University of Sarah

This Blog Has Moved!

2011-02-21T19:08:00.004-05:00

The University of Sarah has come to a close, but not to worry! Sarah is still blogging all about her "Photographic Frolic," on her new website-based blog at http://sarahsloboda.com/blog/

To keep up with all of Sarah's latest happenings, creative explorations, and worldwide photo excursions, please follow the new blog (where this entire blog has been archived). The new blogging set-up makes it even easier for you to follow and share the articles you love. Check it out!

Click here to view the new site: sarahsloboda.com

KIDS IN SPACE: Green Depot

2011-01-26T10:12:00.021-05:00

KIDS IN SPACE: Documenting the child's perspective of architectural design.

#1 - GREEN DEPOT

PANEL COMMENTARY

ARCHITECT: At only 19 months of age, Wyatt is still free of the socially constructed barriers we see all around us on a day-to-day basis as adults. Some of these pictures illustrate how the intuitive explorations of a child could certainly help designers critique these invisible barriers as superfluous (crawling in a small space) to necessary (toilet explorations). –Caleb Mulvena, Studio Mapos

EDUCATOR: From the child's perspective the space seems full of possibility for exploration. The bold colors and arrangement of displays invites them in to touch and investigate. Smaller areas combined with open spaces draw the child to specific areas allowing them to become more intimately involved in the space and the displays. –Rachael Skinner, Special Educator and Conductor

PARENT: Wyatt has a natural curiosity and a knack for finding trouble -- hence the wires and the toilet. Wish I could say that seeing him doing this was isolated to the location, but it's actually an everyday occurrence. If it's dirty or dangerous, he's there. –Laura Kenney, Wyatt’s Mom

PHOTOGRAPHER: Child logic is curious; it literally marks the flow of curiosity. I often wonder what would happen if more people could be counted on to maintain the same level of curiosity into adulthood - would design then need to account for it in order to achieve sophistication? –Sarah Sloboda

Limited Edition Prints Now on Sale

2011-01-15T13:23:00.005-05:00

For some time now, people have been asking me about purchasing prints for home décor and as contemporary art for children's rooms. I am delighted to announce that you may now purchase limited edition prints through my online print shop, with prints starting at just $40.00. Perfect for matting and framing, these images were carefully curated for display at home, in the office, and in the nursery. Collections rotate monthly, and prints are issued in editions of 15, so be sure to place your today in order to stake your claim on your favorites.

Click here to view the current collection.

Know some art aficionados who might appreciate hearing about this deal? Share this tiny URL:

http://tinyurl.com/4hj6vxj

Holiday Cheer

2011-01-03T17:38:00.009-05:00

Every year, I have the good fortune of helping families to spread holiday cheer by crafting portraits for their holiday cards. Below are a few of my favorites from 2010.

This triptych was a small tri-fold, and I thought the colors were so cheery! I also loved photographing Barney the dog.

This wonderful family splits their time between New York and Denmark, so it was important to them to capture the essence of their New York City home. They wanted to share an entire collection of photos that would serve to tell a slice-of-life story.

One of my absolute favorite shots of 2010 was this one of Cecilia playing in the leaves. Her mom, Suysel of Tilton Fenwick, is a veritable arbiter of taste, and mounted an actual photograph onto 600# cardstock with stunning letterpress on the front and beautiful, feathery design on the back.

I also thought it would be nice to share some of my personal holiday moments. My brother Stephen brought his cat Levan to my parents' home in Ohio, and Levan and I had a little shoot under the Christmas lights.

Winter Solstice

2010-12-21T14:26:00.005-05:00

Every year, I make it a point to go and capture the light when the days are at their shortest. This year, it turned out to be a vibrant, sunny day, albeit very cold, and I strolled down a country lane in Ohio with my plastic twin-lens reflex camera capturing these shots.

You Don't Cut Your Own Bangs - Why Shoot Your Own Holiday Portrait?

2010-11-29T18:24:00.019-05:00

When my sister was about seven, my mom decided to trim her bangs for her. But my sister couldn't hold still, and kept drooping her head further and further down, until... When she lifted her face, she had a spiky, fuzzy buzz cut framing her forehead!

I told this story to my hairstylist, Eric Carter, the last time I was in his chair, getting my own bangs trimmed. I was laughing hysterically in the telling, as big sisters do at a sibling's hilarious misfortune. But Eric was not amused! In fact, he was cringing, and visibly uncomfortable, and saying, "People shouldn't cut their own hair," as he carefully attended to mine with obvious skill and practice. That's when it dawned on me that I feel the same way when people talk about using their point-and-shoot vacation snapshots on their holiday cards.

Sure, the likes of holiday card print services such as Cocodot, Mango Ink and Tiny Prints will help make the most of a pic with their lovely, colorful designs. But a poorly angled, unsophisticated composition or inauthentic expression will not improve itself simply because there's a pretty box around it, any more than putting gel in my sister's hair would make her bangs grow back.

A customized family portrait shoot with an experienced, professional photographer who can tell your family's story visually goes a long way in elevating the loving attention that will come across in your holiday cards. Why is this important? It is the one time of year when despite the ups and downs of life and between family members, many of us aim to truly connect with our loved ones, and show them the appreciation and love we have in our own lives by sharing it with them. In a lot of instances, we are doing this remotely via our holiday cards, and following up with a phone call or visit. Or, sometimes, it's just the card that has to do all the work of sharing the subtleties our life's loves and joys.

We live in a culture inundated with images. It's easy to take for granted that what an image says to us is being universally conveyed. Because we see so many images that have been carefully crafted to convey their message, we assume that it is simply "imagery" itself that conveys messages. However, a lot of craft goes into getting an image to express what one wants the viewer to receive, and just pointing the camera at the subject is not enough to make people understand the profound love felt for that subject. The skill to create a loving feeling, inviting the viewer to connect to the subject of a photo, is something that professionals dedicate their lives to developing the ability to do consistently.

While I don't expect that everyone will know how to appreciate my own photographic work from a fine art standpoint, I do see how it reaches them, in that ethereal way that art does. People may not be able to describe it in words, but they'll hold your card in their hands a little longer. It will be the one on the fridge they stop and stare at. It will touch them. They will know that you invested in trying to reach out to them.

When you take the time to connect with the people in your life this holiday season, make it clear that you've put in the effort to share a deeply caring feeling, expressing the essence of who you are as a family. To do that, I recommend sending a carefully crafted memoir of your life, and I am happy to speak with you about how to do so -- just email me. By the way, feel free to use Cocodot, Mango Ink or Tiny Prints. Their designs will look that much better accentuating a stunning family portrait.

Birth Annoucement Photography

2010-11-17T17:56:00.007-05:00

Many of my clients ask me to come to their homes and photograph their babies when they are just weeks old, so that they can create a birth announcement featuring authentic images from the baby's first photo session. I wanted to share this particularly gorgeous design one of my clients found on Tiny Prints.

She used four different shots from my session with her, her first daughter, and the baby, to create this lovely arrangement.

Shooting with Sarah: Film v. Digital

2010-10-27T19:19:00.014-04:00

For years, I apprenticed with photographers who shot on film, and glanced awestruck at the forever classic imagery in vintage copies of Life magazine, or of French street photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson. By the time I finished college, one of my mentors was shooting half on film, half on digital. Five years later, the entire photo industry had "gone digital."

There are lots of reasons for this rapid change, many of which are echoed in stories of any and all other types of technology from iPhones to facebook. And, digital photography, like digital anything, does present certain advantages - so many that I needn't recount them here, but suffice it to say, that I bet you can hardly think of anyone under the age of 45 who doesn't have a digital camera of some kind.

What many people don't know, is that shooting on film has some wonderful advantages, as well, and not as significant drawbacks as one might suppose. I'm going to offer you a compare and contrast, so you can begin to decide for yourself if you have a preference one way or another. First, let's dispel a couple of myths.

MYTH 1: If you get your portraits shot on film, you won't be able to access them as easily.
TRUTH: Whenever I do a shoot on film, the images are scanned at the time of processing, and my clients get the photos on disk - there is no difference in the delivery technique whether I shoot film or digital!

MYTH 2: Digital technological is way better than film technology.
TRUTH: While digital creates images instantly, it still takes time to manipulate the images to their best potential. While digital has a higher resolution, this "benefit" is only really maximized for the likes of perfectly polished automobiles at billboard size. (I mean, do you really want to be able to see every pore on your face? For me, the fewer pores you can see, the better!) And, while digitizing images at some point of the game is pretty much essential because of the way most people store their images (on the computer), there is absolutely no reason why photos need to be captured digitally.

MYTH 3: More is better.
TRUTH: Many people will say, "You can shoot so many more photos on digital!" I would argue, that not only is that not better, it can actually be to the detriment of the uniqueness of the moments captured. For example, when a spontaneous expression happens, shooting on a seemingly never-ending digital memory card causes one to get a little trigger happy. Snap, snap, snapping away, desperate to grab something, not altogether conscious of what. On the contrary, when one is limited to a very small number of frames (depending on the length of the roll of film), one has to be tuned in, alert, and enraptured in the moment so as to hit the shutter at THE exact right moment. There is simply more artistry in the capture when shooting on film.

I learned to shoot on film, and have done my best to transfer the integrity of staying tuned in to a special moment to when I shoot on digital, but I am by no means perfect at this, and am still subject to the trigger-happy tendency digital encourages. I like to use slow-shutter speeds and other tricks to "soften" my digital images to emulate the ethereal look of film. Still, I think there are obvious visual differences to images that were recorded on film versus those on digital.

Nowadays, people are accustomed to seeing digital images, and the soft, artfulness of film may not be preferable, or even noticeable to the layperson. And, some people truly do prefer the incredible sharpness and vibrance digital photography provides.

How to decide?

Here are a few examples of similarly shot photos - one each on film and digital - so you can compare, and perhaps develop a preference. Please note: this is truly the connoisseur level of photography appreciation, and it may take a lot of attention and practice to truly appreciate the subtle nuances of the craft.

Black and White - See the way black and white film allows for much more subtlety in the gradations, particularly in highlights and shadows. Digital makes very contrasty black and white's.

Portraits - Note the extra warmth and softness on film; the impeccable sharpness and color balance on digital.

Bright Sunlight - Notice how film captures details both in the highlights and in the shadows; digital features vibrant color.

Personally, the steadiness of mind called for to show up to the moment when shooting on film, along with its timeless beauty and slightly mysterious feeling, cause me to lean towards film artistically. That said, if the photos are needed in a hurry, or if there is a strong reason to need to be able to produce a lot of them at once, digital is the way to go.

If you're curious about trying a shoot on a medium you haven't tried before, please email me at rsvp at sarahsloboda.com, to arrange a shoot.

To view a personal project shot on 3 types of film, please click here to view my recent trip to Stone Barns, on facebook.

The Brooklyn Music Factory

2010-10-05T16:13:00.008-04:00

In 2001, after finishing film school, I spent a lot of time in the inspiring jazz scene in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where improvisational music deeply influenced my shooting style - both in terms of composition, and in terms of sensing the rhythm and spontaneity of a moment.

During that time, I had the pleasure of meeting Nate Shaw, while he has on tour with his band The New Power Trio. Nate and I got talking about Brooklyn, my future home, and where he lived and worked (and still does). We stayed in touch, and I shot photos for The New Power Trio's next album when I arrived in New York the following February.

Since then, Nate and I have collaborated many times. Nate has composed film scores for moving image projects I directed and produced (including both of my short films, "Métier," and "Spur,"), and I have photographed publicity photos for a number of his bands. Nate has that wonderful musician quality of saying "yes," nodding, and appreciating, always looking for the music - the art - in everything. He's also a father, and so his knack for drawing out art is naturally applied to kids.

I was ecstatic when Nate told me he, along with several of his musician colleagues whose talent I also know firsthand, were starting a music school in Brooklyn! It sounded like an amazing gift to bring to the community - a way of sharing their beautiful, musical way of approaching life with those with a budding interest.

At their end-of-season concert this past summer, I was floored by the cool way they showcase the talent of their students - beginners play a featured melody supported by the rhythm of drums, bass, and accompaniment of professional musicians - elevating the sound to a magical height, and giving the students a chance to understand that playing and performing go hand in hand.

If you have an interest in music for your child, or for yourself, no matter what your age - be sure to check out the Brooklyn Music Factory. There something really special going on there.
(The photos featured with this post are photos I shot in the studio during a typical day at the Brooklyn Music Factory.)

Getting Ready for Fall

2010-09-18T15:20:00.010-04:00

Lately, the thought of where things come from has been fascinating to me. I like going to the farmer's market and buying my veggies from the same guy who works in the fields, feeling connected to the source of my sustenance. My friend Julie (awesome architect and "green adviser" at Go For Change) and my brother both turned me on to this 1970s BBC television show called Connections, that traces things through their fascinating histories, showing the subtle twists and turns in the evolution of thought that brought about things as we know them, in ways we might not realize.

