“Enjoy the little
things in life because one day you will look back and realize they were the big
things“ - Kurt Vonnegut
Chances are if you are a mother with young children, you are
reminded almost daily that you should enjoy this time in your life - because it
will be gone before you realize it. This sentiment seems to be repeated everywhere
and by everyone from the little old lady in the checkout line at the
supermarket to the Facebook comment you just received from your Aunt Sally: “Too
cute! They grow up too fast!” Admittedly, it’s irritating to be warned of
time’s fleeting pace when there is a sea of laundry to fold, a sticky house to
clean, a stack of school papers to read and temper tantrums to weather.
However, if I was a betting woman, I would wager that you probably became a
photographer because you know that no matter how irritating and anxiety-inducing
this warning is, there is truth to it.
Our time as mothers with young children will pass all too quickly.
Living in the moment has never been more difficult than it
is for our generation of mothers. We are constantly inundated with emails, text
messages, tweets, status updates and phone calls that continually interrupt our
daily lives and take us away from the present. To make it more challenging, we
carry around the heavy weight of “mommy guilt” – the feeling that we aren’t
doing enough or aren’t doing the right things for our children. Add to that the
guilt that we are too busy and not fully living in the moment and it becomes
oppressive.
I chose Macro photography for this week’s theme because it
challenges us to stop the glorification of busy and take notice of the little
things that make up our daily lives, but are perhaps all too often overlooked. Macro
photography is an extreme close up type of photography that makes small items
appear larger than life. Macro shows us the beauty of subtlety. Using focus and
magnification, it forces us to appreciate the details that otherwise go
unnoticed. Macro photography, like motherhood, requires an extreme amount of
patience. You have to force yourself to be still and overcome the slightest of
interruptions to achieve focus.
This week I challenge you to take a look around. Spring is a
great time to practice macro photography as trees are budding and new life is
emerging. Many of the macro images I have are from nature walks with my
children in our own yard. Although Macro is often associated with nature, there
are millions of small details in our everyday life to highlight. As a general
rule, f/16, is recommended in macro photography to get the majority of your
subject in focus and manual focus helps achieve the sharpest images. However,
play around with the aperture and focus. You are the artist and these are your
little moments. I can’t wait to see how you capture them.
Enjoy the little things!
Sarah
Sarah is a natural
light and lifestyle photographer in Michigan who won Snap Maven’s “fresh” (link to: http://snapmavenblog.blogspot.com/2014/05/friday-feature-with-sarah-rypma.html) theme in 2014. Sarah's photography uses
unique perspectives, vivid colors, natural light and a shallow depth of field
to capture her world. Children, animals, nature, food and landscapes (both
rural and urban) often appear in Sarah's work. Sarah's work has been described
as fresh and emotive and has been recognized on several national and
international photography forums for its storytelling qualities and striking
portrayal of the everyday.
Follow Sarah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahRypmaphotography
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