Photography Activities for Kids (or Fun Adults!)

If you follow me on Twitter, Flickr, or Facebook, you may have seen some of the daily photography challenges I've done with friends over the past couple of months. I recently had a friend say she wanted to have her kids do a daily photography challenge over their summer break. I'm not sure why, but I never thought to encourage parents to have their kids do these challenges (probably because I don't have kids!). If you've ever thought about doing a daily photo challenge, don't worry that it's March 27, or that it's a Tuesday, or that you might miss a day. Just do it! Get your kids on board...make it a family affair by sharing everyone's picture at dinner time.

I'm sure you have many excuses - I did! So why should you do this? Why should you have your kids do this? Here's what I've noticed:


1. Doing a daily photograph generally increases my awareness throughout the day. It causes me to be "on guard" for pleasing compositions, interesting light, etc. It usually makes me more present in the moment. For example, if I had an awesome meal, I'll sit and reflect on it for a minute while I think about how to photograph it.
2. It helps me exercise creativity. I think you'll find the same thing. There will be days when the prompts aren't very inspiring, or YOU just don't feel inspired. However...a funny thing often happens - a few days later you'll take notice of something you could have photographed for that day's prompt...something you probably would have ignored before.


So, what are you waiting for? Start today! Get your kids to start! Call your friends to join the challenge with you! You can use a cell phone camera if you want! If you don't have a camera your kids can use, they could try drawing the prompts. Do you have another suggestion for how this could be modified for kids?

March One A Day #10 - "Loud"

(P.S. In case you were wondering, our March daily prompts come from here and although I have made at least one photograph every day since Jan. 1, I have missed/skipped some of the daily prompt suggestions. It's all good.)

A Multimedia Project - Integrated Education in Belfast, NI

I recently returned from a trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland in the UK where I began a project on Integrated Education. Here in the US, the word "integrated", in relation to education, probably conjures up thoughts of the racially separated schools in our past. However, in Northern Ireland, a school is "integrated" if it enrolls students of Catholic AND Protestants faiths, as well as those of other or no faith.

"Integrated Education can best be described as the bringing together in one school of pupils, staff and governors, in roughly equal numbers, from Protestant, Catholic, other faith and no faith backgrounds. It is about cultivating every individual´s self-respect and therefore their respect for other people and other cultures." - NICIE

The goal of these schools is not only to put students of different faith backgrounds into one school, but also to actively promote dialog about their similarities and to build respect for those of other faiths, beliefs, and cultures. There are currently only 61 integrated schools in all of Northern Ireland.

I will begin to share a little about my trip and the project as I dig into the photographs, video, and audio I captured from the three integrated schools I visited in Belfast. I'll also explain how I latched onto the idea of this project and why I am so interested in what these integrated schools are doing. Along with those posts, I'll share a little about what I've learned about this amazing country, their Troubles, and the hope they have for their future. I hope you'll find these things interesting and inspirational since I've discovered that many people I talk to here in the US don't know a lot about Northern Ireland. All the information l share will be from one person's perspective, but I hope to share a little about how these integrated schools are working for a better future.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this image above. I walked up to a mural on one of the "peace walls" in the city and almost immediately saw this message. I don't know "Elizabeth" from Arizona, but her comment, "Peace Through Education" is a good summary of what I hope to share with this multimedia project.

A TEDX Talk - Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability

You know TED, right? Ideas worth spreading? Even if you don't know TED, I'm going to pretend that you said, "Yes, of course!" while you drop everything to redeem yourself here. I've found so much inspiration for my photography work and life in general from the talks I've come across on TED. Today I want to share a TEDX talk by Brene Brown entitled The Power of Vulnerability. It's been almost one year since I watched this talk but I recently came across my notes and was inspired once again. The TED website describes her talk like this:

"Brene Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TEDxHouston, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity." 

The talk is about 20 minutes long and I don't think you'll regret watching it:

Here are some of my "take-aways" from this inspiring talk:

• Let go of who I think I should be in order to be who I am.
• Fully embrace vulnerability.
• We can't selectively numb emotions. When we numb the bad ones, we numb the good ones, too.
• Am I losing my tolerance for vulnerability?
• Vulnerability is the birthplace of joy, love, belonging, creativity, and faith.
• I can practice vulnerability by 
• Practicing gratitude and honoring what's ordinary in my life
• Allowing myself to experience joy & love.

What do you think about being vulnerable? Do you think it's a good or bad thing to be vulnerable? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Fall! As I mentioned in my previous post, I tend to find photographs with people more interesting. There are times, however, when I'm only drawn to shape and color (and the absence of people). In general, I tend to love designs that are curved and flowing (or that contain circles) and I am very drawn to the color red, sometimes yellow, and displays of bold color in general. There was a time in my life when I only loved neutrals - black, gray, white, cream, beige, etc. After I crossed the line into color in my wardrobe and decorating style, there was no turning back.