Tangentially, I have been reading how to jar tomatoes and peaches, and thinking of how taking the time to prepare things at their natural peak -- with a mind for their future use -- will lead to delights down the line.

I took a walk to my local farmer's market this morning to get tomatoes, and couldn't resist some end-of-summer flowers for arranging and a decorative green squash. While going about these tasks, I started thinking about the vast garden of mint my mom has in Ohio, and how when I visit, I'd like to harvest it, dry it, and make mint tea.

Then, I decided to make mint extract from my fire escape herb garden, and this winter I'll make homemade candy canes from the homegrown mint extract. With the forethought to harvest the mint at its peak, my family will get some special confectionery treats this winter!

Mint extract requires vodka, and since I had more than I needed, I used rosemary and lavender to make vodka infusions. If you haven't had one - vodka infusions are excellent sipping drinks. They're typically served in a shot glass, and you just slowly sip to enjoy the taste.

And, who knows what these things will inspire....

Governor's Island Field Trip

2010-09-04T23:38:00.008-04:00

Last weekend, I took the ferry to Governor's Island, and was magically transported back in time. Luckily, my camera documented the entire experience on black and white film.

Chive Blossoms

2010-08-31T01:27:00.002-04:00

For the past few years, I've kept a lovely little garden on my fire escape, including flowers and herbs like mint, chives, and rosemary. Recently, one of the chives sprouted beautiful, little white blossoms. This photo series is straight from the camera - the images have not been PhotoShopped or altered in any way. I'm offering these photos as limited edition canvas prints, as well. Please email rsvp@sarahsloboda.com, for more information.

What are our children trying to teach us?

2010-08-03T21:12:00.007-04:00

Are you enjoying and engaged in your own life the way your child is? Or, do you feel that sometimes the moments are just slipping by you? Are you simply trying to raise your kid, or does the thought occur to you, that this child came into your life to help you overcome your own shortcomings?

Look closely. What is it you love most about your child? Her soft skin? Her crystal eyes? Or is it something contained within her, which comes through in all of her features, something that you know, deep down, must be contained in you, too?

The love we have for our children is a deep and primal love that allows us to glimpse our potential, feel the true depth of our power, and acknowledge our own life force.
Allow me to make some mementos of that significance – photographs you will want to display and look at for long periods of time. Rather than grasping at those fleeting moments in your day, full of distractions, as one second gives way to the next, days turns into weeks, and months into years, you can hold them up, cherish them, and allow them to influence you for the better.

Notice the astounding effortlessness with which your child honors her own life, and the presence of those who love her. See the way she looks at the world, as a place for discovery and learning. Relish her unabashed delights, and her freedom to express her emotions, regardless of what anyone else thinks.

I create photos of children, not just so you can look back at when they were younger, but also to provide you with the opportunity to look more freely and deeply at your own life, now. It is my way of honoring the child in all of us.

Inspiration: The Nature of Things & Moments Past

2010-07-01T11:54:00.008-04:00

Things have been catching my eye, so to speak. For awhile, I have been quietly obtaining objects for my home that relate in some way to nature, and to things of the past - whether they be actual plant life or antiques, or simply designs inspired by those things. I thought I would gather them together here in a photo essay, to see what visual relevance appears.

Flowers and Photography

2010-06-14T21:41:00.007-04:00

I always say, that if I hadn't become a photographer, I'd have liked to have become a florist. Here are some photographs of arrangements I did over the weekend in my home - I just love how flowers brighten up everything!

My super brilliant florist friend, Denise Porcaro of Flower Girl, likes to say, "Flowers and photography go together." Don't you agree?

New Endeavors

2010-05-13T12:26:00.009-04:00

It's possible you've noticed that the University of Sarah isn't updated as frequently as it once was, and if that is the case, I wanted to be sure to offer a sense of where I've been and what I've been up to!

As it turns out, I have been sharing my expertise in new forums, and am very excited to share them with you in the context of other online platforms (outside my own blog).

First of all, I began a regular contribution to A Child Grows in Brooklyn - a wonderful resource for parents, particularly those based in Brooklyn, New York, but serving savvy parents everywhere. My segment is entitled, "VEEPS," A Child Grows' special nickname for parents, which features photos of moms and dads, along with their likes and insights, which I glean in a brief interview accompanying our shoot.

Next, I have had the honor of getting to know Goodkin - located at wearegoodkin.com. This site rocks for modern parenting! A month ago, Goodkin featured a story on my family photo-taking tips, and next week, they be posting a story I wrote called, "A Child Photo Shoot in Nature." Look forward to more of my work on their site in the near future!

Last but not least, I got to write the May 14, 2010 entry for the3six5 project - in which one person writes about his or her experience for each day out of a full year. They also let me feature one of my photos - since it related so perfectly to the story I wrote for the project.

Enjoy these contributions, as I branch out from my home-base, and as always, I welcome any feedback.

Elongated Seasonsal Change

2010-04-28T13:00:00.004-04:00

It's spring again. It came early in New York, and then I went to Colorado during a blizzard, which gave way to another frigid beginning-of-spring. I got to see the end of summer in Ohio, and the beginning of fall in London and Paris. (I am fortunate that I get to change perspective whenever I feel like it.) There was hardly any winter for me this year, with the extra long autumn that began early in London, and late back in New York, and a winter that sped into an early New York spring - a spring that seemed to last forever once out west, in the mountains, experiencing its birth all over again.

Seasons of change like fall into winter or winter into spring, seem the most dramatic, and it's been interesting to have these two changes stretched and skewed and elongated this past year. As if you could take a picture of a digital clock, just as it changed from 11:59 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. - literally changing minutes, hours, a.m. to p.m., and even the calendar date - frozen for pondering for way longer than the split second during which it actually occurred. These stretched out seasonal changes made me feel like I had jumped into a moment in time and spread my arms and spun around and found lots of unexpected space in which to run and frolic.

Shifting perspectives made the impossible seem possible - that we are not just on this relentless fall forward into the future, but that there is space, even within moments of great change, for experience and pondering. Changing time zones and continents and climates with the simple hop aboard an airplane made it obvious that the way I am thinking of the world in any one moment relies heavily upon where I am and what I am experiencing. Landing in a snowstorm in Colorado, after driving with the windows down to the airport in New York, was enough to make me see, that a single moment contains a lot more than we usually think. It contains a blizzard, and a sunny-breezy day; it contains light and dark, depending on where on earth you find yourself; it contains peace and it contains tumult.

Maps are great because you can see all the places you are not, and begin to conceive of "elsewhere." Quantum physics says, it is impossible to measure both the location and the velocity of an object at the same time. It is 1 p.m. in New York, and 11 a.m. in Denver. Doesn't all of this boggle your mind?

Beginner's Photo Workshop for Moms (Call Series)

2010-04-13T20:07:00.016-04:00

Did you make it to last Thursday’s Photo Introduction Call for Moms: Developing a Creative Practice? We covered 3 recommendations for developing a practice, honoring your creative instincts and integrating photography into your family routine.

The recommendations are

Get into the spirit of "flow." - Be in the moment!
Be prepared. - Always have your camera ready so you can honor your creative instincts.
Observe & Learn. - You can hone your photography skills by looking more closely at images around you.

If you missed the call, please check it out at your leisure – each of these key recommendations is covered in more detail with inspiration and ideas for grounding yourself in new habits to enhance your ability to photograph your family. Registration is required to access the link to the complimentary recording:

Photo Introduction for Moms - Developing a Creative Practice

Were these recommendations useful to you?

I want to invite you to integrate these ideas and help them stick as new habits by sharing your experiments with me on my facebook page - please visit the SARAH SLOBODA | photography facebook wall, and share your thoughts and ideas, as well as post photos you'd like to celebrate or get feedback on. I love seeing people's photos, so I hope you will take this opportunity to share!

Beginner's Photo Workshop for Moms

Some of you may be chomping at the bit for more right now! For those of you who feel inspired to take this a step further, I am offering a beginning photo tele-course for moms that will take place over the course of 3 weeks. Each call will last one hour. The line is easily muted, and each call will be recorded, so you will have access to all of the information, even if your little one requires your attention during the live call.

This course will go further into the theories we discussed in the intro call, and it will also get into the technical aspects of photography, like camera settings and simple ideas for better lighting. We’ll also cover special ways to interact with kids to earn their trust while behind the camera, and ultimately end up with better photos. It’s perfect for someone who is totally new to photography, and those who want to create an integrated creative outlet in their everyday lives.

We'll cover

Writing with Light: The basics of lighting, as the foundation of photography
Inspiration: Utilizing your environment
Technicalities: Getting to know your camera
Interaction: Training your child's response to the camera
Creating the shot: Camera angles and composition
Further learning: How to find answers to your specific questions
And much more!

We will meet on a special dedicated call-in line each Wednesday at 12.30 p.m. EST from April 21, 2010 to May 5, 2010 – so, three dates – April 21, April 28, and May 5, 2010.

The cost is $199.00, and you can register by following this link. Space is limited, so don’t delay!
Please don't hesitate to email me directly at rsvp [at] sarahsloboda.com with any questions about the course. Looking forward to seeing you and your successes on facebook, and I hope to have you in the course starting on April 21.

Baby Photo Tip #6

2010-03-31T15:43:00.007-04:00

Make a scene.

Kids are amazing. You can feel their tenderness when you're close, and you can see the independence of their spirit, even at a distance. Try creating a scene around your child, or rather, plop the child right into an unusual or beautiful scene. Don't be afraid to step back and show the landscape - your child's figure silhouetted against a special backdrop will forever conjure memories of when she was that small.

Landscapes from rolling hills to parks to cityscapes are wonderful backgrounds to use, particularly early in the morning or as the sun goes down in the evening, when the light is most angular, and thereby, dramatic. Think creatively about real-world scenery in which your child would be distinctly juxtaposed - something outside the playground and a little unexpected. Live near the mountains or the ocean? Immerse yourself and your child in the views that surround you, and create for yourself some memorable experiences and keepsakes.

Click here for tip #5, "Turn off the flash."

For more, please check out Sarah Sloboda's Photo Teleseminar for Moms.

Baby Photo Tip #5

2010-03-31T15:19:00.011-04:00

Turn off the flash.

There certainly plenty of good reasons to use the flash on your camera - to ensure you have enough light, to make sure the light is pointed at the front of your subject, to stop motion, etc. However, I recommend experimenting with having the flash turned off. The coolest thing about shooting sans-flash is that you get to see exactly the way the scene looks with existing light - which means you can be deliberate about your composition.

Most point-and-shoot digital cameras have a flash off setting under "menu." It looks like a little lightning bolt with a buster sign through it. Another adjustment you might want to make while trying this setting, is manually selecting the white balance. You can identify the white balance options because they'll usually look like a sunshine, a cloud, a lightbulb, a shadow on the side of a house, etc. Just select the white balance that most accurately depicts the kind of light in which you are shooting. One other tip: hold your breath while you're shooting, and hold the camera as steady as you can - shooting without flash can require longer exposures, so unless you're still as you can be, they'll be blurry (which could also be cool! See tip #4.)

Alternately, if you find you can't break the flash habit, cut a little piece of a dryer sheet and tape it over your camera's flash. This emulates "diffusion," the filter movie-makers use to soften the lights they point at starlets.

Click here for tip #4, "I meant to do that."

For more, please check out Sarah Sloboda's Photo Teleseminar for Moms.

Baby Photo Tip #4

2010-03-31T11:21:00.011-04:00

Repeat after me: "I meant to do that."

Many a trick of the trade were developed in quite a surprising way - by mistake! Don't try too hard to "get it right" because taking risks and being uncomfortable are the very things that will help you learn. Edit slowly at first, taking time and going through all the photos you've shot, and try to notice what captured moments create a sensation of some kind - good or bad. Take note of any photos you too quickly try to discard because of an imperfection; within them may lie the seed of something special.

Experiment with your camera settings, and when you get a shot that is strange or unusual in some way, own it! By noticing the results of your explorations, you are learning how to achieve different results. Even if the shots are flawed, you are learning to have some control over the way the shots turn out, and you are doing it in your own, unique way. Over time, you will use your favorite "shortcuts" to achieving desired results, and this will develop into a style that is yours alone.

Click here for tip #3, "Find a rhythm."

For more, please check out Sarah Sloboda's Photo Teleseminar for Moms.

Baby Photo Tip #3

2010-03-31T11:05:00.012-04:00

Find a rhythm.

Put on some music! Try creating a little portrait session in your living room with some music on, and notice how the music creates a flow for both you and your little subject. I recommend the Beatles or a live jazz recording from the 1960s or classical music - something you will enjoy more than the latest Elmo song - because it's as important for you to find a rhythm with the camera as it is to amuse the baby. Allow the flow of the music to inspire you, and follow the instincts that surface about the moments you feel inclined to press the shutter. Over time, you may find you can achieve this rhythm outside with the birds chirping, or with no music at all.

