Sometimes it's not all about me here on my blog, sometimes it's nice to recognize others who inspire and put you at awe. That is the case with my friend Jodee. Jodee and I reconnected through Facebook, we went to high school together and I have always known her as someone smart, extremely funny and very sweet. What I didn't know about was her talent for taking photographs until I started seeing the ones she was posting on FB and then went to her Flickr site. OMG! She has an amazingly keen eye for everything from the ridiculous to the sublime.........the ordinary to the extraordinary. Her photo's color,content and subject matter take on a new vision through her eyes....some things most would just walk on by she STOPS. Jodee SEES something from behind the lens and her snaps showcase her ability to have found beauty in even the hood of a car.
I love photography, I appreciate photos that take me some where in my imagination or make me take a breathe in because they may be haunting or sentimental or just plain beautiful. I aspire to take better photographs, to learn the ins and outs of not only what my camera can do but in capturing something without walking by it. This Saturday I will be in a full days photo workshop (with a professional) to learn more of what my camera can do...and therefore what more I can do to take a better photo. I want my blog to have photos and more photos.......of everything! BUT this post isn't about me.........
The photos throughout THIS post were all taken by Jodee. I chose radomly from her Flickr site to show you just how beautiful they are. The one of the tree (above) makes me want to go there for a lovely picnic,sketching and just breathing.
Her photos not only capture the essence of a "scene" but also the color and in that mere snippet beauty lies.
Jodee lives in a part of Northern California where it's quite beautiful. Trees, river, a quaint downtown. She merely has to take a walk to find those moments that stop her in her tracks and start snapping photos. Many of her photos on Flickr have a story of how it came to be or where it was taken or if she used Photoshop to enhance, which she does occasionally, but MOST ALL are right out of the camera.(and she notes that)
Photography captures moments in time......they forever stand still to revist and remember. There is an intuitiveness about her photos and a deep soul who sees with more than just her lens. I find with each one you could create a story, using your imagination to make up scenarios and even characters.
Like the photo above, she tells you on Flickr what happened as she was taking photos of this fabulous Schwinn bike with the hankie on the handlebars. Had she not I could easily have used my imagination to create an entire story around that bike with the hankie. Some may have walked right by this scene.....Jodee STOPPED!
From haunting........
to a leafy smile face (unposed).....
Jodee has that "eye".
NOW....... I haven't told you the MOST extraordinary part of her fabulous photography.....Jodee doesn't use a high resolution, complex, many mega pixel digital camera with changeable lenses. She doesn't use a regular SLR camera either. She doesn't use a point and shoot mini digital camera or an old Brownie or a polaroid either. No, No, No....no standard camera at all.
You see ALL of these photos and the ones you'll see on her Flickr site were taken with an......
APPLE IPHONE!
in her own words:
"There have been a lot of questions (as well as some skepticism voiced) with regard to whether my photos are, in fact, taken with my phone. I swear, on my mother's ashes, that each and every photo posted here is taken with an iPhone (with the exception of some of my most recent posts of stuff done with textures and other people's images, which will obviously not have the "iPhone" tag). But the majority of my posts are pics taken with my iPhone. 100% GUARANTEED. As far as post processing is concerned...yes, there IS some post processing involved. But only a minimal, and what I consider a necessary amount in order to restore some of the original information (i.e. QUALITY ~ that is, how I actually saw the image at the moment I shot it). Information that is lost during the transfer of the photo from the phone to the computer. I use Photoshop to make these corrections. And I RARELY crop my photos. Normally what you see is what I originally snapped."
This works for her and it works for those who look at her photos. It goes to show that at the end of the day it's not always about the equipment a photographer uses - it's the person behind that camera who has the ability to SEE and CAPTURE moments at the right time, in the right light and with the right EYE.
Jodee and her phone make a great team, don't you think?
Go HERE to see her entire collection. Jodee doesn't have a blog.
Sometimes it's nice to celebrate others, those who don't expect it or ask for it. Sometimes it's nice to know that what someone is doing touches others, makes a difference and inspires. Sometimes it's nice to talk about someone else other than oneself for a change......and it's always nice to reconnect with old friends!
If someone inspires you....if someone makes you FEEL something by their work or words or deeds or generosity or friendship, whatever it may be...........take a moment and write about them. Often times we just assume people know things when, in fact, they don't. To verbalize appreciation goes a heck of a long way in letting that person know YOU NOTICED what they do...like a big, warm hug. Think about it.
I plan to do just that by once a month devoting a post to someone else. For whatever reason.
Much Love, Lisa
Go out and make it a fabulous day..........