I came across some giant displays of fall on a recent trip so I decided I wanted to focus on small sections of these giant displays to create graphic photographs consisting mostly of color, line, and texture. I hope you enjoy these images of fall:

©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

 

Tourist Attractions and Their People, New York City

Whenever I watch a movie set in New York, the movie cannot end without my proclamation of "I want to go to there." Since I had never visited this great city before last week but had seen it portrayed in countless films and documentaries, I dubbed it the most familiar unfamiliar city I have ever visited. Just last week my husband and I met some friends in New York for our first NYC experience.

There was so much I wanted to photograph that I felt a little overwhelmed and often traded the view through my lens for simply experiencing the city with my camera tucked away in my bag. Don't get me wrong, I made plenty of photographs, but in retrospect...not as many as I would have liked. At one point, my friend even commented that she was surprised I hadn't taken more pictures. The thing is...when I am on a trip, I will often make pictures of landmarks or touristy things, but I am much more interested in photographs that also contain people. Sometimes the arrangement of people seems "messy" to me (too many in one place, or not arranged in a way I think would make a pleasing composition) and I'll pass up the opportunity. Other times I'll spot something I want as a backdrop (a landmark or tourist attraction) and wait for someone to enter into the right spot or to arrange themselves in a way I find pleasing within the frame. Here are a few such photographs from my recent trip to New York City:

American Museum of Natural History - Hall of Ocean Life
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

American Museum of Natural History - Hall of African Mammals
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

American Museum of Natural History - Hall of African Mammals
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

The Central Park Mall
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

Lobby of the Empire State Building
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

Washington Square Park
©2011, Leslie McDaniel. All rights reserved.

 

Prepare, But Be Ready for the Unexpected

When I am hired for an assignment, whether I'm hired by the University, a business, or a family, I mentally prepare by visualizing the types of images I might make and what the experience will be like. This doesn't mean the photographs I will take are set in stone, but it's just my way of prepping myself for what I might encounter (emphasis on the might). I imagine many photographers do this to some extent, as do people in other fields. Sometimes, I even go as far as sketching out my ideas. Other times I just visit the location in advance to think about options. 

I do this mental preparation with the understanding that there will still be "unknowns" and surprises. This is a good thing because it allows me to create images spontaneously. Somehow, this mental preparation for what I think I will encounter helps me better prepare for the unknowns. What do I do, then, when the situation I had mentally prepared for doesn't actually happen? This is when I rely partly on my experience and knowledge, but mostly I decide to be flexible and just go with the flow to capture the new situation.

I recently had this experience while on assignment. I had mentally prepared for a certain type of image-making but when circumstances prevented that from happening, the client asked if I would play the journalist role to capture the event as it was happening. My response? Sure! How did I mentally prepare for this? Well...there wasn't much advance mental preparation I could do for this. My job became keen observer. Watching, waiting, anticipating and absorbing what was happening around me.

How does mental preparation help in your work? Does this advance prep help, even if the situation is nothing like you had imagined? I'd love to hear your comments!

You can see more images from this assignment here.

Ricky Padilla - Brown Water Coffee

This is Part II of a new portrait project about people in Bozeman who are doing great things. Please check out Part I here.

Clean water. It's something so simple that we never even consider it unless it's taken away from us due to a natural disaster, flooding, etc. These circumstances are pretty rare for most of us so it's more than likely we will never experience the inability to have clean water during our lifetimes. If we do, it will be for a limited time. Imagine, though, if one of your major daily struggles was to locate, gather, and transport water for your family that is dirty and contaminated and puts your family at risk...but you have no other choice. If you are a female, you will begin this task at a young age and will likely lose the opportunity to go to school to perform this simple task.

Ricky Padilla and his wife Tana are passionate about helping people have access to clean water. The mission behind Brown Water Coffee is to provide a high quality product to its customers while also funding non-profits for clean water. Brown Water is set to launch this Friday, August 26, 2011 with a line of ground and whole bean coffees. From every 12 oz. and 1 lb. bag they sell, they will donate $2 to help a community get clean water. They have decided to use these proceeds to fund Living Water International who take a sustainable, community-based approach to provide mechanical wells and pumps so communities can have access to clean water. 


Each bag of coffee you purchase will be made to order and shipped within a timeline that provides optimum flavor. The tagline for Brown Water Coffee is "Drink brown water so others don't have to." Be sure to check out the launch of Brown Water Coffee this week!

Ricky Padilla, CEO Brown Water Coffee
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Ricky's office is decorated with photographs from Living Water International that serve as a reminder of his mission
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

The office of Brown Water Coffee
©2011, Leslie McDaniel

Ricky's favorite blend is Guatemala - check for it online Friday!
©2011, Leslie McDaniel
 

Ricky demonstrates the taste-testing process of the beans he has just finished roasting and grinding.
©2011, Leslie McDaniel