This week, Carey of Images by Carey Pace is looking for the 'marvels of ordinary life'. As you examine your sense of the ordinary, enjoy reading about Carey and viewing her beautiful work!
1. Tell us about yourself…
I’m an introvert who talks way too much. I start more projects than I finish. Housekeeping is not among my assets, but I make up for that with my cooking. I have a tendency towards paralyzing perfectionism, and I’m an excellent “pile-er” of things. I get lost in the imaginary worlds of books.
I’m passionate about motherhood and investing in our children. I believe there is jaw-dropping beauty held within the ordinary, everyday moments of our lives if we will but stop to LOOK and see. Documentary photography and writing are my creative outlets and the chief way I share the beauty I find every day in the world.
I am married to my high school sweetheart and a stay-at-home-mom to a dirt-loving nine year old boy and a curly-headed seven year old girl. Last summer my husband’s company relocated us from 14 years in Tennessee to Virginia, and we are transitioning to life in a new place. Adventure is out there!
2. What ignited your passion for photography, and what fuels it now?
From my earliest days I was drawn to amazing photography of ordinary life, but I never owned a camera. When I graduated from college with the promise of income I bought a film SLR (N65!). Paralyzing perfection and the fear of wasting money reigned, and I was too chicken to take it off auto. After owning a DSLR (D70) for several years, I finally garnered up the courage to turn that dial to aperture-priority. I began researching online what all those camera terms meant. That path led me here.
When I look at photographs I’ve taken I am magically transformed back in time. I remember every minute thing about that moment when I snapped the shutter. These memories would likely be lost forever but I still have them. The main reason I photograph, though, is that I feel compelled to. When I see mundane life taking place before my eyes and the light is magic and beautiful, I feel this effervescence in my chest that fights for release. Just as I need someone to share WITH me in a meal I have prepared in order to fully enjoy it, I need others with me to view the beauty I see before my eyes. This is a shared joy. The camera allows me to do that.
3. What’s in your camera bag right now, what do use the most? the least?! !
I use the Nikon D800 with the Sigma 30mm f1.4 lens 99% of the time. The 30mm focal length really suits my documentary style. Every once in a while I will pull out my 85mm 1.8D. I have the 50mm 1.4D but once I got the 30mm I never use it. The Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 was my Christmas gift and I am beginning to play with that. No girly-girl bags for me. I prefer a plain backpack to cart all of it around.
4. What’s your dream project or shoot?
I’m also rather indecisive. This is a tough question for me! I can never choose just ONE of anything.
A few years ago I started dabbling in creating fusion videos. I LOVE using my camera to film motion but it is much more time consuming to compile and edit. I’ve taken a good bit of footage and never done anything with it. Time is the major thing standing in my way. In 2015, I used my iPhone to create a 1SE (1 Second Everyday) video of our family’s life and it has been my favorite creative thing I’ve ever done. I was reminded just how important video is for our memories. Although I adore the 1SE video I made, I think it would be amazing to have something similar with my DSLR. It would be my dream project to have the time to use my camera to shoot the video of our ordinary lives and then compile the footage into a keepsake. A finished keepsake!
5. What is the biggest challenge you face as a photographer?!
Along the same lines as my dream project, my biggest challenge is finding time. I tend to lean towards dropping my responsibilities to go play with the kids and photograph our fun, which only sets me behind on what I need to do. I’ve set a boundary not to work on the computer in the evenings when my husband and kids are home, so finding the time to process all of the photos I take becomes a problem. I have folders and folders and folders of photos I’ve never sorted through or edited. I want my family to reap the benefits of all these photos but that can’t happen if they only live on my hard drives.
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?!
How should you spend it?!
How do you wish you could spend it?!
How would you really spend it?!
I should save it to put towards getting a new camera body. I love my D800 but he won’t last forever.
I wish I could put it towards getting a Nikon 14-24 f2.8 wide angle zoom lens. I rent it every time we go to the beach and it is such an amazing and FUN lens. But pricey!!! Or a waterproof housing… or a mac-daddy macro lens…
I would really spend it to rent lenses for our travels.
7. Is there any one thing you wish someone had told you at the very beginning of your photography journey?!
“When you stop taking pictures of things, and start taking pictures of light, everything changes.” -source unknown.
LEARN LIGHT. I was always photographing moments that struck me as beautiful, but I didn’t know Light. I was trying not to spend any money in my photography education, so I just researched what I could find online. It wasn’t until many years in that I finally invested in a course that taught me how to SEE the light. That totally rocked my world. Perhaps it is true that you CAN find any and all photography knowledge online for free… but the time it would have taken wasn’t worth it. I regret those years I floundered, not knowing why my images weren’t anything noteworthy, when all the time it was a lack of knowledge of Light.
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