Katherine Lightner

52 of Me: Five

This year I started two 52 week photography projects, one with more intentional photographs and portraits of my little man and one a series of self-portraits. But I’ve realized this week that if I just take pictures of him and pictures of me, our story is incomplete. There need to be pictures of US.

As the one behind the lens, I know it takes a little effort to get in front of the camera in and the frame. It’s easy to be self-conscious about how we look. It’s easy to make excuses about how we don’t have the right tools or know how to work the camera. It’s easy to just put it off and forget about it. It’s easy to say we don’t have time.

But just as your kids grow and change so quickly, so do you. And it’s just as important to capture your story and the story of the connection you have with your children. Tracey Clark gets it spot on in Elevate the Everyday when she writes:

Every photo of you with your children will be a precious and priceless gift for them in the future. …There is no more valuable photograph in any collection than a mother with her child. Not a single one.

So it’s actually not that hard to get in the picture. Here are some suggestions to get you started.

Don’t have a fancy camera? Not a problem.

If you’ve got an iPhone it’s a simple as using the forward facing camera. I’m not a fan of the forward facing camera’s low resolution so will turn the phone around and use the main camera with the technique I mentioned in this post. If you want to give yourself a little more flexibility, you can also install one of the camera apps such Camera+ or ProCamera. Both have a self-timer feature which is super easy to use. All you need is a steady surface on which to rest the phone.

Learn to Use Your Camera’s Self-Timer

If you do have a fancier camera like a DSLR (or even a point and shoot), they will have a self-timer. Dig out your camera manual and learn how to use it. This is not hard. It will probably take you more time to find the manual than to actually figure out how to use timer. Some cameras have a fixed time delay, others will let you adjust the delay but they all work on the same principle.

Rest your camera on a steady surface. Could be a tripod, could be the floor, a stack of books, a shelf, whatever. For this shot, my camera was simply sitting on top of the TV cabinet in the living room.
Frame your shot and focus. On my camera, after I’ve focused I will set my camera to manual focus so that it doesn’t try to re-focus the shot when I push the shutter. Depending on your camera and how you’ve composed your shot, you may not need to do this.
Press the shutter to take the picture.
Run out from behind the camera, get in the shot you’ve composed, and then watch the blinking light until it snaps the picture.

And viola! Just like that you’ve started capturing memories that tell the story of you. And if you’re not going to tell it and document it for future generations, who will?

So this is my story this week. The everyday me with the baggy sweater, the jeans with holes, no makeup, glasses on top of my head. Spending a day at home playing silly games with my sick child.

What’s your story this week? Why not capture it in pictures?

February 8, 2013

52 Weeks of Us

52 of Him: Five

You know what he never does for me? Pose sweetly like this. He’s wary of the camera. Getting old enough now to tell me to put it away. Was it luck that allowed me to capture this fleeting moment? Or that I’m always prepared, always with the camera near and ready to capture those moments when opportunity strikes. I’d like to think it’s a combination of both.

On this morning, a lazy Sunday, I wanted to remember him thoughtful and reserved during a brief interlude of playing the game he called school. And I wanted to remember his hair in its constant disheveled state because his mother can’t be bothered to break out a comb. Neatly coiffed hair is a sure sign he’s been visiting the grandparents.

And even though he might get tired sometimes of the pictures (and I do put it away when he asks), I am reminded of something Tracey Clark wrote in Elevate the Everyday.

Photographs are the only history we have besides our memories and our stories, and it just reminds me that I will never regret a single picture I ever take. In fact, I will only celebrate them more.

I can barely remember what I ate for lunch two days ago. Memories and recollections fade quickly. Time passes quickly. Without the photographs to preserve these moments that make up his life, how will either of us remember?

So I’ll continue to snap away, capturing as many little moments and details as I can. Learning every day how to make it more fun for him so that he starts wanting to play along.

February 7, 2013

Polaroid

8 Exposures

Last year, I rekindled a love affair with film, Polaroid to be exact. And, I’ve had some ups and downs as I’ve reacquainted myself with this medium. It’s so easy to get used to the super sharpness of digital. With Polaroid, it’s as if you have to retrain your eyes to accept imperfection.

But, as with anything in life, the only way to get better as something is just to keep doing it, to keep practicing and learning. So throughout the year, I’m going to share my experiences as I shoot more Polaroid. I plan to shoot and share at least a pack of film a month (probably more), the 8 exposures that make up a pack of Impossible Project film. I know this doesn’t sound like a lot when you consider I’ll shoot hundreds of digital images in a month. But film is a different animal completely. More deliberate and considered.

