“Which of my photographs is my favorite? The one I’m going to take tomorrow.” – Imogen Cunningham"

One of my good friends, Michelle, has fallen in love with Pottery.  She's amazing at it and her work is beautiful.  She will tell you that she does not feel like a natural at it, but that she's worked very hard to learn to do it.  I'm pretty sure pottery would never be my thing. It seems like the kind of thing that would sound like a good idea, until I started cursing a lot (like when Michelle tries to bake cookies).  I have an eye for art, it's just my hands that are the problem.  I can't even manage to cut a straight line.  They never seem to be able to create the things I want them to create.  That's why photography is the perfect art/science for me....my eyes create the art and my hand just has to push the button.  

But despite having zero interest in pursuing pottery myself, I love to hear Michelle talk about it.  First off, I love that she has found a passion.  I get that.  She's excited about her art in the same way that I am about mine.  And it's beautiful.  But also, I find a lot of parallels when we are talking between the two.  We both spend A LOT of time and money on developing our abilities.  We practice a lot, and we have to invest in equipment and supplies.  I feel like when I listen to her talk about her art, I can learn things about mine.

Michelle is super picky about her pottery.  She finds all these imaginary tiny things wrong with her pieces and decides they are not worth of selling.  So she offers the cast offs to her friends (me!).  I have collected several of these pieces and I love them dearly.  I actually pretty much refuse to drink coffee out of a mug that isn't one of her "rejects." (With one exception being a mug my 10 year old bought me that says "Drink Coffee, Put on Gangsta Rap and deal with it."  That's a good one too. ). I've decided I love them more because she rejected them.  I told her that I want an entire collection of things that she's deemed un-worthy.  My next piece is a Christmas Ornament that she apparently dropped and dented the back of.  I'm excited. 

The reason I love her rejected stuff is first, because I don't see anything wrong with them.  They look perfect to me.  But also, I recognize that I'm not a potter, and she sees things I don't so that she can constantly learn and improve.  It makes me think of myself and my photography.  I often walk into my friends houses and see pictures hanging in their homes that I took years ago and I cringe at the photos. My friends were kind enough to let me take their pictures when I was awful.  They laugh at me because they don't think the pictures are awful (but some of them really are).  But I guess it's like Michelle's mugs...I am my own worst critic.  

I was looking at Chelsea and Molly's pictures that I took last year and while I was pretty happy with that session, I still look back and see a few things I would do differently (some of the pictures are too warm).  But what's most important to remember about those photos is how much I know they meant to Chelsea.  Chelsea is one of my "sappiest" friends, which makes her a perfect client for photos.  She loves all pictures of Molly, because like most moms, she's acutely aware of the speed at which our babies grow.  She works very very hard to provide a happy life for Molly, and she loves her with ever fiber of her being.  So while it is ALWAYS important for me to learn and grow technically, the most important thing is how my photos make people FEEL.  Michelle's mugs are a good reminder of that when I'm feeling overly critical of myself. 

In Chelsea & Molly's blog post last year, I titled it "I hope you dance." That's kind of funny because this year at our session, they actually did dance ("like we do in the kitchen".)  I think those ended up being some of my favorites from this session because it's so them.  I cannot wait to see what kind of moments I can capture for them next year. 

Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session Mother and Daughter Portrait Session