Meet This Week's Judge: Devon Hall

This week, Devon of Devon Hall Photographic Arts is judging the 'faces' theme. She's shared a few of her wonderful monochromatic images, and some inspiration!

1. Tell us about yourself... 

I am married to my high school sweetheart. I am a mom to two boys and one teeny tiny baby girl who was born too early to survive outside the womb. Experiencing loss and becoming a mom changed me; the overwhelming sense of vulnerability seemed a little suffocating at times. Thankfully, while trying to adjust to my new role as a mother, the one thing that I held onto was my creativity. 

2. What ignited your passion for photography, and what fuels it now? 

Growing up my heart was always passionate about the arts, especially painting and photography. It was when I became a Mom (and my time was limited), that I leaned more towards my camera rather than my paintbrush. In learning rather quickly the importance of time, I desperately wanted to remember and document these small yet beautiful moments that became my everyday as a Mom. Moments that were fleeting. Moments that I wanted to remember. 

3. What's in your camera bag right now, what do use the most? the least? 

Canon 5D mark ii

24-70mm f/2.8 L

50mm f/1.4

Lensbaby Sweet 35

70-200mm f/4.0 L

I tend to pick up my 50mm the most and my 70-200mm the least.

4. What's your dream project or shoot? 

My dream project/shoot would be something to do with fashion. Working within the industry would be amazing.  

5. What is the biggest challenge you face as a photographer? 

Lately I am really feeling this pull between being an artist and mother. Finding a balance is tough as I want to selfishly learn and grow as an artist but also give my time and my whole self to being a mom. 

6. If you had $500 to spend on photography... How should you spend it? How do you wish you could spend it? How would you really spend it? 

Well, I should spend it on my equipment and my studio……updating, cleaning & maintenance.

My wish would be a workshop.

I would probably end up putting it towards a new mac computer.

7. Is there any one thing you wish someone had told you at the very beginning of your photography journey?

Be patient and gentle with yourself. 

{february}

I loved all of the submissions this week!  

I often pair photographs with poems, I love how each line of a poem can mean something different to everyone, leaving the theme sort of open.  Every one has such different things going on in February.  From the cold of winter to the lovely summer days, it is all happening, and we love to celebrate Valentine’s Day here, the heart images are so beautiful! 

  

Meagan Dwyer Photography

what a beautiful moment captured.  I love the little finger reaching up to touch the shadow of the heart.  I am a big fan of hearts and just love seeing their shadows dance from the hearts hanging in our windows. I like this black and white edit and the back of the child’s head. 

 

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Maria Russell

Oh how I wish this was my reality this February!  I love the light and the blur and the colors and the little foot. I really wish I could just step into this image!

 

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Desra Ramey- Photography

This little one just seems to be having one of those beautiful moments walking so tentatively out into the fresh falling snow.  It really is so magical, those first few flakes, that dusting on the ground!  Love the pointy hat and boots too! 

 

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Melissa Rabbitt Photography

Oh my goodness, such joy here!  Red is my favorite color against the white of winter, and I love that their two red coats almost seem to make a heart in this month of love!  Great focus!

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Crystal Raynard Photography

So sweet!  Our daughter is an avid bird watcher (and painter) and she has her collection of bird feeders set up just outside of the kitchen table window.  We spend many hours over the winter watching our feathered friends come to eat and rest in the snow.  It is such a peaceful and beautiful pastime. This one is just so perfectly captured and still with the snow falling.  I feel like I am sitting at my table sipping tea, a part of this moment!

 

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La Bella Vita Photography by Kelly Creed

 White!  That is what February is like in my neck of the woods.  Just white, I love the color and the frozen moment at the top of the sledding hill.  Just so great to see that pop of color!

 

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Zoombug Photography 

Oh my goodness, I love this little hand against the cold cold window!   I can feel the frost of the window, and the warmth of inside.  The little bare arm inside is such a great contrast to the cold of the outside!