One of the challenges I’ve had shooting Polaroid at this time of the year is that the film does not like cold weather. There are a number of tips and tricks for shooting Impossible Project film in cold weather. Me, I’ve found that the body heat tactic works best for me. I just cover the images with a dark slide and stick them under my bra strap. This keeps them nice and warm and snug until I can get inside.

We had our first snow this week and I was very curious how the exposure would work in the snow. And, it’s not like you’ve got a built-in light meter to tell you how to set the exposure wheel on the SX-70. It’s really just trial and error until you get more experience. These in the snow, I think could have been a little lighter. I think I overestimated the impact that the snow would have on the brightness.

And our little snowman. I think I was too close for the second shot. Or I didn’t have my glasses on. Or I just plain can’t focus.

I was also inspired by Meghan Davidson to include some self-portraits on film. I tell you what, nothing teaches you more about good body position in photography than a few self-portraits. And, even though I do have a remote shutter release for the SX-70 these are still pretty out of focus. Is it me or the camera? Or maybe even the scanner (they seem sharper in real life)? Or, have I just not yet trained my eye to accept the softness of this film?

I’ve also realized in looking at these, that I want to shoot more Polaroid portraits not just of me but of other people. So maybe that’s what you’ll see more of, more people who I persuade to humor me and stand absolutely, completely still for the eternity of time it takes me to set up and expose a frame of film. Any takers?

These 8 Exposures on Impossible Project PX70 Color Protection Film.

February 6, 2013

Everyday Adventures

What Winter Looks Like

What have we been up to so far this winter?

Lego. Lots and lots of Lego.
Walking in the sunshine on New Year’s Day.
Jumping in muddy puddles.
Deciding we like the bath again because it means wearing goggles.
Watching the snowflakes fall and cover the ground.
Snuggling with our friend Zebra.
Playing in the snow with friends and making a snowman.

Here’s what all that looked like.

February 5, 2013

52 Weeks of Us, Inspiration

52 of Me: Four

This week I’ve thought a lot about the idea of inspiration vs imitation and the role they play in the creative process. It all started when the amazing Brooke Snow introduced me to Yousuf Karsh. I’m actually embarrassed to admit that as a photographer I didn’t really know who he was, even though I really did know who he was. I knew his work, his iconic portrait of Ernest Hemingway in particular stands out as one I know well. But I didn’t know his name.

I’ve spent time pouring over Karsh’s portraits and I’ve been deeply inspired. His images are classic, timeless images that truly capture the soul and essence of a person, in fact of some of the most famous people in the world. And I know in looking at these images that’s what I want to create. I might just be taking pictures of kids and family but in the end I want them to show the same kind of vision. I want them to stand the test of time, to look back on them 20 years from now and feel that they’re just as relevant and not simply reflecting what was trendy at the time.

And I don’t want people to say “cheese.” Kids in particular become conditioned to do this. But saying cheese creates forced smiles that don’t show authentic moments of joy, happiness and connection. Forced smiles don’t reflect who someone truly is. That’s my challenge as a photographer, to interact, observe, and capture moments in a way that gets to the heart of what kids are all about, what family is all about. I imagine Muhammad Ali punching Yousuf Karsh in the face if he’d asked him to “say cheese.”

At the same time I’ve been inspired by Karsh, I’ve also been reading Steal Like and Artist by Austin Kleon. Kleon’s fundamental message is that to grow as an artist and find yourself and your own style you’ve got to copy those that inspire you.

“Nobody is born with a style or a voice. We don’t come out of the womb knowing who we are. In the beginning, we learn by pretending to be our heroes. We learn by copying.”

He explains that “copy” does not mean “plagiarise” and pass off someone else’s work as your own. Copy means to take inspiration from those you admire, work to understand their process and thinking, and then transform that into something uniquely your own.

And so inspired by the portraits of Karsh and the words of Kleon, I’ve been copying. Specifically, copying Karsh’s iconic portrait of Audrey Hepburn. In doing this I’ve learned a lot about portraiture. And I’ve also learned that Kleon is right. That while I’ve copied Karsh’s image, it is completely different and my own for so many reasons. Not the least of which is that I am not Audrey Hepburn.

February 1, 2013

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