Finding a rhythm while behind the camera is a very personal experience, and each camera brings its own challenges for doing so. For instance, many point-and-shoot digital cameras have a delay between when the camera's shutter is pressed, and when the actual photo is captured. The best advice I have for this, is to keep shooting, and keep paying attention - you can learn the timing of any camera, with patience and practice.

Click here for tip #2, "Act normal."

For more, please check out Sarah Sloboda's Photo Teleseminar for Moms.

Baby Photo Tip #2

2010-03-31T10:05:00.014-04:00

Act normal.

Ever notice how trying to get your child to make a certain face through encouragement often leads only to a loss of energy on your part, and not very successful photos? I recommend taking the pressure off completely, so that by the time the child is four or five, she still acts natural in front of the camera, instead of taking on the habit of needing to force a particular face. Yes, this means you sometimes get serenity, seriousness, or even frowns, but it teaches your child that she can be herself while the camera is out, and no special facial contortions are required.

Let's be honest. Your kid is incredibly smart, and can tell when you are up to something unusual, and will respond in kind. Even though you are laying on the ground, or contorting your body in some strange way in order to get the shot you are looking for, breathe normally, and exude confidence that what you are doing is not out of the ordinary. This also leaves room for spontaneous joy to unfold, and you'll have the camera ready to capture the most genuine smiles possible.

Click here for tip #1, "Don't be shy."

For more, please check out Sarah Sloboda's Photo Teleseminar for Moms.

Baby Photo Tips - Tip #1

2010-03-31T09:37:00.011-04:00

I'm starting a new feature on the blog, offering photo tips especially for moms who want to take better photos of their kids - inspired by the free photo teleseminar for moms I'm giving. (If you're interested, click here to sign up!)

Tip #1 - Don't be shy.

The trick is to get low - you want to be on the very same level as the child, as you would if you were sitting down to have a dinner conversation with an adult. This might mean putting the child on a couch or a bed, or it might mean you have to lie or sit or crouch on the floor. Yes, you'll feel a bit ridiculous at first, but once you see that you have achieved the exact right angle to capture your baby's most expressive faces, you'll start to feel less silly on your elbows and knees.

I also recommend getting as close as your camera's focal length allows (some cameras can't focus closer than a few feet). Getting closer creates a more dynamic, real-life image than zooming in from afar, plus you emulate the feeling of the baby's perspective when you show get in close and show some surroundings. Zooming in flattens the space which is great for a soft, soothing sense -- if you want to create energy in the frame, zoom out and get close to your subject.

Click here for tip #6, "Make a scene."

For more, please check out Sarah Sloboda's Photo Teleseminar for Moms.

Photo Workshops for Moms

2010-03-29T14:07:00.021-04:00

Complimentary Teleseminar to Introduce “Photo Workshops for Moms,” this Thursday, April 8, 2010, at 12.30 p.m. EST.

Photographing their kids is a fantastic way for moms to explore and nurture their own creative side while spending high-quality time with their kids. Moms are empowered as memory-makers these days, with all kinds of new tools for recording family moments. As a kids’ photographer, Sarah Sloboda has learned the rhythms, flow, and composition skills to let a child’s story speak through the images she captures of them. She is now teaming up with moms across the U.S. to help them learn the skills they need to use the family camera to truly tell the family story.

Sarah Sloboda prides herself on the creation of meaningful family archives, and it is her mission to inspire people with photographic evidence of their lives working beautifully. By teaching moms the skills to document their own lives, she hopes to exponentially increase people’s ability to cherish and honor the moments in time that make up their lives.

She is committed to helping you take better photos of your loved ones, using the camera you have. She'll cover tips on things like the way you interact with your child while the camera is out, easy-to-follow suggestions for changing your camera settings for more artistic images, and composition ideas.

Sign up now for the complimentary teleseminar, "Photography for Moms," taking place at 12.30 p.m. EST on April 8, 2010.

Starting in May of 2010, Sarah Sloboda will offer 2-day photography workshops for moms in a format doable for a family schedule. Each 4-hour workshop day will focus on techniques to support moms in their desire to more authentically capture their kids in their day-to-day lives and for special occasions.

A note from Sarah:

“Ever since I was a child myself, I found there to be a lot of wonder in the world. It’s easy as an adult, to forget the fascination that exists in the simplest of things through the eyes of a child. I photograph children to remind myself and others of the child’s unique perspective – to return to the part of myself that is truly intrigued to be alive.”

Click here to download Sarah Sloboda’s free photo tips for parents, and to register for the free teleseminar on April 8, 2010.

Call will be recorded, and last about 45 minutes.

Click here to begin a 6-point countdown of baby photo tips!

Baby Photos

2010-03-25T13:43:00.006-04:00

People have been asking specifically to see some of the work I've done with babies, so I created this slideshow of some of my favorite baby shots.

Baby Photos by Sarah Sloboda - Images by Sarah Sloboda

Click here for a full-screen slideshow.

The Insight of Children

2010-03-11T11:38:00.006-05:00

For me, photography centers around fleetingness. I know that time inevitably passes. I remember experiencing that revelation when I was just a child. Having the vivid memory of what I call my "5-year-old existentialist crisis," when I realized my memory was finite, gives me a lot of respect for the minds and spirits of children.

I know it's possible and even probable that we are communicating with them on a level not represented accurately by their level of mastery of language and vocabulary. We can hear where they're coming from if we really listen. And, in doing so, the child is honored; the child understands that she has an important, unique voice, and it's her life's work to learn to communicate it authentically in the world.

So, when we photograph children from a place of honoring their opinion, we are holding it up for ourselves and everyone else to see. We are saying, "Look at this marvelous and special perspective that has taken the form of this child!" We are telling the world how important it is to be an individual.

(Moms - check out this post on my facebook page about photography workshops, just for you!)

Back in the Day, I'd Have Been a Newspaper Gal

2010-03-03T19:09:00.005-05:00

The rush of news that has to go out. The challenge of finding the words, and capturing images that tell the real essence of the story. The time-constraints. The politics. The pressure.

Heck, I don't mind pressure. In fact, I love it! I've been known to break down in tears after a pressure-filled week ends because I don't know how to fill my time! I spent several years exploring the anti-dote to this love of pressure, assuming it was an ailment to be exorcised. I studied shamanism and other ancient cultures, to see what they had to say about the way to be in the world. I practiced yoga and meditation. I learned to calm what appeared to be external chaos, by tapping into my ability to control my own mind.

Several peaceful years were spent, blogging, exploring, thinking, pondering, and observing. I loved every minute of that, too! Did it alleviate my love of pressure, though? Not in the slightest. Constraints are wonderful for creativity - as I've always known, particularly when I was younger and resources for my dreamed-up projects were scarce. Opening up so much mental space was certainly a wonderful exercise in accessing a broad sense of possibility, but now I find myself wanting to pin down specific goals - and it's the channeling of energy towards specificity that allows me to see my own whims become manifest. So, here, then, must be another use for pressure.

A sizing down of possibilities. A narrowing in on specific actions to yield desired results. Last year, the American economy broke all kind of precedents, and lots of us opened ourselves to other possibilities, as doing business the usual way seemed no longer to work. What I'm feeling in the air now is a buckling back down. A re-dedication to desires made manifest. To results. Period.

It feels like finally sinking one's teeth into something again. It feels like hanging on tight and going for a ride, instead of being knocked off ones feet or flung around aimlessly. It feels like it's time to dust ourselves off and see clearly again. Maybe with a more enhanced vision, blending open-mindedness with determination - neither one any longer in danger of falling victim to naivete, but having the other there like a system of checks and balances.

A wise shaman once told me that the predictions of 2012 weren't literally that the world would end - but that human consciousness would shift at such a heightened rate that we'd hardly recognize it. I certainly see myself evolving at warp speed these days. You?

Bolton Design Creates Compelling Referral Piece

2010-02-27T01:05:00.009-05:00

Over Valentine's Day, I received this gorgeous marketing piece from my trusty graphic designers, Tracey and Nat, at Bolton Design. I was blown away!! So much so, that I immediately called Tracey to get the full story on the concept.

Happily, she was willing to share the whole story on the creation and execution of their "Refer Your Love" marketing campaign.

"For the past couple of years we had been toying around with ideas on how to ask our Clients for referrals in a creative and fun way. But, it wasn't until reading a case study about a Refer Your Love promo campaign in The Designer's Guide to Marketing and Pricing, by Peleg Top and Ilise Benun that our idea really gelled.

Since Valentine's Day and the Chinese New Year fell on the same day this year we combined themes from both traditions into a unique seasonal promotion. We selected the color palette, hot pink and white. We found hot pink take out containers and filled them with custom fortune cookies. The raspberry colored and flavored fortune cookies perfectly matched the containers and were stuffed with custom messages we crafted ourselves:

Bolton Design hearts you.
The first step to a better brand is to imagine it.
You will find great success in creative endeavors.
The perfect solution is closer than you think.

Then, we took this simple promotion one step further. Each of our clients also received a custom card that said, "Refer Your Love" on the front. Inside we wrote a witty and gracious message that conveyed our appreciation for their business and our desire to work with more people like them. Enclosed was a custom designed reply card with a SASE. In keeping with the theme, it was stamped with Chinese New Year postage. To really highlight the hot pink of the packaging and envelopes, all pieces were placed in a plain white box and cushioned with white paper shred."

-Tracey Bolton, Bolton Design

Tracey and Nat are the branding experts I have trusted for the past five years - they have been the source of several marketing and design solutions for me, including www.sarahsloboda.com, and the identity for my photography brand. We'll be working together again in the very near future so stay tuned for what they do for me next!

Oh, and I forgot to mention, the cookies were delicious. Thanks, Tracey and Nat!

Broken Glass

2010-02-25T13:09:00.007-05:00

This glass was a gift from a restaurant owner, not far from the marketplace in Rome, near where my friend Rachel used to live. The owner was charming and extra attentive, as we were the only guests in the tiny restaurant that evening, and he seemed amused to hear us carrying on in English. Rachel had explained to him, "My friend loves your glasses!" And the owner insisted that I take one home with me to America. Why did I love it so much? Well, to be honest, it was the name of the restaurant and the logo imprinted on it, Il Picolo Grande Chef, which literally translates to mean, "The Little Big Chef." I mean, how cute is that?!

The glass was laid to rest this week, after an untimely incident in the sink. It will be missed, and its memories never forgotten. Luckily, I still have the dessert plate with the little brown Scorpion imprinted on it, that Rachel scored for me from Il Scorpio.

Fall 2010 - New York Fashion Week

2010-02-18T01:39:00.017-05:00

For the uninitiated, it may seem strange that Fashion Week, Fall 2010, occurred in February. Like many traditions, fashion has its own innumerable quirks. My friend Rachel works in fashion, for an agency in their hair and make-up department, and she has recounted many fantastic tales, such as the time she shoved boxes and boxes of eyelashes into a friend's stuffed suitcase as she left for Paris, the only conceivable way to get them overseas to her artist even sooner than FedEx could have, in order for them to arrive in advance of the fashion show for which they were required (needless to say, Rachel's hair and make-up artists think she is a miracle-worker).

I have been a photographer for years, and have worked on lots of film, television, and commercial sets. I thought I knew a thing or two about make-up, beauty, and even styling. But when I first arrived backstage at fashion week, I realized that Rachel's stories were the tip of an abominable, art-centric, impeccable iceberg. There were people everywhere - crammed into every inch of available space. Tables stretched along all four walls of every room, covered in carefully laid-out hair and make-up application tools and products. Cameras of every size and shape clicked away, while their operators bumped into each other, almost politely. In fact, the protocol I noticed immediately, was an acceptance of the chaos, and an incredible sense of respecting the need to share the space - what very little of it there was. The other thing I noticed immediately was the amazing professionalism, the way everyone knew how to do their job and try to stay out of other people's way - how everyone had a specific detail to which to attend, whether it be clothes, modeling, hair, or make-up, and they focused intensely on doing their job well, despite the chaotic environment.

Sephora hired me to cover 27 fashion shows, behind-the-scenes, over the course of 8 days. It became kind of like a dance, jetting from place to place around town, reporting to the beauty writer Sephora had assigned to the show, and figuring out which model had a nearly-complete look ready to be photographed for the blog. The goal was to create images that would show off the make-up in a way to do it justice, as it's Sephora's Beauty and the Blog's job to show their customers how the make-up really looks on someone, and how to use it. Mostly that involved using existing light to create a beauty look -- often having the model sit right in front of the same light used to apply her make-up -- so I found it an extra special treat when the show was taking place in a studio with great window light.

