myself permission.

I'm not dependent on results.

I deserve to have fun. I deserve to play.

I will like what I like and call it good.

Darby Family - Christmas Day Photobooth

 For the past... I-don't-know-how-long... the photographer next door has lent me some of his camera equipment around the holidays. I pin up a white bedsheet in my brother's room, set up the remote flash on the borrowed camera and my family sits for free portraits.

We do this every year for Noche Buena (Cuban Christmas Eve). It's one of the few times all 30+ of us are under one roof. We always have a great time and I love being able to do that for my family. On Christmas evening, my dad's parents come over for dinner and I happily take a few extra snapshots.

Ain't gonna lie. After shooting, I'm always super inspired to get back into photography. Maybe next year will be my time for that. I used to take pictures and portraits every day. I've lost my touch, so to speak. And my time.

...and it isn't a bad time for a few updated self-portraits. ;-)

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Next Up: Noche Buena Decor 2013