 

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Lana Palmer Photography

 This is so sweet!  I love the soft light in her hair and coming through the beautiful pink of the balloons.  Such a great place to rest in your party shoes in the winter. 

 

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Rubylee Photography

 Now this is a drink Image I can get behind!  I love those pretty hearts swirling about in this cup of coco!  What a great idea, I would have been moved to capture moment!  Such great framing and color!  Love love!

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KMills Photography

I love the stillness of this image. Such a sweet and beautiful moment of winter stillness! I love the framing of the trees and the snow and just a bit of her hat.

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and the winner is...

Joni Burtt Photography

 This is our reality here.  Spot on, exactly what it looks like and feels like to live here in Connecticut this February.  I have thought of going out to take an almost exact image a few time.  I have stopped my car and thought about going out to take an image as the wind wiped the icy cold snow in torrents across the street.  But I never summed the courage to go out in the wind gusts.  I love that this image is able to convey exactly what it feels like this February!

Thank you all for submitting. 

I really enjoyed seeing what everyone created and seeing all the different takes on February!

www.phyllismeredith.com 

https://www.facebook.com/PhyllisMeredithPhotography?ref=hl

Lifestyle photographer specializing in newborn, children, family and events in natural light!

The Maven Flyer Vol. 8

Welcome to 

 The Maven Flyer

Vol. 8

For the week of February 23, 2015

Here we will offer suggestions for places for you to submit your images

for sharing and competition.

If you have or know of a sharing community or theme, please let us know

by emailing the name, link, and specifics to 

snapmaven.info @gmail.com

At this time you will need to visit each page to learn the specifics of the pages 

rules and deadlines for sharing images.

Happy Sharing Everyone!

Snap Maven ~ Faces
Clicking Moms ~ Love

Distorted Beauty~ Shooting through objects

In Beauty & Chaos~ ?, Weekly Favorites

Evoking You~Reflection

The Dark Room~  Portrait, Weekly Favorites

The Gratitude Collaborative ~ Beautiful mess

Fantastically Flawed~ Darkness (until Tuesday)

Giggles&Goldfish~Everyday Favorites

Picture Me Project~Include yourself in the image somehow!

We Were There Too~ Get in the photo with your kids!

Lemonade and Lenses~Weekly Favorite

Mozi Magazine~Weekly Favorite

Seniorologie~ Weekly Favorite(senior)

Love Photographs Beautifully~Childhood
Measure In Love~ Hearts

Photographer's Connection~Weekly Favorite

Photo Artistry~All things love (all February), Weekly favorite

EX.OH Blog ~ Weekly favorite

Light Inspired~ ?, weekly favorite

M4HP~Perspective

30 Minutes in the Life~ Freedom

Reflections~ Art

Sweet Little Muse~ New

Little Bellows~ Blue, Weekly favorite

Photo Corner~ weekly favorite

By The Light~   Beautifully flawed
Life's Experience p52~ Black and white
The Monochromatic Lens~Weekly Favorite
My Beautifully Chaotic Lifestyle~ Beautifully Chaotic
Let the Kids Dress Themselves~ Quiet
SHOTMagazine~ open, one photo per day
The Organic PhotograpHERS~ Profile (women only)
A Day in the Life~ At the end of the day
Honestly, Photography  ~ Lovies

M.O.O.D. ~ On pause

Minimalist Mondays ~Minimalist
Euphoric Capture~ Into the woods
CLICK STYLE~ Imagination, weekly favorite
Yip Yap Girl~ Pig tails
The Inner Lens~Silly (all February)
The Masterpiece~Love, Weekly favorite
The Snappy Mama~Grain
Photographer Obsessed~ New
In shadow of life~BW weekly favorites
The Creativity Project- Red
Poétique~ "Caged bird"
Boys Will Be Boys~Monochrome
The Snap Society ~ Weekly favorite
Click Clique ~ Use one lens, try something new/ Lensbaby (new theme every two weeks)
Finding Bliss- Film
Life Unscripted-At the kitchen table
Project:life your way: weekly favorites
The Artistic Tog: Art and soul
Pearls and Roses: ?
The Thrifty Tog Blog~Love (all February)
The Photo Nook ~ Pink (all February)

<<<>>>

That concludes the links for this week!

