Tuesday, March 31, 2015

{wherever you are}

I had such an amazing time guest judging this week! The talent here just amazes me and I absolutely loved everyone's take on the theme. Drum roll! 

I chose this for the spiritual side in me...  those in Heaven who are always watching over. The empty bench and the setting sun, truly makes for an amazing image.




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Siblings. I love how she's chasing after her brother, just a little reminder that she'll be close by wherever they are. The soft blur, the light, and the bokeh are just amazing. 




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I absolutely love the mood here. The fog and the dampness, the teenager and his skateboard. Having two boys this really hit home. So simple yet so moving.




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Mans best friend. Such a good take on "wherever you are"... they're always there. A boy and his dog. The capture, the light, the conversion. Everything is just right.




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Mother & daughter. Everything is beautiful about this. The tones and the mood, I love the story and I love the rawness. Truly stunning.




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Anita is a freelensing master, those who follow and admire her know that. The softness of this image is just striking. The way mama is gazing at her sweet babe. It's like the words of the book are being thought & captured in this image.




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I loved this. Through the storms and in the sun... beautiful capture.




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So gorgeous. The sun right over her sweet head. Her future is bright and this captured the theme beautifully.




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I love this car capture. It's not easy getting an image in the car turn out this stunning. The conversion is beautiful and I love the mood it sets.




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beautiful symbolism here. Mama's always on the lookout... the framing between the soft curtains is amazing. beautifully composed.




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...and the winner is...








So many things I love about this. The black and white conversion, the bokeh, the story. I can recite the whole book to this image. It's truly amazing and inspiring.



Again, thank you for having me this week! I loved seeing your art.

Elise Meader Photography 

Monday, March 30, 2015

The Maven Flyer Vol. 13



Welcome to 
 The Maven Flyer
Vol. 13
For the week of March 30, 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 ~ Old world
Clicking Moms ~ Imagination
Distorted Beauty~ Inspiration
In Beauty & Chaos~ Faceless, Weekly Favorites
Evoking You~Spring
The Dark Room~  Vintage, Weekly Favorites
Fantastically Flawed~ Up close (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)
Photographer's Connection~Weekly Favorite
Photo Artistry~Maternity, Weekly favorite
EX.OH Blog ~ Weekly favorite
Light Inspired~ Water, weekly favorite
M4HP~Muse
30 Minutes in the Life~ After the rain
Reflections~ Environmental lifestyle
Little Bellows Portra 400 images, Weekly favorite
Photo Corner~ weekly favorite
By The Light~   Pocket of light
Life's Experience p52~ Fun
The Monochromatic Lens~Weekly Favorite
My Beautifully Chaotic Lifestyle~ Beautifully Chaotic
Let the Kids Dress Themselves~ March fave
SHOTMagazine~ open, one photo per day
The Organic PhotograpHERS~ Self (women only)
A Day in the Life~ At the end of the day
Honestly, Photography  ~ Dress up
M.O.O.D. ~ On pause
Minimalist Mondays ~Minimalist
Euphoric Capture~ Creative crop
CLICK STYLE~ Follow your dreams, weekly favorite
Yip Yap Girl~ Pig tails
The Inner Lens~Peaceful (all March)
The Masterpiece~Green, Weekly favorite
The Snappy Mama~I love being a kid
Photographer Obsessed~ Graceful
In shadow of life~BW weekly favorites
The Creativity Project- Soft focus
Poétique"I have seen the best of you and the worst of you, and choose both"- Sarah Kay
Boys Will Be Boys~Monochrome
The Snap Society ~ Weekly favorite
Click Clique ~ Collaborative storytelling (new theme every two weeks)
Finding Bliss- Foolish
Life Unscripted-Colorful
Project:life your way: weekly favorites
The Artistic Tog: Before and after
Pearls and Roses: Odd but beautiful
The Thrifty Tog Blog~Lucky and blessed (all March)
The Photo Nook ~ Negative space (all March)

<<<>>>

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.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Feature Friday with Lana Norton!

We're thrilled to share a peek into the life or our last week's challenge winner.  Lana Norton won our 'character' challenge, and is now sharing a bit about her gear and her style.



1. Please tell us about yourself...

 Ottawa, Ontario is where I call home. My husband and I have a daughter who is eight, and growing up too fast and we added Smores to our family last winter. He is our rescue pup. I do not have a photography page yet, for now I like to keep things personal with my Facebook friends and you can follow along with me. I would love to have a few more friends!
 In photography we find the light that illuminates our lives and strive to capture it. In my daily life I work on electrical power systems. I am sure there is a great metaphor there, but for now, I just love and enjoy what I do. 