I had many, many little adventures during the week - a lot of which were commemorated for your viewing pleasure on my facebook page. I felt honored to document the hard work of so many talented artists whose skills delineated the quality of the brand they're representing. The week yielded lots of successful shots, as showcased by the photos linked here to their original posts on the Sephora blog. One personal, hilarious moment was showing up to a show on Ash Wednesday with ashes on my forehead; a story Sephora liked so much, they let me blog about it for them! I'm officially a fashion week convert - bitten by the fashion bug and loving it.

(Photo of me by Nicole Grippo.)

Baby Bee - Portraits of a 4-Week-Old

2010-01-18T10:11:00.003-05:00

I had the pleasure of creating Charlie's very first portraits, when he was just a day shy of one month old. He was so patient and sweet that I got a full hour with him, without tears! Towards the end of the shoot, his mom put him in a bee costume, which we swooned over, but he didn't like so much. I just had to share these sweet portraits of little Charlie...

Nabbed and Instantly Broadcast

2010-01-14T02:24:00.003-05:00

When I started this blog in October of 2007, I saw it as a two-year endeavor, emulating a two-year Master's Degree in fine art. The concept was to keep my creativity alive -- having made the photography that was once only a hobby into a full-time job, I wanted to make sure I had a forum for non-professional creative endeavors (i.e., explored for their own sake) and a place to document thoughtful meanderings. Over time, the University of Sarah has evolved in many ways - using the term "fine art" loosely at times, other times blending over into literature, and sometimes simply exploring new thoughts and sharing ideas I came across.

In a sense, I have graduated. As much as this blog remains a forum for me to explore, it has grown into a place for me to communicate with my clients about what goes on behind the work itself. My business has grown and changed, as well as my artwork, along with the world at large, which has embraced social media and the need for instantaneous and incessant electronic connection with others.

As a lover and deliverer of stories, this evolution is perfect for me. My favorite part of making art is the immersion in a moment - "nabbing" something, I call it. Being present enough to capture the emotional essence of a moment, whether in hitting the shutter at just the right second or articulating exactly the right turn of phrase, is the most grounding and gratifying experience I know. Now, my nabbings can be instantly broadcast, using the mobile upload function on my iPhone and sending images and thoughts directly to my facebook page.

Someone once asked me what my relationship was with technology. I replied, "I came of age with it." My mother taught me DOS commands so I could use the word processor when I was 5. I surfed the Cleveland Freenet (pre-internet) and had an email account at age 11, using a dial-up modem. Unlike the generation before, I got a taste of these things while I was still a child. Unlike the generation after, I can vividly remember life without them. I have a unique appreciation from this viewpoint -- seeing clearly the changes technology makes in our lives, and being accustomed to the rapidness with which it does so.

While I will continue to utilize this blog for substantial stories, social media has become for me a platform for the smaller, everyday stories that affect my work and my creative process. It seems my inner desire to capture and share has reached a beautiful coalescence with the technology of the outer world, which allows me to create, manage, and address an audience in the exact moment I feel inspired to do so. Some people see me obsessively playing with my iPhone and mistake me for a workaholic or a socialite or addicted to facebook, but the truth is that I am playing out a childhood fantasy of immediate broadcast of my creative captures.

Do indulge me.

Follow or become a fan.

Happy New Year, 2010

2010-01-06T17:47:00.004-05:00

My clients impressed me with their taste and creativity this past holiday season - having each designed a unique expression of themselves to share with family and friends. Their self-conceptualized holiday cards included everything from pre-designed matte finish flat cards, to custom letterpress with hand-mounted prints, to custom graphics-enhanced glossy prints, to photo-quality folded cards. Below are some of my favorite holiday cards sent by my clients this past year, featuring portraits I shot in November and December.

Winter Solstice

2009-12-22T17:57:00.008-05:00

Yesterday morning, I flew into Cleveland Hopkins Airport from New York, to spend Christmas at home with my parents. It was an eventful morning - getting out of New York the Monday after a blizzard, during which many weekend flights were cancelled proved difficult, although not impossible. I'd never seen LaGuardia Airport so busy, let alone at 5 in the morning! Upon landing, I was interviewed for a story on travel delays by Cleveland's local Channel 5 News.

Cleveland's proximity to Lake Erie gives it an advantage for yielding white Christmases due to what is known as "lake effect snow," and it's been snowing gently ever since I arrived. This evening, officially the longest night of the year, I took a walk on the grounds in front of my parents' house to take in the brisk air, and reflect on this season of hibernation. The short hours of sunlight, the life of plants dried into brown, crisp carcasses, the stillness of animals hidden or sleeping or having flown south, all laying groundwork for looking deeply inward - for letting go of last year's harvest, and preparing to start fresh next year. Decay brings both sadness and, then, new life. We cannot reach the new life without the period of decay. Winter asks us to go inward, to slow down, to unravel. And, unravel, many of us do this time of year - with old family scars and triumphs revisited, with familiar patterns reignited through reminders of our youth, and with appreciation for what has unfolded in our lives, and how far we've come.

Many Christmases I've looked out these giant windows at my parents' country home, and many times I've pondered my past and my future from the presence of a winter trip here. This year, something is new for me. I have no regrets. I am just observing. I am looking at where I came from, where I went, and where I might go from here, and this year, none of it feels so dire, yet all of it feels worthy of acknowledgment. Perhaps my youthful days of pushing and fighting as if I must stake a claim on my desires and demand their fulfillment are decaying under the snow, as nutrients for a blossoming attitude of acceptance and full presence in who I am, with trust in the way things always unfold. Perhaps the right amount of self-belief and effort are developing in me as I grow older, and like the seasons, something is turning in me, as my own pure nature makes appropriately tantamount my ego. Fighting and pushing are devices of excess, and the correct effort requires far less. In this dark, quiet time, I am glimpsing what I knew when I was five years old, when I fought for nothing, but just consistently did my best; and took a stand not through taking one, really, but simply by abiding in what is right.

There are certain things we come back to every year, like the darkness of winter, and there are things that have longer seasons. If we can let ourselves sink down, past the cerebral hustle and bustle, down past the sensitive heart that takes cover behind shields of laughter and defense, deeper, to a place where the movement is nearly imperceptible, like cells dividing in preparation of a new organism, we can find the microscopic turning of our own inner seasons. It manifests signposts as drastic as the heat of summer or the cold burn of snow. Yet, deep within, it is as mild and constant as our own breath, and the earth in its revolve around the sun.

Crafting a Personal Family Portrait

2009-11-30T14:51:00.011-05:00

As my work has evolved over the past couple of years, I have realized that what most deeply interests me is people's stories. Whether it's the story of two people eloping to New York City from Australia, the details of a child's birth, or a tale of some haphazardly serendipitous occurrence, I love the recounting of immersion in experience through story.

Christy, one of my clients from this November's VIP Studio Day, shared with me her tale of multi-tasking as a mom, wife, and art director, in order to create a holiday portrait that would truly reflect her family's personality when they sent out their greeting cards this year. When she arrived on my set that day, I couldn't help but be impressed with the tone she had created through the carefully selected props and wardrobe. Here's the story in her own words:

The VIP Photo Shoot was Saturday. We decided to do it on Thursday night. Greg and I had batted around some fun ideas for holiday photos….but never committed to anything. So Thursday night I decided if we were going to do a VIP Shoot I had to style a VIP idea….in one day. Starting with a few items I knew we could get our hands on (antique skis from Greg’s design firm, a vintage fur white hat from my closet and a white coat) I came up with a mixed era snow theme.

First thing Friday morning I posted a request on the always amazing Bococa Parents Yahoo Group. I asked to borrow white ice skates (any size), white ski bibs (men's medium), tall white women’s boots (size 7) a vintage sled (ala rosebud), a white muff and white ear muffs. Then I bundled my 1 year old daughter, Mason, into her stroller and set out for the stores. Target was the best stop…I found ear muffs and a great pair of white vintage looking gloves. DSW for tall white boots for me…no luck. Next…Old Navy where I found fur boots for Mason and a white sweater …but no white coat in her size.

Rushed home to feed Mason her lunch (and to check for responses from Bococa Parents….nothing) then stuffed her back in the stroller in hopes that she would nap while we ventured into Macy’s to find Men’s white turtleneck sweaters, maybe a white coat for Mason and a white button down for me (for our “regular” shots…forgot to mention I was finding clothes for some normal photos as well). Found three sweaters for Greg to choose from (my favorite was a Sean John).

Mason woke up about 15 minutes into the trip so I plied her with rice cakes while I raced through the store, tried on and bought 3 white button downs and had no luck in the baby department. In the meantime I had put out a call to my friend Kimberly who has great shoes in my size. She had some tall white boots and lives across the street from the photo studio in Williamsburg…PERFECT! Remembered I had a vintage fur muff in a hat box in my closet. Greg was mountain biking with friends that day and secured a promise to borrow white men's ski pants from a friend. Just need a sled and a white coat for Mason. Have to feed Mason dinner and put her to bed…ARG! Got home and fed Mason….decided Mason could go to bed a bit late, got her back in the stroller…more rice cakes… and ran back out to The Children’s Place at the Fulton Mall. Found an excellent little white long sweater with an Eskimo style fur lined hood.

Back home satisfied with what I’d found….then FINALLY had a response from a Bococa Parents member. Turned out to be an old friend who happened to have a wooden sled hanging around the house. All set! Next morning we piled everything into the car, ran by my friend’s house to pick up the sled and headed to pick up the white ski pants. Oy! The first and only snag…Greg and his friend never set up a pick up time…he wasn’t home and wasn’t going to be for awhile. I shed a few tears then we headed back home to pick up some Khaki pants to try and blend with the white theme…after all Greg couldn’t go without pants (unless…he had some white boxers? No.). Next stop AvroKO on Elizabeth Street for the vintage skis then we headed to Williamsburg.

I transformed from panicked art director to pampered model when we were greeted at the gorgeous studio with champagne and cookies. The shoot was fantastic. Mason had fun kicking off her little fur boots and living it up for the camera. Sarah’s encouragement and enthusiasm made us feel like pros….and it shows. The photos are amazing…the difficulty is in narrowing down the options. We truly had a VIP experience.

-Christy Bradshaw, Brooklyn, NY

What I love most about Christy's family portraits is that you don't have to know the whole story to perceive that there IS one behind these photographs. And, the story itself is pretty impressive, too.

Hip for the Holidays - Rock-n-Roll Family Portraits!

2009-11-07T21:44:00.012-05:00

This weekend's family portrait shoot in Brooklyn ROCKED! Highlighted by some brilliant family photo set-ups, the day also included tasty meats and cheeses to accentuate the bubbly... and Hope, Faith & Gluttony absolutely smothered us in tasty sweets like cookies, cupcakes, and butterscotch bars - plus special gift bags with more treats for the road!

Stay tuned to the Sarah Sloboda | Photography facebook page for more highlights as they are processed. (And become a fan to receive the updates in your facebook feed.)

If you're interested in getting on the list for the next NYC studio day, send an email to rsvp@sarahsloboda.com.

VIP Studio Sessions, Rock-n-Roll-Style

2009-11-04T13:58:00.008-05:00

Families get hip for the holidays!

Sarah Sloboda Photography announces the first in a series of VIP family portrait sessions for the holidays.

Gone are the days of snowflake sweaters and uncomfortable seats on a bed of faux leaves or with a background of synthetic pine trees. For hip families looking for more from their holiday portraits than saying cheese and posing awkwardly, Sarah Sloboda Photography offers a series of VIP family portrait sessions at the super-cool new K Studio in Williamsburg.

Beginning Saturday November 7th, Ms. Sloboda and her team will provide a swank studio space with tasty snacks from Hope, Faith and Gluttony and bubbly (for the grownups), as an environment for her photo-journalism inspired family portraits.

“People love the annual tradition of a holiday portrait, but parents want photos that capture their style and spirit – something that shows off their unique tastes,” Ms. Sloboda said of the inspiration for her VIP sessions. “A beautifully framed photograph makes a truly meaningful gift. Definitely better than a blanket with sleeves.”

Sessions are by appointment only and for $500 families receive a 40-minute rock-n-roll style photo shoot (families are encouraged to bring their own iPod soundtracks), super-fast proofing (three-day turn around) and a final package of two 8x10s, three 5x7s, and one digital file for holiday cards (gift list – DONE, in one fell swoop).

To request your timeslot, email rsvp@sarahsloboda.com or call 917.279.3445.

About Sarah Sloboda
Sarah Sloboda is a renowned New York City children's photographer and an optimist, inspiring people with photographic evidence of their lives working beautifully.

Trained in filmmaking and documentary-style photography, Ms. Sloboda's passion resides in anticipating a moment's emotional essence and ensuring its capture. Her rock-n-roll-style kids photography has also been featured in Wondertime magazine, and highlighted online in Urban Baby and A Child Grows in Brooklyn for its fresh, storybook approach to allowing kids to be fully expressive.
View her work at http://www.sarahsloboda.com.

