story through photography
The story here is that my kid loves her some Minecraft.
Recently, I've been having a lot of conversations about using photography as a medium for storytelling -- I mean, a lot of conversations, with folks who are completely unrelated to each other. I'm taking it as a sign that this is a subject I need to address here on Chookooloonks -- or, at the very least, share places where you can you can find inspiration on telling stories through imagery.
So here are some favourites:
You Are My Wild -- I don't think I've ever linked to this collaborative photoblog before, and if this is true, it's a crying shame. There aren't any words on this site, simply the portraits of the photographers' children -- in their natural, "wild" habitats. The images are breathtaking in their storytelling. Definitely worth a look.
Moment Junkie -- I'm pretty sure I've shared this site with you before, but even if so, it's really worth repeating: wedding documentary photographers from all over the world submit photos that beautifully capture a unique moment during the couple's wedding day, from the hours before the wedding to wild reception. Although a few of the images can be a bit cliché, most of them are totally awesome. Like this one. And this one. And definitely this one. And God help me, this one.
I can get totally lost combing that site.
Moments that Matter -- My friend Farrah Braniff has just released her first book: Moments that Matter, a beautifully illustrated guidebook containing techniques for capturing your family's unique story. (And speaking of "story," Farrah begins her book with an introductory story from the inimitable Brené Brown, followed by an explanation of the "anatomy of a story" when it comes to images -- and then it just explodes from there.) Designed for the beginning photographer, she covers everything from learning to see, how to capture motion, capturing sun flare and more -- all with gorgeous illustrations and easy-to-understand diagrams. I strongly recommend picking up a copy, especially if you've got an SLR camera lying around collecting dust.
Where Bloggers Blog -- My little Tumblr project, a collection of images of the workspaces of bloggers around the world, has exploded : it currently enjoys several thousand followers, and folks have been submitting images of their creative spaces from a dozen countries so far -- all within 2 weeks!* I'm seriously humbled. What I'm loving about doing this website is that each photograph that is submitted tells a story of the blogger behind the image: we guess if the blogger loves colour or not, prefers a professional, business-like environment or one that is wildly artistic, whether he or she has children, prefers to create in the outdoors -- even if he or she is a Star Wars fan, or finds that inspiration most often comes in the bathroom. It's such a wonderful experiment in global community, and I'm loving each and every photo story that is submitted (so if you're a blogger who hasn't submitted your space yet, please do -- all are welcome!).
And finally, because I wasn't sure how to wrap this blog post up, I turned to Twitter, and asked folks to send me links of their favourite photographers who are able to tell a story in a single image. Here are my favourites of the ones they suggested:
• Melissa Lyttle
• Sesame Ellis
• Neilochka
• DiMackey
• Bonnie Tsang
• Phil Chester
• Pete Souza
(Thanks to Twitter, I discovered a few new-to-me photographers, as well!)
And on that note, happy surfing, friends.
* The countries represented on Where Bloggers Blog so far are: United States of America, Canada, Brasil, Grenada, Finland, Germany, England, Spain, South Africa, Kenya, Russia & Sweden. I'm always seeking more locations around the world -- so wherever you are, please don't hesitate to submit!