If there is a link you'd like to see here, please let us know at

snapmaven.info@gmail.com

Please allow 2-3 weeks for addition to The Maven Flyer

Same goes for errors, though we hope to get those fixed right away.
Future issues of The Maven Flyer will be posted on Monday evenings.

You can't get featured if you don't submit!!

Go for it!

If you would like to receive
The Maven Flyer
in your inbox each week
please sign up
HERE.

Feature Friday with Amy Lucinda Photography!

We're thrilled to learn more about the fabulous Amy Shire of Amy Lucinda Photography, the winner of  last week's 'delightfully chaotic' challenge!

1.     Please tell us about yourself...

I am English but I live in Australia with my lovely hubby and two wild boy things, aged 4 and 1. We love to be outdoors, whether it is the beach or forest, sunny or soaking. I am a city girl at heart but I had a very happy childhood in the English countryside, so it’s important to me that my boys have freedom and are surrounded by the beauty of nature. One of my favourite things is relaxing with my vintage record player and a large glass of wine, and reminiscing about my/our travels! I love to work with natural light, but my creative indulgence is the softbox app on iPad.

2.     Can you describe your style in 3 words? Why those words?

Heartfelt – I get so excited about uploading my images from the day, especially this year as I am committed to a 365 project. There is usually (hopefully!) one that makes me stop and muse on for a little bit longer than the rest. The one that makes my heart skip a beat and I hope will resonate with others too.
Visceral – I love this word! My boys don’t like to be photographed most of the time so I have to be creative with my angles and not intrude on the moment. A little part of me likes to think that this results in images portraying honest moments, which may provoke an emotional reaction in the viewer.
Developing – Some lovely people have told me that they can see a style in my work, but I feel that I am still experimenting with different styles and am quite envious of other photographers whose work I instantly recognise! I am far too indecisive in my processing.

3. What sparked your passion for photography?

It’s funny because when I think back to my childhood, I was always snapping away with my little girl camera, taking pictures of pets, days out, my family (who hated being photographed and still do!), but I never thought of becoming a photographer! I bought my D700 after my first son was born, and took lots of pictures, but I felt that my images lacked something. Then I took a few online workshops last year and my journey changed path as quick as you can click your sequin ruby heels ;)

4. What's in your camera bag right now?

My Nikon D700, 50mm 1.4, 24-70 2.8, lip gloss and Lightning McQueen. I’m saving for a Sigma 35!

5. What is your dream shoot or project?

My dream shoot would be to get all the people I love together for one day, have all of us styled in our own way, and photograph us having honest, natural fun on the interval timer! Many of the people dearest to me really don’t like being photographed so this shoot would definitely be in my dreams! I would also absolutely love to be part of an exhibition one day.

6. What are some of the misconceptions you had about photography and photographers at the beginning of your photography journey? Have they changed, and how?

I’ve always been a little bit starstruck around photographers I admire! However, I’ve recently started to realise that there is a fabulous, open photography community out there, filled with generous, creative people who are willing to offer support in any way they can. I also used to believe that some photographers started out on their journey as amazing, naturally talented artists, but I now know that everyone starts somewhere and the best way to become an artist is to capture what is dear to you.

7. What advice would you give to newbie photographers? What advice do you wish you'd been given at the very beginning?

I still consider myself to be a newbie in some ways, but the advice I would offer to myself if I could go back in time would be to enjoy the journey, appreciate that it is a long, slow one, but incredibly fun and emotional, which future generations will benefit from as your images will be passed down. Browse the net for tutorials, take workshops, learn the rules and enjoy breaking them. Take as many photos as you can, put the camera down and enjoy the moment too, and happily accept that the best picture moments will usually happen seconds after you put the camera away! Print your images and put them where you’ll smile at them every day.      