Paris

2009-10-14T22:34:00.020-04:00

"I've never been to Paris."
"What?!"
"Doesn't it seem like I've been to Paris?"
"Many, many times."

Several years ago, my friend and I were strolling down Broadway, having that conversation while I noticed a large patch of NYC sidewalk that had somehow been infused with sparkles, and made the ground glisten while we walked. He later wrote a beautiful song lyric, "You turn these leaden streets to gold," which always reminded me of that walk.

I studied French for 6 years, lived with a French roommate for 5 years, and dated a 1/2-French man for the better part of 2004. For the brief moment of my life when I was an architecture major in college, I studied the flying buttresses of Notre Dame, and for most of my young adult life have been bombarded by images of Paris - literal and figurative - through my studies and the company I kept. Let's not even start on my fascination with Henri Cartier-Bresson.

When I was in college, I directed a short on 16mm film, called "Au Café," (b&w still featured above) based on a piece I had written in a café in Ann Arbor, daydreaming about what it would be like once I had moved to New York, and been to Paris, and the strange fleetingness of an emotion's importance as its significance is changed over time. I wrote, "Soon I'll be in New York, then Paris, and all these words will just be words one day."

My father is obsessed with French culture - an obsession that spilled over from his interest in wine. He has constructed details all throughout my parents' home to emulate the architectural nuances. This past summer, I was home visiting, and my father said to me, "Did you know that Grandma has always wanted to go to Paris? First Grandma, then me, now you. Sarah, you HAVE to go."

That same week, I accepted an opportunity to fly to London to produce and direct a short film for my friend Clara, and decided that the 3-hour train ride was just too easy to pass up, and finally - after a veritable lifetime - I was going to Paris.

Immediately upon my arrival, Paris set out to prove itself just as magical as I had ever hoped. I walked out of my hotel and crossed the street to the Jardin des Tuilleries. A man pedaled up on a bike, and started asking me something in French. Six years of study instantly failed me, and
I apologized in English for having no idea what he was saying. "Ah! You're not French?" He said in a thick accent. "Where are you from?" I told him I was in from New York, and he gave me a look up and down and declared, "You are too stylish to be American!"

I walked approximately one city block through the park and found myself looking at the Louvre, framed by a pastel sky of soft light, blue and soft pink fluffs of cloud, and forgive the obvious metaphor, but it truly looked like a painting! I turned towards the river, and walked just one more block and down some stairs, et voila - I was walking along the Seine in the late afternoon sunlight. Right then, I knew this place was ethereal. It had crept into my dreams, and my thoughts, and my work, and my life, and when I got there it was not as if the dream had come to reality - it was as if I had finally fully stepped into the dream.

And, it was a miraculous dream, full of twists and nonsensical delights. Once, I walked right up to a cart in the middle of the street, and selected from a huge array of candies - soft and chewy ones, chocolately crumbly ones - filling a little white-and-pink-striped paper bag. I got a pizza from a hole-in-the-wall shop, and they put crême fraiche on it. Whenever I bought something, the shopkeeper would put extra little presents in my bag. And, every time I left a place, they said, "Au revoir," as if I were a long-lost friend, and they had been truly thrilled that I had stopped by.

In creative works from the French culture, like films and music, I have always sensed a certain ironic other-worldliness. Like the French saw some hilarious joke about life not being real - about the possibility that we don't have to take it all so literally - something they would imply, but if you weren't in on the joke, they weren't about to bother to explain. In Paris, I wondered if maybe none of it was real - if maybe I had finally fully understood the joke.

To view more photos of Paris, please visit www.sarahsloboda.com, as well as the Sarah Sloboda Photography facebook page.

London - Film Shoot, Flying and More

2009-10-09T12:05:00.011-04:00

When my super-talented actress friend Clara Perez (with whom I collaborated on my 2003 short film, Métier) slightly jokingly asked me to come to London to direct a short film she had written, I immediately took the suggestion and ran. Within a few weeks of our first serious discussion, I was boarding the trendy Virgin Atlantic plane at JFK and on my way to her side of the pond to light, shoot, record, direct and produce Clara's project.

Clara's short, "The Accent Coach," is the story of Hester Sound, a fictitious accent coach to the stars and self-perceived guru, who is being interrogated in a faux Hollywood interview by a TV host named Charlie, played by Max Dowler. Also starring Damian Lynch, as a pseudo-voodoo-shaman, we think it promises to be a pretty hysterical little piece.

Since then, the directing bug bit me again, and new ideas are spawning for how to integrate my film school background back into my photographic practices. (I've also been playing with sound using this very cool little recording feature on my iPhone called iTalk Lite.)

Whilst in London, my birthday arrived! I treated myself to champagne flight on the London Eye, which offers pretty spectacular views of the city, particularly on a clear, sunny day, like my birthday turned out to be. In fact, for most of the time I was in London, I was lucky enough to see very little fog.

To view more of my photos from London, please visit my facebook page, and be sure to become a fan to get instant photo updates from wherever my wanderings take me.

The High Line

2009-09-20T20:03:00.010-04:00

This afternoon, at the end of a lovely portrait session starring a charming 2-year-old, I found myself atop New York City's High Line, and just had to take the opportunity for a stroll.

It was a perfect late summer day in New York - cloudless sky, warm air, cool breeze - and the sun was shining all over the place, literally. For those of you not familiar, NYC's High Line is old railroad bridges [turned urban park-space] that wind over, under, and through the buildings of Manhattan's west side.

It is located near the Hudson River, so as the sun went westward this afternoon, the nearby buildings reflected bright, beautiful light in all kinds of directions off the windows of the surrounding buildings. The result was something like movie set lighting, only more abstract.

I was fascinated with the way the light was playing into the landscape - I learned that much of the foliage was salvaged from the real growth that occurred on top of the once-used elevated train tracks, that had been left to the elements for decades, until the High Line's recent renovation. While there was something slightly artificial about the way it was bouncing around due to all of the reflective surfaces, it was still natural light, in that its source was the sun. It gave the whole scene a rather magical feel.

A tangential highlight to my excursion was running into a few friends as I tried to make my way out of the park - a ran into a friend of mine, and then a couple I'm friends with - and had one of "those" New York moments. My mom never used to believe me that in a city of eight million people you could, very often, run into people you know. Well, this one's for you, Mom: this afternoon, I ran into three people I know in five minutes' time, amidst wispy and flowering plants and heavenly light, hovering over West 18th Street.

So, the High Line is a truly magical place.

Merry Un-Birthday Party

2009-09-08T16:51:00.013-04:00

My dad is turning 60 this year, and we wanted to throw him a party while all three of us children of his were in town for a visit - a rare thing, in and of itself, with our habitats spread from the east coast to the Rocky Mountains! The timing fell in the beginning of September - nearly 3 months before his actual birthday. As I planned the event, I couldn't help thinking of Alice in Wonderland's mad tea party, featuring the "Merry Un-Birthday" song, and used the idea of a colorful, festive tea party as inspiration for a soiree suitable for my old man and his guests (ranging in age from 4 months to 65 years!) in my parents' country home.

The goal was a festive occasion without a lot of fuss for my parents, who were looking forward to the rare time with all their kids and grand-kids. So, I created bright-colored invitations, asking the guests to take part in a potluck by bringing an entree to share - that way reducing the cooking and preparation time for my parents. Then, I baked shortbread cookies, almond biscotti, and a white layer cake with cream cheese frosting topped in berries (all recipes from joyofbaking.com). The day of the party, I picked flowers from my parents' gardens, and arranged them in assorted teapots. I brewed sassafras tea, iced it, made it sparkling by adding cream soda, and topped it with a scoop of Honey Hut vanilla ice cream for root-beer-flavored gourmet mini-floats. I also concocted St. Germain cocktails, using the elderflower liqueur and Prosecco for a Happy-Birthday-singing toast.

The party was a hit, despite having to take cover from the rain (we simply moved the party indoors after we ate dinner, when the rain began to fall). My 3-year-old niece was the highlight of the evening, when she ran over to my dad's cake and blew out the candles before he had a chance to do it himself.

Captioned Photos Now Online! - Plus, Submit More!!

2009-09-05T17:28:00.013-04:00

Several weeks ago, I launched a reverse photo caption "contest" (inspired by the New Yorker cartoon caption contest, and my brilliant consultant Melea Seward) to create captions for photos not yet in existence. My facebook fans have come up with lots of captions for non-existent photos, and I just want to give a big, fat THANK YOU to everyone who submitted one of these really interesting, creative, and inspiring captions. I was intrigued by what people came up with, and surprised at the various ways that people undertook a somewhat unusual request (although, one would hope, by degrees more interesting than some program's algorithm determining what Disney princess by which one would be most accurately represented - for example - which is what they might otherwise be occupied with on facebook).

It was such a strange challenge to make photographs that adhered to the captions, and it was knowing that the people who submitted them would be checking back to see how I did that really drove me on this project. I absolutely love the collaborative nature of having people's ideas in the mix to stretch my work in new directions, helping my creativity by giving it parameters I could never have established all on my own. Since my fans so generously shared caption ideas with me, I wanted to share a bit about my internal process of creating the photos, as well as some of the results.

Shooting the captions developed, over the course of the project, into an assessment of various creative approaches to solving a problem. This in and of itself is interesting, because it demonstrated to me that I had been truly stretched out of my comfort zone, and had to explore a few different ways of approaching the task at hand.

First, I tried shooting my literal impression of the images - letting them into my head, and then "trying" to get a photo of the thing I envisioned. This definitely worked, but it felt somewhat belabored.

"The other side of the coin."
Photo caption by Stephen Sloboda

Next, I tried just mulling the captions over in my head, and being alert to when opportunities to capture one manifested. This felt a LOT better - more fun, more creative, more room for synchronicities to form.

"Bun in the oven."
Photo caption by Hope Jones

Finally, after nearly memorizing the list of captions I wanted to shoot, I let it go completely, and just went out and shot what was interesting to me. It was pretty remarkable how much more creatively the images matched up with the captions then. This was, by far, my favorite method - both in terms of enjoyment of the process, and in terms of how pleased I was with the results.

"Figments of your imagination."
Photo caption by Melea Seward

Letting go after memorizing the captions, and just being in the moment, allowed for something more instinctual to take over. In my heart, I believe that my subconscious mind was still working away at the captions, prompting me to make more interesting decisions about what inspired the shutter's depression. It was great to have the entire process to work through - to have the more labor-some stages in the beginning to explore and test and review, and ultimately lead to the familiarity with the subjects I was exploring that allowed for creative leaps to unfold.

I've decided I'd like to keep this project going! Please take a moment to visit my facebook page, where you can view all the photos shot to this point, and add your own "caption" for ROUND 2! Make sure you're a fan of the page so that you'll be automatically updated on the process.

No

2009-08-30T18:30:00.005-04:00

Recently, a colleague of mine said, "I've noticed you're saying 'no,' a lot."

The striking thing was, she meant it as a compliment.

You've had those moments when you're just not sure what you want to do with yourself, right? Is this job right for me? When should I start / expand a family? Where should we go on vacation? How did that annoying piece of decor manage to come with us when we moved? Should I start / change an exercise routine? What is that random object on my desk?

Some people [yogis] call it "monkey mind," others [shrinks] call it "ADD."

I call it, "not having a pre-occupation of the moment." When one has a pre-occupation of the moment, there is a default thought that one can turn to when bored, annoyed, or otherwise under-stimulated. For instance, if your pre-occupation of the moment was "bread pudding," every time you had a down moment, you would be thinking about bread pudding. I.e.: Where can I get bread pudding? Is bread pudding easy to make? How can I find the best recipe for bread pudding? I wonder if I could eat bread pudding for an entire meal... etc.

Pre-occupations-of-the-moment are a godsend. They provide a soothing effect, because there are answers to the questions they raise, many of which can be determined with a simple google search, or series of delightful conversations with people knowledgeable on the subject.

I love having pre-occupations-of-the-moment, and often try to have several going at once.

Even still, there are occasions on which I find myself wondering about what I am doing with my life.

And, when one is wondering that, not google nor any length of series of delightful conversations with knowledgeables will be able to supply a satisfying answer. Perhaps this is why larger questions of career and life are often referred to as one's "occupation" (minus the pre-).

What many of us experience in this state is a rampant, trying-out of opportunities. Someone suggests a consulting job or a business referral or an introduction to another person in a similar field, and we say, "Yes."

We try things, frantically measuring them against the voice in our monkey ADD minds to see if anything's registering on the "what to do with my life" scale. Sometimes something sort of does but sort of doesn't, and it's hard to assess what of it worked, and what didn't. Sometimes we get so overwhelmed trying to take up opportunities simply because they were presented, that we forget what we were taking things up for to begin with, and fall into what someone else thinks might be a good idea for us.

As you can see, there are many pitfalls to having too large an occupation, and not enough pre-occupations.

So, I began saying, "No."

