Sweet faces

Buy it before it's gone!

Cowboys & Indians Photographing the West issue is on the stands now! Yes, I'm bragging since I have a photo in it! Now, even so, it is by far the best issue yet for the annual contest they sponsor. The images in it are superior. How tough a job to judge!
The grand prize winner was submitted by a 14 year old boy! Awesome! Some of my favorites include: in equestrian, Untitled by Marion Cox, pg 130; landscape, Untitled by Cynthia Smalley, pg 132. (I'm seeing another one also by Smalley, so I'm going to do a search online. I like her work). Both of these were honorable mention, as was mine. I also liked Daydreamer by Herberto M. Alves, pg 130.

Barn Owls by Martin Giovannini (beautiful!) pg 107and dang, I can't believe this didn't win Untitled by Georgia Martin Baker. wow, just breathtaking. Black and white boy on horse. You have to get this magazine. There are so many wonderful images in it! Plus an entire feature on the photography of Timothy O'Sullivan and David C. Schultz. I could list every image and still feel like there should be more. So just go buy the issue!

Exactly!

This ad sums it up! OK, so I was thinking just now, how can I make my blog posting more interesting? I know you're out there reading - some of you anyway - but my writing always seems so, well, you know...serious...ack! I want more people to comment if I put up an image they like or write something they find interesting.

And a follow up to my last entry of the Life magazine. I forgot to add that at one time I thought it would be cool to swim to the depths of the oceans and photograph. And then there was the time I wanted to go see where the Lions roam in Africa....Yes...i'm a daydreamer!

Images that shape us

Today, I was at one of our local antique stores and found this great magazine. $3.50. I couldn't pass it up. It's fabulous! I posted some of my favorite images out of it here, with a little note about each. enjoy. be sure to read my story below. The cover of my great find.

The gorgeous Elizabeth Taylor. Age 15. 1947 seascape shot. She had a $1,200 a week contract with MGM. Photo by Bob Landry.

And below, is Meryl Streep. Absolutely love this shot!1981. Photo credit: Snowdon
What a fantastic image (below). A young Teddy Kennedy, 6, with his little box camera. 1938, getting ready to take a photo of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. Now that's historic imagery! Sadly, just an AP credit on this one.

And this is one of the images that really shaped me into wanting to become a photojournalist/news reporter. I look back now and think, thank heavens I didn't have to see such suffering up close and personal. Vietnam. 1966. Marines. Photo by Larry Burrows. I believe this image was not published until 1971.

And how is this one for capturing the MOMENT! George Balanchine, choreographer of classical ballet. 1963, pet Mourka. Photo by Martha Swope.

Margaret Bourke-White. Classic.

Images have a profound effect on who we are. Especially if you are a photographer. I spent hours and hours looking at photos of long-ago ancestors when I was a little girl. The stories behind them were, to me, fascinating, even if just simple. My mother had this huge box under her bed and whenever I was bored, I'd pull it out and just go through the images again and again. Those were the most fascinating, more so than the ones in albums. Imagine being nostalgic in your childhood/teenage years!

I loved fashion, celebrity images. After I had my sons, that didn't seem to appeal to me so much. I felt like it was kind of unrealistic to view life in that manner.
Another form of imagery that appealed to me was photojournalism. I used to dream of being a photographer in some faraway, exotic locale....or war torn country. Ireland and Cuba were at the top of my young dreams. Then there was the Vietnam War. Those pictures are deeply embedded in my mind. Now though, I know that is not a romantic job and the pain and anguish of those images still bear deep scars for many.
As I got a little older, I realized though that even though I loved all these types of photos depicting life. I really had a passion for political images. In college I used to daydream about being a White House photographer. I still think it would be awesome to do that - for a week or so. Having family and just enjoying my children and grandchildren, I don't think working in the nation's big house would fit so well with my lifestyle these days.

I'm happy to be doing what I'm doing these days, though I wouldn't pass up a chance to photograph a day in the White House, or maybe serve as second shooter at a celebrity wedding.

Best blog ever!

http://ifoundyourcamera.blogspot.com/
Found out about this through my PhotoJoJo newsletter. It's a site where people can upload a few photos from a camera, film or digital that they've found so those items can be returned to rightful owners!
Last year during the worldwide Scott Kelby photowalk, my husband and I took part in the OKC group. Well, sadly, I lost my little case that had all my digital cards in it filled with photos. One was full of family photos. Besides the loss of that, I've never been able to replace them. There were several hundreds of dollars in that tiny case. Mostly 2 GB cards. I think there were like 7 cards total in it. Maybe 6.
Anyway, I was so bummed. We even backtracked our route as soon as I discovered they were gone. Finding out about this site is just super. Even if I never get my cards/images back, I think everyone should know about the site and forward it to everyone they know!
Also, another sad story about losing photos. When my oldest son (he's 25 now) was 2, I had a bunch of stuff stolen from someone that was keeping it for me. I'm talking everything, his baby crib, toys, clothes, tons of books, my childhood scrapbooks and photo albums.
I searched for years to try and find my stuff, but never had luck. That was in the mid 1980s. I would be so tickled if I ever got my scrapbooks and albums back. The scrapbooks had all my childhood cards - birthday, Christmas, etc.. that my mom and other family members had given me, plus lots of other wonderful memorabilia.
That is the nice thing about the advances of technology. It really allows us to search/return/discover things we might not have been able to years ago. Now, go check out the site. Who knows, you might find your photos or see someone in them you know! Good luck!