Amy xx

Find more of Amy's gorgeous work here:

Facebook 

This Week's Judge: Our own, Phyllis Meredith

This week, our own Mavenista, Phyllis of Phyllis Meredith Photography is judging the "February" theme. She shared a summer shoot with us, shot with film and digital cameras: three girls gloriously twirling and free. Enjoy her photos and words!


I was just editing these images from a summer shoot into a  book and felt lulled back into the long days of twirling in the field in summer!  I love to use the field behind our home as “my studio”!  I have done so many photo shoots there!  This was one of my favorite ones ever.  It was still pretty hot and sticky in the late evening while I watched these beautiful sisters dance and twirl under the canopy of leaves.  I love how, through the magic of photography, I can feel like I am there even now as the wind howls and the snow blows about in torrents.  Twirling in a white dress in the glory of a hot summer night!

{delightfully chaotic}

I was about three minutes into looking at the submissions rolling in and I knew I was in trouble!   

I loved each and every photography submitted.  

I could relate in one way or another to all of them.  

They showed the beauty of your chaos, and it is evident that you delight in it and it is all wonderful! 

Jennifer Bogle Photography

I love the colors and the textures in this photograph and I especially love the anonymity of the little girl doing the painting.  It leaves me imagining a look of joyful abandon on her face.

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 Jen Evans Photography

She has such a serious and almost stern expression and pose as she totally rocking the undies on the head.  I can't help laughing at the bunched pj's under her briefs and that adorable stance.

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Rose Amelia Photos

This is an amazing self portrait.  I love the fiery look in her eyes and the direct eye contact with the camera. She looks so strong and unwavering, yet the movement in her hair hints at an unseen side to her...a bit of chaos.

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Viveash Photography - Jakarta, Indonesia

That is some delightfully chaotic hair!  I love the highlights and texture captured in this photograph.  His downward gaze showcases those amazing lashes and brings attention to his freckles.  

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Crystal Phillips Photography

I know this place well and it is quite delightfully chaotic!  Actually probably the definition of delightfully chaotic.  This is a wonderful self portrait.  I love the crisp colors and the wide angle,   this photograph just screams fun.

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Jessica Byrum Photography & Design

This is too cute!  I love that she is almost totally hidden and you only get a tiny glimpse of her.   I imagine her gleefully flinging the contents of the dryer out onto the floor.  Ah, to be one again!

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Deanna Mae Photography

Her hands as she is delicately scooping the mud, the hints of pigtails hanging down, the hair blowing in the wind...this is a divine faceless portrait of the chaos of childhood.

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Meagan Dwyer Photography

Sometimes I wonder how my daughters can end up with so much food in their hair and this is the answer!  The light in this photograph is simply beautiful.  It is like peeking into a quite moment of real life chaos.  

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Karen Osdieck Photography

I keep coming back to this photograph.   I just imagine that he is a boy that is never still and love the  fact that he is captured and frozen so perfectly in mid air.  There is such order to the room (the evenly spaced wall art, the table and chairs) and there is a boy, wild and running free.

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 Nicki Bosch Photography

I love the chaos in this tiny troupe!  I imagine that it is quite giggly and bubbly.  Their glee is almost infectious and I find myself going back again and again studying their faces. 

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And the winner is....

Amy Lucinda Photography

I absolutely adore the emotion in this photograph.  There is so much joy here and the black and white processing just highlights it.  It looks chaotic, messy, and quite damp, but it is a beautiful everyday moment with great connection between them.

I just have to say again how insanely hard it was to only choose ten photographs.  Thank you so much for sharing your chaos!

Ashlee Krammes

malily photography

www.malilyphotography.com

www.facebook.com/malilyphotography