Recently, I said no to a proposed speaking engagement [I get stagefright, and only something spectacularly aligned with my goals warrants facing it], no to continuing a networking group with people I respect and admire [my time and energy was better spent on marketing that was more in tune with the way I enjoy promoting my business], and no to the idea that I will live in New York City forever [I love New York, but it's a big world out there!].

Does this "saying no" instantaneously provide clarity on every aspect in question in terms of what to do with myself?

NO!

But, it does establish clear boundaries in my head - and boundaries, I have found, are the baseboards of creativity. As soon as our limits are clearly defined, we begin to see more clearly the resources we have to work with. Have you ever felt overwhelmed with a project, then sat down, created a budget for it, and instantly saw how doable it was? Even budgetary constraints can be a blessing, when it comes to creativity, because rather than have infinite options to and from which our minds can bounce and deliberate, we can see a limited list of choices to be made, and easily determine which of those viable options will be most pleasing.

So, I'm going to keep saying no, until it's perfectly clear exactly all the directions I would not like to go, and finally I box myself into exactly where I would like to go. And, if I'm boxed in, I'll already be contained therein, and the answer to the question about what I'm doing, I suspect, will be right before my eyes.

Send me a photo caption!

2009-08-13T12:23:00.011-04:00

I am doing an experiment to foster creativity in myself and the readers of this blog. That means you!

Please send me a photo caption - for a photo that doesn't yet exist. It can be anything - a person, place or thing, or something more ethereal. It can be abstract or specific, leading or obscure. For example:

- "The Silliest Kid in the World"
- "Adventure Walk"
- "Looking for Transformation"
- "Awakening Delight"

Post your caption to the wall of the Sarah Sloboda Photography facebook page. I will select the captions that most inspire me, and try to capture the essence of your caption. You can keep up with this experiment on the Sarah Sloboda Photography facebook page - and if you're not already, be sure you're currently a fan.

Send me a photo caption!

Blinking Yourself Wise

2009-08-03T20:33:00.004-04:00

I blink. I wonder, how many times in a day? When I was 15, I had a boyfriend who was looking in my eyes one day and said, "You blink a lot." So, perhaps I blink more than the average person.

When I blink, information seeps in. Not visual information from the outside world, but information from the inside. Maybe from inside my own head or my own heart. Maybe from some unknown inner world I wouldn't begin to explain here, as there are many other more gifted and credible resources on the unknown.

Whatever you believe, you know that the minute you stop trying to think of the words to that song of which the tune is stuck in your head, they come to you.

I am supposing - just supposing - that it is entirely possible that this is somehow related to what happens when we blink.

I walk down the street, taking in an exorbitant amount of New York City street information - colors, people, signs of danger, oncoming traffic, cultures, religions, sales pitches, images, architecture, communication between people, sounds of the train coming or going - and all of this information is processed by my brain, in order to decipher what of it, if any, is pertinent or needs reacting to. I have what seems like a million strains of thought going at once, from all the external stimulus, not to mention new business strategies, new creative ideas, what's going on with my family and friends.

Yet, somehow this information seeps in.

Information like, "I would like to spend more time in Europe." Or, "There is still more to be said about the peacefulness of watching the sun go down on a warm night in the lush green summer of Ohio."

How does it get in? Every moment possible is filled in this city, and whatever's not full I take the opportunity to fill with ample use of my iPhone's capabilities.

There must be some secret portal where wisdom sneaks up on you, so that you get it, even when you are not thinking about getting it - even when you are thinking about everything you possibly can BESIDES getting it. Reading on the subway while listening to one's iPod can't even stop up this magic portal!

So, I am supposing, it has something to do with a blink.

In meditation, or in deep concentration, we close our eyes, we let images and thoughts come to us, and we release them just as easily. Anyone who has practiced any exercise to help clear one's mind, can certainly attest to the fact that there is wisdom there, once the clutter has cleared. "Ah ha!" we think. "There really is something brewing with all of this life experience! Insights are forming - I just need to give my mind the space to see them clearly."

But for me, lately, I haven't made time to sit and meditate. I just keep going about the day, enjoying my portable electronic devices as a well-loved distraction from the otherwise bombardment of stimuli from city life. And yet, this information is still seeping in.

"Go for a walk," says the information to me. And when I take that walk, a connection occurs to me, or I run into someone I've been needed to see.

One would think, if it's just a blink, as opposed to a long period of concentrated close-eyed-ness, maybe not as much information can come through. But as a photographer, I wonder if it's something like a camera - there are two ways to let light in on a camera: 1) the length of time the shutter is open (blink versus long meditation), and 2) the size of the opening of the aperture. So, maybe, if I am toying with larger questions in life, it is like the opening of the aperture is VERY wide, and all it takes is a blink to let the information in.

Here's an experiment, when you're walking along, minding your usual business of incessant multi-tasking, just notice whether there is other information coming to you. You will know "this" information because it will seem calmer than other details, and speak to you in command sentences. It will be merely suggestive, yet firm. It will make you aware of an alternative to the way things are.

What wisdom can you find in a blink?

Death and London - Honoring Paul Nicholls

2009-07-22T18:27:00.029-04:00

I recently found out that my friend Paul Nicholls, founder of Team Continuum, which supports the immediate needs of cancer patients primarily through New York City marathon sponsorship, had passed away last month. He was 61, although Paul would tell you he was 15, given that he was born on February 29th, and had only had that many birthdays. In reflecting on his life, I could feel the presence of his energy, still, and I knew that I had lost nothing. I will always have the beautiful way that he inspired me - the change he instilled in me was permanent. It became abundantly clear to me that death is simply a transition of energy states, and that the energy he brought during his life is absolutely still alive and present.

Below is the entry I wrote in his online memorial guestbook:

Paul first hired me as a photographer to shoot a Team Continuum event in New York before Christmas in 2005. From the very first production meeting, he struck me with his powerful forward momentum and energy. I had just founded my photography business, and Paul’s support of my work meant much more to me than a paycheck. It meant that the “real me,” that I was trying to put forth in my work, was coming across - someone was noticing - someone very special and full of powerful energy himself.

A couple months later, after shooting a few events for the organization, Paul and I were chatting, and he said, “I have to go to London in March. Do you want to come?” Because of the somewhat random nature of the invitation, he made it clear that it was an entirely friendly invitation (always the gentleman), and having never been to London (although a dear friend of mine was living there at the time), I accepted.

What a strange and exciting experience to have a client ask me to fly abroad with him, just for fun! At this early stage in my career, I was absolutely floored that work could lead to such magical experiences as getting to see London for the first time, and getting to spend time with my friend, Clara. I began to suspect that his likenings to Santa Claus were not unfounded, by the way I had lit up about the possibility of going to London (was he joking when he first asked? I’ll never know!), and then he making it happen.

Paul was there networking for the London Marathon, so I didn’t spend the whole time with him. But he insisted on taking Clara and I to dinner, and I also attended a marathon luncheon with Paul the afternoon of the event. At the luncheon, Paul said to me, “You should run in the New York Marathon this year.” And I said, “I can’t, I have asthma.” Paul said, “So? I have cancer!” (Paul had run in 2003, just 6 weeks after a bone marrow transplant.)

I knew right then that I was witnessing a truly unstoppable person, and that I had met exactly the right example for me and my then seedling-sized photography business.

You see, it was not just “becoming a photographer” or “starting a business” that I had undertaken, although my endeavor was both of those things. What I was doing was trying to follow my truest heart’s desires, and make my life as authentically my own as I possibly could. Paul was the best example of that I have ever met.

I took his generosity in our trip to London as a challenge, in that I wanted all my heart-felt whims and expansive ideas to take flight just as easily as we did on American Airlines that day. My work took on a new level of accountability.

2006, my first full year in business, was a huge success. I wrote Paul a heartfelt letter of thanks for the way he demonstrated what thinking big really means - following his example of making things happen in business, I was able to make my business thrive. I presented him with a framed print of London at night that I had taken on our trip, and a check for $1,500.00 made out to Team Continuum. I had never been in a position to make a donation of that kind before in my life, and it felt extraordinary. I knew that, inspired by Paul Nicholls, I would live this life of mine as big as I could.

With heartfelt love to his family, his wife (who I met), and his ex-wife, children and grand-children (who I never met, although Paul threatened to fly me back to England to photograph the grandkids once), I wanted to share this story, in the hopes that telling “Paul” stories will have us all living out our lives in the biggest ways we can, given both our advantages and our shortcomings. Paul saw the gift of his condition, and that, in and of itself, is one of the greatest human accomplishments.

Photos, top to bottom: London street shot, London from the Oxo Tower (the same photo I presented to Paul in print form), Kids laughing at a magician at the Team Continuum Party in 2005, Paul Nicholls presenting a gift (also in 2005).

If you would like to learn more about Team Continuum, run in the marathon, or make a donation, please visit: http://www.teamcontinuum.net/

Ohio Field Trip - July 2009

2009-07-16T00:19:00.015-04:00

Admittedly, I've taken quite a few "field trips" to my hometown (Cleveland, Ohio) and surrounding area. As I grow and change as a person, I find I get more and more out of these returns home. My relationships with each of my parents and my brother, who all live there, each become more nuanced with time. I have grown to appreciate them immensely, and the relationships are flourishing!
When I go "home" to Ohio, I like to do things I don't often make time for in my usual bustling city life. This recent trip, I baked cupcakes, and helped my mom plant new flowers and ground-covers in her garden. I always take lots of walks down the long, straight rural road on which my parents live, listening to the roosters crow, feeling the air on my skin, and watching the clouds move across the sky. It is the time when I remember most acutely to slow down, to just be.

This trip, I hosted a photo event at my parents' residence, featuring the delicious treats of Honey Hut ice cream. I also had the pleasure of photographing the senior pictures of my young friend Olivia - who I used to babysit when I was her age! And, I photographed my mother's friend Arthur, with his wife, in their home on the east side of the city. So, although I was soothed by the natural surroundings, and the somewhat slower pace, it was, indeed a working field trip this time. I got to see some of my cousins, their kids, and some of my mom's siblings. It is unusual for me to get to see so many of my relatives in a single weekend, and there was something deeply comforting about feeling part of a large family again. Not that I am ever not a part of it, but sometimes the chaotic, constant motion of city life distracts me from truly connecting with what it means to be part of my family.

Perhaps most special about this trip, was an evening visit with my Uncle David. He had twittered me (ah, modern family life!) a few months back to inquire as to when I might be home, and was sincerely interested in my life and my pursuits. David has always been a person I greatly admire - when I was young, he would tell me all about his travels to Egypt, and he is one of the smartest, most educated people I know. Not to mention, one of the kindest. It touched my heart that he had specially requested to see me at this time - you see, he is in a time of transition. He has accepted a prestigious position at a university in Austin, Texas, and will be soon relocating to a new life down south. In my experience, transitions are a time when we want to express our truths (perhaps prompted by a tangible time-frame in the otherwise never-ending-ness of "someday I will..."), and I could feel that David was recognizing the we way share a zest and curiosity for life. It felt wonderful to have someone point it out to me.

It was hard to leave the beautiful, long summer days in Ohio, where it doesn't get dark until close to 10 p.m. in early July. My parents nurtured me with their constant loving support, helping with my shoot, and doing everything they could to make sure I was comfortable and happy. It dawned on me, they have always done this. I am deeply loved.

I wonder if everything that happened had to happen for me to have this sink in. If I had to go off to college, to move to New York City, to start my own business, to travel, to see the world, to study, to explore spiritual practices, to read about psychotherapy - and keep checking back in with what was truly my "home," the place I came from, the people who believed in me the most - in order to finally arrive at the place where I could feel the love that has been there from the very start.

I just want to say thanks to my family, the whole, big lot of them, for being the wonderful, kind, loving souls that they are, and for supporting me, even when you thought I was crazy.

To view photos from some of the portrait sessions in Ohio (as well as other recent shoots), please visit my online proofing gallery at http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/sloboda/gallery-list.

Pasadena Field Trip

2009-07-07T20:17:00.011-04:00

My friends Jerilyn and Peter got married this year, on the 4th of July, and I was fortunate enough to be their pre- and post- wedding event photographer (I got to attend the wedding as a guest!). It had been four years since I was last in California, to shoot the wedding of my brilliant graphic designers, Tracey and Nat Bolton (who did www.sarahsloboda.com). Previously, I had spent a great deal of time there, in my short-lived career in television, whilst helping to produce the 2005 People's Choice Awards. It was interesting to reflect on that time of my life, as I saw some familiar sights, and some new ones. All in all, I was so happy to be back in California!

I love the sagebrush scent on the desert air, and cool breeze near the ocean. I love driving around, through twists and turns and over and through the mountains. It was a lot of fun being there. I stayed (and worked) in Pasadena, and also had a chance to hit the beach and a fish taco stand in Malibu, as well as pay a visit to one of my favorite places on earth - The Getty Center, high atop a hill overlooking LA. After 6 solid weeks of rain in New York, the remarkably clear sky in southern California was an absolute godsend.