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

 Authentic, Emotional and Memorable. Authenticity, because it reflects the {Character} of the individual. Pretty dresses and smiles only take me so far. I want to remember your 100 times washed favourite pair of blue jeans, because they are you! Life is emotional, and life doesn't get any better than that. Embrace it because it is yours. Our connections with each other make life memorable. Photography allows me to capture that for you. 



3. What sparked your passion for photography?

 I always knew there was something there. The light that catches your eye, the way the sun warms up your soul on a cool day. Having my daughter just gave me an excuse to purchase a camera. 



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

 My d3300, a couple lenses and my Nikkor 35mm 1.8. My 35mm lives on my camera. And although I would love to upgrade my body and purchase a few new lenses, I love my husband more, so the lenses and body can wait <3 



5. What is your dream shoot or project?

 My dream shoot, would be, where my clients embraced their surroundings. I want to photograph happy people enjoying their lives. Happiness isn't tied up in material things, happiness lives within our relationships. The world needs a little more love you as you are people. 



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?

 In the beginning it wasn't until my heart and SOOC matched, that my heart became happy. When you find a true photographer, you will know, their work speaks to your soul. Photography is more than pretty pictures.  




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

 To the Newbie, commit to a 365 project. It will help you grow in ways you never imagined. 






Thank you for sharing Lana, and we look forward to seeing more of your work <3















Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Meet This Week's Judge: Elise Meader!

This week, Elise of Elise Meader Photography has chosen "Wherever You Are" as our theme. She has shared some of her fabulous images and insight with us as well. Enjoy! 


1. I am so excited and honored to be guest judging here at Snap Maven this week. I've admired this page since the very start, there is so much talent shared here. It's inspiring and beautiful to see. A little about me: I am a wife of a fabulous man who served this great country for ten years as a Navy SEAL, he is a huge part of me.. from my values & drive to my passion and heart. We have two little boys, Grant and Dean who are 3.5 and 17 months. They keep us busy, tired and never without a headache. HA! I mean that in the most loving way possible... 
I'm a big family girl and am lucky enough to have them close by. I am a lover of all things outdoors and love me some food and wine... and beer. I love traveling to new places and loathe New England winters. 



2. My passion for photography was ignited long ago... my grandmother took videos and pictures of us all throughout our childhood in sunny Florida and the sandy beaches of Cape May, NJ during summers. I swear I inherited it from her. I really got into it when my first son was born... since then they've kept me wanting to get better and have honestly been the fuel lot my fire. Since then I've developed a love affair with sun flare and wide angle lenses. I just can't get enough.



3. My camera bag has a Nikon D610, a Nikkor 50mm 1.4, Sigma 35mm art, lensbaby edge 80, some memory cards, an expo disc and some quick cleaning supplies. I don't use the expo disc often, but probably should.. and I have to say the sigma has been the lens I use the most. It's just amazing.



4. My dream shoot is kind of silly because I have NO idea how to do it, but those underwater shots. MAN! They get me every. single. time. I'd love to be able to learn and capture an entire shoot underwater. Maybe in the ocean? The caribbean or some far away island? Anything to make the deal sweeter here, just add that in and that's my dream shoot. 



5. Here is my biggest challenge: that stamp of approval.. validation  Why does anyone seek that out? Well, for many reasons I'm sure... but here's what I have been challenged with; abiding by all the "rules", staying consistent, seeking validation. I am the best when I push these "rules" aside. I am best when I don't worry about a "limb chop" or a clean edit as opposed to a grainy, underexposed one. I am best when I shoot from the heart and really dig deep in my creativity bank and find the beauty in an out of focus image. I think the best way for me to face that challenge is to just keep on keeping on... pick up the camera more often and just shoot what I love and who I love in all those lovely places. The challenge is to not worry about validation and just worry about shooting from the heart, and if that means break rules.. go on and break them. The only validation you should seek is your own. 



6. $500 sadly doesn't go a long way in this world, does it? Meh... sad times, we all want more money to spend on photography. I SHOULD spend it by putting it back into my business and to me, that's growth. I should spend it on a workshop. Which workshop? There are SO many that I would benefit from, so I'll have to leave that vague. I SHOULD spend it on educating myself further.

I WISH I could spend it on silly things... new camera bag, new branding, pretty things that aren't necessarily a necessity. 

