Last Fall, my husband and I packed up the kids and headed for city. First stop, the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. We made great timing and miraculously found a superb parking spot! Wow, a relatively painless start to what turned out to be an eventful trip to the museum. As parents, we try to expose our children to different things (art, music, food, etc . . .) but, as most parents know, even the best of intentions don't always turn out so well. My girls, Julianna and Riley (ages 4 and 2), were not in the mood for art that day and could only focus on the cupcake cart outside (I admit I was being just a tad ambitious to try and combine homework and family time). My husband John tried his best to keep them amused so that I can catch a glimpse of the photography exhibit but he could only keep them at bay for so long. Despite their best efforts, I did discover many great photographers in that brief trip including Julia Margaret Cameron. I think what drew me in the most about her work was my disbelief that these photographs had been taken in the1860's and yet still contained so much symbolism and beauty, which are things that I didn't equate with images from that era.
A few months after my trip to MOMA, it was time for me to assemble a portfolio. Looking to produce some stronger images, I started to shoot with Cameron in mind. She was said to be obsessed with capturing beauty. I always found that it was very hard to capture my own children's beauty and that pictures did not do them justice so I tried approaching the task as if I were her. In my series, I photographed many of the surrounding people in my life: my daughters, my nieces, my cousins, and my friends. I was happy with the outcome of this experiment!
My niece Chloe:
My daughter Julianna:
My daughter Riley:
Julianna and my niece Sofia:
Sofia . . .
My cousin Rebecca
My cousin Shanna
My friend Valerie
My first meeting with Julia Margaret Cameron . . .
The Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art
These are beautiful! You're so talented!
ReplyDeleteThese are really nice portraits! You captured the emotions in each of these pictures really well. The first two pictures are my favorites. In the first, I like how you can capture your daughters expression through her eyes and body language. I really like how you framed the second picture to show part of the room and part of the window that has either rain or snow on it. I think that adds to the emotion of the picture since she looks really deep in thought or maybe upset about something. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThe portraits are very nice. Children are some that I too like to shoot. You really managed to capture their personalities. Nice job!
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