Below are several of the photos I took on this trip. Soon, I will post the highlights from Jerilyn & Peter's wedding weekend, and you will be able to find their gallery on this page: http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/sloboda/gallery-list

All of the photos in this post were shot on color film, using a Voigtlander make rangefinder camera:

Green Website Adventure Tour

2009-06-29T00:38:00.012-04:00

My brilliant friend Julie saw my last blog post, featuring a guest blogger, and she asked if I would consider allowing her to do the same. I am happy to oblige!

Julie Gabrielli is an innovative architect, and huge proponent of the green movement in her city of residence, Baltimore, Maryland. She was a writing student of mine during my spring course, "Writing from Your True Voice," and reciprocally, I was her student in her class entitled, "Your Eco BluePrint."

Julie and I share a passion for wanting to inspire people both through our creative work, and through our belief in making the world a better place. I have learned so much from her, and have felt that she is a mirror for my own career trajectory, as I strive to incorporate more and more of what truly grounds and inspires me, into the completed artistic work I share with others.

Below is a description of Julie's upcoming Green Website Adventure Tour, which will help participants explore various measurements of waste and sustainability - making it apparent what changes would be best suited to you as an individual, should you want to increase your environmental awareness and improve your habits. The breadth of Julie's knowledge is truly phenomenal, and I highly recommend experiencing her teachings for yourself.

The Green Website Adventure Tour - by Julie Gabrielli:

Green websites can be categorized based on the cycle of Awareness, Conservation, and Restoration. Most sites are very strong in one area, and this helps to prioritize what you are looking for.
• Awareness is opening to possibility, increasing consciousness, creativity, arts, meditation, education, and daydreaming. Awareness’s mantra is: "Yesterday: ignorance; tomorrow: negligence."

• Conservation means putting on the brakes, slowing down, using less. Conservation’s mantra is: "Being less bad." (Don’t knock it! This is a very important step that cannot be skipped.)

• Restoration is when we rebuild, repair damaged ecosystems, advocate for social justice. Restoration’s mantra is: "We are good for the earth."
This cycle has no beginning and no end. You can enter it at any point, and each action leads to a deepening of the others. For instance, planting trees is a restorative act that can lead to a great appreciation for the cycles and mystery of nature, which in turn fosters greater awareness.

The idea for focused learning on how to strategically use green websites came out of GOforChange’s recent program, Your EcoBlueprint, which is now available from as a home study course. The Green Website Adventure Tour is a 5-week program that begins on July 15, at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. To find out more and to register, visit the GOforChange website.

Psuedo-Guest-Blog - A Sweet Story

2009-06-17T20:22:00.009-04:00

Barry Lauterwasser is an incredible inspiration to me - he created and maintains a blog called Positive Economic News - which is his way of countering the preponderance of negativity in mainstream media, by featuring ONLY, you guessed it, positive economic news.

I first connected with Barry at the end of February, right as the stock market's dramatic dip was reaching it's low-point. I live in New York City, and the energetic decrease in the community was palpable. This was in the beginning of a broad campaign I was expanding as a writing and creative coach, primarily focused on my intention to spread optimism.

Needless to say, Barry and I hit it off very well, as our missions to be a voice of positive influence in our communities are aligned and overlapping in many ways. I was thrilled when he spontaneously emailed me this story. As a writing coach, I was struck by the unique, poetic tone, and immediately asked Barry if I could share.

Here it is:

Just a few feet from my office window sits a Robin's nest. She built it a few months ago in a pine tree positioned on the corner of our house. I watched her labor each day as piece by piece she assembled her home. And now I see three little heads poking up as she brings them food. In the morning while I sip my coffee I stand at the window, occasionally whistling to her (I do and excellent bird call). She has never seemed to fear me. She just sits there and stares, sometimes cocking her head as if to say "what in the world, dude...." and I think "well what would I think if while sipping my coffee looking out the window a bird started talking to me saying 'my oil drippings are ripe with adventure.'"

Anyway, she's been an inspiring story for me as I see how simple her life is, not knowing if she's acting on instinct, or if she thinks of me as a protector, and nuisance (much as my kids do), and how she's doing as a mom. Is she overwhelmed? I don't know. We assume many things about other species, when in fact we KNOW very little, because really we either want to cage them and observe them, run them off, or eat them...

I love life, I love the opportunity to live life, and I think I'm doing pretty well at finding my chi and balancing it. Still...have you ever found yourself wanting to be a Robin?

-Barry Lauterwasser

Thank you, Barry! I love the way you captured your stream-of-consciousness in this message. Whether or not you had intended a work of creative writing when you composed that email, it seems you've ended up with just that. That's one thing I love about life: how creativity simply pops up when least expected, when we allow ourselves to be inspired.

.

Summer in the City

2009-06-07T20:39:00.009-04:00

I just stepped in off the fire escape, where I was watching the twilight fade to black in its barely-perceptible, summery way. From the third floor, I could see all around the courtyard of this block of brownstones, of which my home is a part.

The building next door has been vacant for awhile, as the tenants moved out, and the building was sold to new owners. The small yard behind it is a jungle of green - trees and weeds, and big-leafed plants that have sprung up effortlessly. At the back of the yard is a fence, and set of low-hanging wires. Climbing the fence and sprawling over the wires, is a honeysuckle plant, and tonight from my metal cage of a perch, I got the slightest hint of the flowery fragrance dancing on the breeze, which was utterly subtle.

The soft feel of the air on my skin, and the fading pink light (at precisely what moment, I wonder, does it turn to purple-y blue?) reminded me of my childhood in Cleveland, Ohio, knowing that that change of light is the indication that I'm pushing my limits on how late I should be out roller-skating, bike-riding, turning cartwheels on people's lawns, as I try to squeeze every last morsel of fun out of the evening as it becomes night.

In the summer (and in general, actually, as I got older), my parents were lax about a bedtime, and so I knew it would get locked inside, apart from the neighborhood kids, and into some kind of night-time adventure with my siblings in the basement my father had finished for us, and turned into a playroom. Perhaps we would record one of our infamous "radio shows" into the cassette recorder, or make up choreography to Madonna videos we had taped off the TV.

Summer evenings feel this way to me - like I want to stay outside for that one last moment, to see if I can squeeze a little more delight into the day before I turn inside to dinner, a book, a movie, whatever entertainment I can find - which will hold all that much more pleasure if I know I used every last moment of the day as best I could. Tonight, I breathed in the distant, gentle scent of honeysuckle, which also grew on a fence near a parking lot where I used to ride my bike as I child, and was comforted. I wondered if this moment was unique, or if I am always carrying this desire inside to return to my childhood.

Refractions

2009-05-14T21:36:00.004-04:00

One late afternoon, the large crystal vase sitting on my table caught the window light, just so, and created an amazing display of refracted light on the wall behind it.

These are a series of photos I shot:

I loved seeing the way the light shot forth in sprays as the sun shone upon the glass. It was fascinating to see the deliberateness with which the light was fragmented - how much a simple piece of curved crystal could accomplish in terms of altering incoming light. It made me ponder our perceptions, and the way the lens through which we peer has everything to do with what we perceive. This simple glass vase completely refabricated the way I experienced sunlight on that particular afternoon.

Your Life is Important.

2009-05-11T12:09:00.008-04:00

On Friday, I was walking over the Williamsburg Bridge, listening to some beautiful piano music on my iPod, and thinking about the way myself, and other small business owners that I know, have wanted to keep our clients' spirits up in the midst of the economic recession by focusing on the positive. We share thoughts of optimism and thriving, and try to uphold a sense of expansion for the clients we would like to serve at this time - to stand in a place of abundance, and allow that to attract to us the clients who are ready to have us serve them.

The wind was soft and beautiful on the bridge, the sun was shining, and I could see movement all around me - people walking and riding bikes past me on the walkway, cars and trucks below, and the East River below that; cars on FDR drive and so many building housing so much commerce in the distance. I have always loved New York from this perspective - the sheer mass of so much going on at once has always been a beacon of what humans are capable of.

In that moment, I asked myself, "In the midst of all this financial worry, what am I, and my clients, truly longing to hear?" Was it "to thrive" or "be optimistic"? Actually, no. On a deeper level, I could feel that I needed more reassurance before I could find the strength to embrace positive action - I needed my fears to be acknowledged first and foremost. What I needed to be reminded of, and I am here to remind all of my readers is this:

In light of actual change in income, savings, or net worth, or even just the all-too-tangible threat of any of these things, people are now reconsidering what is important in life. Perhaps you have been brought to question your need for certain possessions, or desires. Perhaps you are considering changing career paths. While all of this change and uncertainty can be very exciting - it is also natural to feel ungrounded and insecure in the face of potential change.

As a community, we are being asked to stretch right now - to consider ideas and options we never have before. We live in one of the most abundant, developed, quality-enhanced times on the planet, and are on the brink of even greater break-throughs. Naturally, this would feel like a threat to our egos and psyches, whose cooperation would help bring drive and determination to the deeper calling of our hearts and souls. To foster that cooperation, I suggest that each of us take time to remember that as an individual, "your life is important." It really does make a difference to this planet if you follow your dreams, if you allow your creations to come forth.

Perhaps you don't need as many expensive pedicures as you thought, or perhaps you have to put off purchasing that new car, and of course, in being forced to come up against the limits of your current financial situation, you would feel defeated on some level. But it is not for naught - this is an opportunity to go deeper, to consider what is truly valuable. Start by trying to connect with the idea that your life is IMPORTANT. Define importance for yourself. Then, you will have your own standard of measure by which to decide where to direct your time, energy, and money. By acknowledging your own importance, you will enable it to grow.

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Photography Website Update

2009-04-30T23:16:00.007-04:00

I am absolutely ecstatic about my latest photography website update! Due to a submission deadline, I spent the entire day today organizing fresh, new photos, along with a few longer-standing favorites, and preparing the files for this update. While I have gotten a lot of attention for my children's photography, I am particularly proud of the photos I shot of grown-ups for this web update. Those can be viewed under the "portraits" section of my site. Of course, I still think the kids are cute, too. I would love to get some feedback on the new site, so please feel free to leave your comments!

www.sarahsloboda.com

Here's a sneak preview of a series I did with actor Libby Winters (hair and make-up by the delightful Eric Carter):

Visit www.sarahsloboda.com for additional photos from this series, and more!

Urban Garden, Part 2 - The Sill and the Escape

2009-04-26T15:46:00.014-04:00

Last summer, I purchased a thriving, flowering plant every time I rented a car to leave the city on a photo shoot or on a trip. I created a little garden on my fire escape, framed perfectly by the window when viewed from the inside. This year, I planted various seeds both for the fire escape and the kitchen windowsill.

What I am learning, is that I don't really know much of anything about gardening. I love plants - I am completely soothed by their energy - their un-perceivable yet incessant growth. It is a magical mystery to me how it is that they exist. I say I "plant seeds," as if I have done something other than put pellets into dirt and add water. And then life springs forth without me having to do anything else!

Some of the seedlings get a fungus (or so my online research tells me), and wilt over and die. Some of them thrive. The bulbous seed of my grandfather's garlic grows into long stems, and spreads like a wispy patch of grass. A plant I trimmed back from last fall begins new, green growth.

I have no idea what I'm doing! I put herbs on the sill - some I bought, some I sprouted from seeds my mother gave me. The mint, I bought as cut mint, put it in water until it took root, and then stuck it in a coffee can full of soil. Some things are hardy - like mint and garlic - no green thumb required. Some things I clearly don't know how to take care of, and I carefully watch each day to gauge whether they are thirsty, too moist, or getting enough light. I don't know how, but I start to be able to gauge a plant's happiness.

It's as if I can reach the very essence of life - the only perceivable commonality between myself and a plant. And, it's not something I know how to explain in English, but a direct communication between the plant's vibration and mine.

Still, there are imperfections in this - as the plant's caregiver, when I misinterpret, the plant shows symptoms of discomfort or even partially or completely dies. It is not like it would be, if the plant's roots were nestled in the earth itself, where they could reach for all the nutrients and moisture they need. These plants rely on me to be the rain, to supply the positioning to the light. I don't know what I'm doing, but I try to learn from the plants, and for the most part, I eventually do so successfully.

What I am ultimately doing, is opening myself to learn directly from nature, from life that - by our definitions - exists without "consciousness." On the level of the essence of life, my own conscious thoughts are, frankly, irrelevant. Concepts I form in my head about what a plant should need fall apart until they are just letters, making an invisible alphabet soup in the soil - not harming the plant, but not necessary nourishing it either - just falling pointlessly out of my mind, sinking in, and disappearing into the earth's infinite wisdom.

