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Simplicity (moments of light)

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Today's post is a brief one, in contrast to the one from this past weekend. I'll keep it short and sweet, with some images that make me a bit nostalgic. 

Last thanksgiving I was able to fly home and spend some time with my family in Minnesota. I didn't take many photographs (beyond Alec and Emily's engagement session), except for some documents of the light in my parents' house. As I've blogged about before, my parents' house has the most amazing light, and is most likely the root of my obsession with light. 

The windows there act like projectors during the evening hours, showcasing the lines and patterns of the tree branches outside. It never fails to stop me in my tracks and make me stand there in awe, no matter how many times I've seen the same thing. 

Next up: images from our adventure in Tucson over Christmas. Make sure to stop by to see some adorable pups and desert mountain views. 

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home is where the light is.

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When I was home in Minnesota the other weekend I made sure to get out my real camera and take some photographs of the incredible light in my parents' home. My obsession with light, and my need for a light-filled home probably stems from growing up in that house, where every room gets amazing sunlight at some point during the day. 

The first few images below were taken the same day as the garden tour. The giant locust tree in the backyard filtered the sunlight, creating a stunning, speckled pattern on the wall and floor. I took a quick (and low quality) video of it as well, which you can see here, as it was mesmerizing to sit and watch. 

The morning that I was headed back to Kansas I poked my head into my parents' room, which gets incredible light in the morning through their wood blinds. Striped shadows are thrown across the foot of the bed and the bench made by my great-grandpa. This room is a favorite of mine in the morning, and it has set the standard high for my future home. 

This will probably be it for posts this week, since Wednesday is day one of the moving process, and I will be out of town until Sunday because of that as well. Hopefully next week I will have some exciting images to share though! Have a wonderful week, and don't forget to hit the "Subscribe" button on the left to stay in touch, and feel free to share via the links below. 

Projected Light

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*Diving right into work immediately following a longer trip prevented me from getting back on top of getting these blogs posted. But, I have (hopefully) settled into some sort of routine at this point, so things should get back to normal for me now. I think it is safe to expect regularly scheduled blog posts once again!*

It has been a cool, rainy spring here in Kansas (and it seems the Midwest in general). Most days have been cloudy, which means that I haven't been able to photograph nearly as many moments of light as usual. However, about a month ago, there was some beautiful light in Scott's basement. He has a projector screen down there, and the light danced across the screen like some sort of abstract movie scene. 

I love the evening light in his house (or any where for that matter) during early spring. The new leaves create such beautiful patterns and movement in the light, and I have found myself just sitting and watching as the light flutters around with the wind moving the leaves. One of these days I need to document it in video. 

Happy Monday everyone! I hope your week is off to a great start!

Next up: Some gorgeous scenes while fishing on a perfect spring evening. 

Daffodils + Light

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Just a simple and quick post today. I know I just recently posted photographs of flowers and light, but I have some more to share. When the light is this good, and I have daffodils on hand, how do you expect me to resist? 

And finally, a single portrait from the evening as well; because my man is handsome and again the light was too perfect to resist. He was working on his fly fishing setup while I was running around chasing the light, and right when I thought I was done I turned around to notice the near perfect spotlight on his hat and face. 

There will likely be more flowers in the coming posts, so hopefully you all don't get sick of them. I've also been trying to decide on some themes to my posts for certain days, so if anyone has any suggestions or requests for particular content types please leave a comment below to let me know!

Fabric Landscape

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A few weeks ago I went out to a new (to me) location to take some self-portraits. You may have already seen one image from that shoot, since it is currently featured on my homepage. Beyond just a basic headshot, I had the goal of also shooting a more conceptual self-portrait, as it had been so long since the last time I did so. 

I went into the shoot with only a very vague idea of what I wanted, which has occasionally worked in the past. Unfortunately, that was not the case this time. The location and materials I had didn't quite work for what I was aiming to do, and in this situation, the lacking of a very specific visual idea left things a little flat and uninteresting. So, the self-portrait failed, but the setup that I had for that ended up being fairly interesting on its own, which is what I have to share with you all today.

I have always really enjoyed images of moving fabric in general, but especially ones that involve some sort of interaction with a landscape. The photographs and paintings by Laura E. Pritchett have served as sources of inspiration for some of my own photographs, largely because of her use of fabric in motion. Thomas Albdorf has also influenced my work, because of his manner of interacting with the landscape. Though I wasn't consciously thinking of these artists at the time, the photographs in this post have likely been shaped by both of them.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and feel free to share this post, as well as comment below to say hello! Happy Wednesday!

Tulips + Light

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For those who have been to my website before, or who follow me on Instagram, you likely already know that I am rather obsessed with light (and I suppose shadows as well). When I see nice light and shadows, no matter what I am doing for the most part, I stop to take photographs. I perhaps shouldn't admit this, but I have been taking pictures of light (some might call it getting distracted) while cooking and burned meals before. Slightly embarrassing, yes, but I just had to get the shot (other photographers understand, right?).

Tulips are another favorite of mine, and when there are great shadows combined with beautiful white tulips, I absolutely cannot resist taking photos; too many photos in fact. The green walls of Scott's living room behind the crisp, white flowers, combined with the shadows from the blinds, created the perfect combination. It also never fails to surprise me how quickly the light can change in the evening. The images below were taken just about minutes minutes apart, and yet the light is drastically different. In just five minutes it went from bright and fairly harsh, to warm and soft. I couldn't decide which I preferred, and I would be interested to know some of your thoughts. Let me know in the comments below!

After obsessing over the tulips, I noticed the incredible light streaming in the front door. I have taken pictures of that light on a different day with my phone before, and was excited that I had my camera with me to get some better images. This may comment on just how far my obsession has gone, but even though I see the light streaming through Scott's door on nearly a daily basis I am continuously in awe of it. I almost always stop to just look and enjoy, often drawing laughs from Scott as I do so.  

Just when I thought I was done taking pictures, I went down to the basement to grab something, and noticed a quieter moment of light happening down there. It felt like a little painting to me, and I really loved how the simplicity of it contrasted the light happening upstairs.

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to stop by. Feel free to share, and it would be lovely to hear from you! Happy Monday everyone!