I would really spend it on a new lens... isn't that what we all do? haha



7. When I first started this I remember my husband telling me "don't ever over-extend yourself or make it so that you don't enjoy it anymore"... that was all the advice I needed.
I always keep in mind why I started this and I never forget how much I love it. Sometimes when I'm feeling crazy I have to remind myself of that conversation, but I certainly think it was the most amazing piece of advice I was given. Keep shooting the things you love and slow down when you get overwhelmed... it's just a way of the world reminding you to find your photography happy place and get back to basics<3





Tuesday, March 24, 2015

{character}

It was so fun to get to sit in as a guest judge this week.
Just like being a mom to a growing child, it has been amazing to see 
the growth and evolution of Snap Maven.
I am purposefully hands off in many ways so it was a 
special treat to take the reigns back a wee bit this week. 

The reason I chose {character} for the theme this past week
 had a little something to do with my daughter. 
If you follow my work at all, you know that she is quite the character!

But the real story is more about the little handmade book 
of favorite quotes I keep on my desk. 
This is where I picked the quote that illustrated this week's theme.

"Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones"
~Phillips Brooks


I believe this to be very true. 
Our character is manifested in what we choose to do with our small moments 
and what we choose not to do as well. 
It is those small moments that make up our lives as a whole.


So it is without further ado, that I present to you

{character} 









First of all, gorgeous sun flare and haze!
 Second I love the way their personalities are captured along with the costumes. 
Great composition, posing, and narrative. I also love the color palette 
with the complimentary colors of yellow and purple and that great pop of red in the cape.




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I love that these grown ups put their true character on display here.
 Parents are sometimes so caught up in being a grown up that they forget how to play. 
Not this group though! Lucky kiddos!
The use of light here is pretty awesome too, epic would be a good word!



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I just love the story in this image. The helping hand, not afraid to get dirty 
in order to help someone else up. I love how strong the forearm looks and there is a great range of tones from highlight to shadow that captures the form in an amazing way.







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This a great capture. I love the non traditional crop here as all you need
 to tell this minimalist story is those eyes! 
Great conversion on top and perfect shadows.






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 Scars tell the world a lot about what we have lived through. 
For some, scars are flaws, a mark of imperfection or something to be covered up. 
Personally I believe scars should be celebrated. 
This little guy will probably not remember the circumstances that gave him this scar, 
but that scar will be there to remind him, and his family of all that that they have already overcome. That scar represents hope and is  a promise that despite what might come next, 
they can get through it, too! 
And that is what character is all about! 
(The wispy bedhead curls and gorgeous blue eyes are pretty awesome too!)



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Great conversion here and I love the bird's eye angle. I am just drawn in to the moment 
and I can just hear their little snickers. It says so much about a family and the character of the parents when you see such amazing connection between siblings!



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Character need not be confined to the human species. I love the way purples and greens are just meant to be together. I also love the repetition of pattern and line here in the curves of the blossoms and the leaves as well as how they all stand magnificently tall and straight
 both pointing to and emulating their creator.



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From the huge eyes to the tiny water droplets reflected in the sun, 
there is so much character in this image!


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I can just see the wiggle of those little bottoms!
 It is so amazing to see what a love affair little girls have with their own reflections! 
May that fascination become self-respect as opposed to self loathing or narcissism. 
Great color palette here as well and awesome repetition of angled lines between the deck, 
her suit and the railing which is so artfully broken up by the floral pattern of the second suit!
Such a fun and well executed image!




And the winner is...







There is a lot going on in this fairly minimalist image. The use of color and geometric lines is very impressive as is the capture of the child's body language. Here is a child that is not afraid to hop up on the sink to take care of an injury she most likely received while being a spirited rambunctious soul. There is a slight tension in the way that she is holding her torso and her hands. The crossed ankles show a bit of apprehension for the sting of medicine that may be coming but also a relaxed sense of knowing that it will all be okay and in a few minutes she will be off and spirited and rambunctious once again. The vertical line of the toilet paper helps to repeat the pattern created by the vertical lines in the tiles and cabinets as well as those of the injured leg. Those vertical lines are broken up by horizontal lines and the single diagonal line of the leg crossed under the vertical leg. There are also a reception of circles created by the toilet seat lid, the tp roll, her sleeves and the sink faucet that help lead the eye through the image diagonally. 





There were so many amazing images, I wish I could have shared them all! 
Blessings to you and may you have a fabulous week!






Julie Moses is an art teacher slash homeschool mom turned lifestyle photographer. 
She is also one of the founding Mavenistas at Snap Maven. She has four children 
ranging in age from 21 down to 5, so she knows a thing or two about 
the importance of capturing and documenting fleeting moments. 
Her five year old may in fact be the most photographed child on the planet. 
She lives with her musician husband in the arid SoCal desert where
 he is daddy to their brood and witness to her unique caffeine fueled
 brand of klutziness known as “style and grace.”

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