The plants know exactly what they need. I can read advice from other gardeners, trying to understand the scientific conditions necessary for thriving growth, but if I am honest with myself, and humble enough to admit it, it is a great deal simpler just to ask the plants themselves.

Optimist and Realist

2009-04-19T19:36:00.019-04:00

The Barnes and Noble Classics edition of Essays and Poems by Ralph Waldo Emerson, has an introduction of the same title, "Optimist and Realist," and it resonates with me greatly. Emerson's work is something that has inspired me over the past year, ever since I first took interest in a class offered at the Open Center, in New York. Emerson believed in the virtues of human nature, in the amazing power of unique expression of an individual, and in a morality that reflects the unstoppable human spirit.

Yesterday, I was reading an essay called, "Compensation," in the aforementioned book, and it stated how the nature of all things is to find a balance. It reminded me of the various "eras" in my business - times when I felt sure that the work I was doing was true to my heart, and thereby liberating the hearts of all who experienced it; and times when I fell into doubt about what I was doing, thereby chasing after material results, and always feeling uncertain about whether or not I'd actually garnered a victory. There is always a wholeness to my work when I am really in tune with it, in that it sustains me while I sustain it. Emerson says that everything seeks this wholeness, by nature; that everything seeks the yin to its yang. In other words, if I am out of balance when applying myself to my business, the results will demonstrate the same, and I'll eventually be influenced toward that which will create a natural balance.

Perhaps the thrashing about of the economy, particularly over the past six months, has been the symptom of a broader balancing. My sister, based in Colorado, is a customer service agent for an insurance company, and speaks with people of all professions. She told me that quite often lately, people are telling her that the strain on them economically has made them more creative - the extra time on their hands, or the desire for more income has caused them to explore ideas and talents that they had set on the back burner, and never dreamed would get to explore at the forefront at this stage of their lives. To me, that sounds a lot like a culture waking up from a mad dash for material wealth, to make sure that the path itself on which they journey is, in and of itself, enjoyable - that they needn't wait until retirement, or some distant time or bank balance in the future to begin to find joy in their days.

Now, I am flipping the lamp light on as the spring twilight dwindles, and thinking of how my own optimism is grounded in realism. I would never suggest that anyone simply find a happy thought and slap it on to their stream of consciousness - I would only gently suggest that what is catching their attention now has a seed in it, something deeper and containing answers, and that only things they truly believe can be triggers to their happiness. Try a thought on for size. If it doesn't feel good, it's either not optimistic, or not real. To use positive thinking to really shift our attention to what is working in our lives, we can't pretend we are happy about a loss of income or a reduced retirement fund balance. But we can see the greater good: a nation - and maybe even a world - that is waking up, and seeing the value in having time to decide how to spend one's lifetime.

In Emerson's "Self-Reliance" (a favorite essay of President Barack Obama), he describes that if an individual were able to keep the unaffected spirit of a child, independent of what anyone else wanted of him, his or her strength and power would be fuller, and, in non-conforming, he or she would abide more truly to his or her unique nature. Perhaps now, people who once thought more of comparing cars and bank balances, are beginning to choose for themselves what is important, rather than concerning themselves over what their neighbors might think, and in the process, learning boldness that allows them to step into a power that is uniquely theirs.

My business connector, Robin Coley, said to me last week, "This is a time when people's values are changing." Those words hit my ear like something I wasn't letting myself feel, that I knew inside. Values are changing. We get to decide now. We get to decide what we are here to do, how we would like to spend our time, what is the right amount of money, and the right amount of work to do in week. This is a time when we will see what we have merely glimpsed at other times - that we build our own realities.

(Photos were shot by yours truly, on an iPhone, in Central Park.)

About My Work - in the Third Person

2009-04-14T10:20:00.004-04:00

I was recently asked to define the benefits of working with Sarah Sloboda - an idea I loved - because to date, I am unsure as to whether I have truly written anything that captures the essence of my mentality when I am photographing something, or otherwise creating something. Here is the description I wrote:

Sarah Sloboda has developed a trust in the subtle connections made by the subconscious mind, and knows that art occurs spontaneously, when continuously offered the forum of an open mind, a conscious heart, and a reliable means of expression through a medium. Sarah's life practice is a dedication to creating the fertile ground from which art can spontaneously spring, and so inspiration is always within reach.

As a photographer, and in the other mediums in which she dabbles, such as ceramics, writing, and design, her method is simple: to assess fully the essence of what exists in front of her, drinking in its nuances, and drawing from what already is; she then puts her attention fully and lovingly on the beauty present and allows it to get organically captured in the work.

Sarah defines beauty both as visual attractiveness/symmetry/the composition of lines and form, and also as love/spirit/individuality/the essence of what gives us life. Knowing that we can find beauty all around us, her work requires that she enter a somewhat meditative state where she can focus solely on the beauty. Through that focus, beauty is what is captured when she is at the helm of her craft.

Her work is delineated by her deep trust in the subconscious mind - in other words, instincts or non-linear trains of thought that often arrive at a solution instantaneously. In her technique of honoring the subconscious, success is measured by how fully the ego and conscious mind have stepped out of the way, and often by how effortlessly all the elements in the moment of creation have aligned. Therefore she knows, even as the work is being created, when it will be a success, simply by the way a moment feels.

Photography and Optimism

2009-04-06T14:41:00.011-04:00

Through recent years, photography's technical developments have made leaps and bounds in ways that shocked and surprised photographers of old. Perhaps the digital age has amplified the technical elements of photography, or perhaps it simply is an art form that is more technical in nature than say, painting.

However, as a photographer and an optimist, I find that the true nature of any medium is found in the artist's ability to get past the medium itself. That is, the technical details of camera work should not show themselves as evident in a photographer's work. If a musician has really mastered a song, you don't hear him struggling to hit the notes. Similarly, for a photograph to really sing, the emotion of it needs to play larger than any technical detail.

As an optimist, I am always looking for happy emotions. I work with my camera the way a musician masters an instrument, because when I am shooting, I want to be able to completely step into the moment, and not be distracted by fussing with technical details.

During this economy, a lot of people have asked me, "How's the optimism going?" And I say, "It's going great!" Because I am always looking for happy moments, they are easy to find. A pause in a person's thoughts often give way to a contemplative smile. Asking someone to speak about their dog or their beloved always creates a grin or even a giggle. While much of the mainstream media is obsessed with making and showing images of fear and despair, I keep myself focused on the beauty in our daily lives.

I photograph weddings because I believe that the love that draws two people close enough together to want to entwine their lives is more powerful than the stories we read in the media about crises and fear. I believe that capturing evidence of people's lives working beautifully, and showing the world these images, is how to perpetuate a better feeling of the world we live in. How much beauty surrounds you? If I showed up at your house today, what would you want to show me? What would you want to be savored about your life?

Many of my clients don't actually have to answer these questions out loud. Since I am looking for the beauty in them, and in their lives, it is easy for me to intuit the answers to these questions. My entire craft is dedicated to the bolstering of people's feelings about how wonderful their life really is. I want people to look at my work and think, "She sees it, too. She knows the beautiful secret of how wonderful my life is."

Please feel free to view my wedding work at http://slobodaweddings.blogspot.com.

You may also download a copy of my wedding photography brochure, including artist's statement and press clipping, by clicking here: Sloboda Weddings Brochure.

New Orleans - Enchanted Field Trip

2009-03-13T11:28:00.007-04:00

I stepped off the plane like someone who is always stepping off the plane, and up to the curb where we waited for the white truck, which was stuck in traffic. The air was almost jovial, sun trickling sideways and the scent of flowers bouncing off the breeze.

“This place reminds me of California crossed with Buenos Aires,” I thought, as if I had spent hours and weeks exploring its essence.

The wind in the truck was warm, and I sat in the back while the men spoke in the foreign language they had created through years and years of self-referential inside jokes. I smiled as if I had always known the comfort of this chatter, a chatter I would probably never fully make sense of. It was the symbol of a special bond that I would honor and never insult with a failed attempt to infiltrate, something I would appreciate from the outside, like the way my parents loved each other when I was a child.

I landed in this place of foreign comfort – and was not perplexed by the paradox of it. My mind was curious, “How could it feel so normal to be some place I’ve never been?” Yet, my heart and soul were settled, like something had been decided without having consulted my mind.

The entire essence of the place, for me, could be summed up in those first few moments. The air, the light, the love I felt but couldn’t understand the language of. Walking through the streets and through the park, walking and walking for days after my arrival, the same feeling was there, always.

Even the ghost I came upon in a corridor beneath a stairway was laughing at me as I went by, as if to say, “Silly woman, we’ve been waiting for you.”

For more images, please visit the SARAH SLOBODA | photography facebook page by clicking here.

Hometown Culture Shock - Emerging from Vacation

2009-03-11T18:38:00.007-04:00

For a brief moment today, while I was walking up Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, I found myself caught in a blissful void somewhere between vacation and real life. As I came out of the subway at Union Square, I had stopped and bought an apple and some cider, and I had a great playlist going on my iPod, thanks to my favorite technological development of late - the iTunes "genius" function. In wanting to fully embrace the beginning of spring, I bought some pansies for my fire escape garden, as a miniature emulation of the blossoming yards I had just seen on vacation in New Orleans this past week.

I was walking up Fifth experiencing New York City still in vacation mode - as if I had managed to bring the version of myself I had become in New Orleans back to New York. Teenagers shouted at each other from either side of me as we passed, cars ran lights and blared their horns at pedestrians, and respect for others' individual personal space was held in integrity by absolutely no one. For some reason, eating my local apple, enjoying the music in my ears, and still feeling like "New Orleans," all of these things seemed absolutely delightful. I was thinking, "Isn't New York so quaint? Look at how rushed everyone is. Isn't that interesting?"

Somehow, the logistics of running my business, the tasks of nurturing the nuances of my crafts as an artist, and even the moment-to-moment stresses of day-to-day life were paused for a moment. New York seemed fresh and distant - like I didn't really live here. I had gone so far into the experience of my vacation, that I forgot who I was before I left!

Within minutes, I was at my usual photo lab, consulting on a print order, and learning about new paper stock and printing technologies. And after that, I had some banking to do, and some emails to respond to. So, the moment itself turned out to be just that - a moment - when I had seen my entire life differently, as if it is not all so permanent, not even the way I choose to see things every day.

But I like to think that that energy I felt in my "void moment" has stuck with me, that it was present in my interactions at the photo lab and at the bank - that I am now just a little bit of a new version of myself - and that everyone I meet is meeting someone new. Life feels fresh that way!

I like the idea that I am emerging again: that as the climate of the world has begun to shift in so many ways, I am entering a fresh place from a fresh perspective. I am not the same as when I left a week ago, and it is not the same New York that I returned to. Everything is always shifting, and when I was still enough for a moment, I felt it. What I felt was not scary. It wasn't even unfamiliar. It simply was. And, it was interesting. I was invested in my experience in that moment. Instead of frantically looking back, then looking ahead, seeing the huge difference between the two, and balking at the change... I just found myself having arrived at the present moment, and finding it curious.

(P.S. Vacation photos and story coming soon!)

True Voice Intro Call - Success Story!

2009-03-04T10:14:00.006-05:00

I am thrilled to be serving my community from the place of empowering and activating so many beautiful, powerful written voices. Thank you again, for the opportunity to serve you! I am off to New Orleans on vacation, but I wanted to give an update on the introductory call for "Writing from Your True Voice."

Thank you so much to those of you who joined for last night's call!

If you missed it, you can now access the recording on the True Voice website by clicking here.

Creativity came BURSTING through on the call, and the participants noticed

Their subconscious mind really did know how to connect specific words with the story they wanted to tell.
Being challenged to find words in an usual way led to creating wonderfully unusual imagery.
The way to identify a sentence that is emotionally accurate to their story.

I invite you to try the exercise on the recording, and email me with the "sentence" you select at the end. You will be automatically entered for a chance to win a special gift from me!

Also, if you're ready to take the next step towards moving ahead with your writing endeavors, please email me, at sarah@sarahsloboda.com, to set up a complimentary consultation to discuss your goals, or visit the True Voice website.

How to Use a Little Money to Create a lot of Joy

2009-02-24T11:45:00.011-05:00

We are living abundant lives. I hope we call all let ourselves see that a little more.

Economists will tell you that the economy expands according to the FLOW of energy (money). In other words, energy (money) isn't "in" or "out" of the economy. The economy ebbs and flows proportionally to the flow of energy (money).

It's no wonder now that many of us are feeling anxious to get moving again. The beautiful strength within each of us to go after what we want and see it come to fruition (our personal ability to manifest) has not disappeared! We just need to remember to step back into the flow, rather than stand on the banks of the river, mistrusting its speed. Don't you remember that you were just IN that same river, enjoying the flow, and knowing it would carry you to wherever you want to go?

And, how do we do that? There are things in our lives right now that could use our appreciation, love, uplifting, or positive reinforcement, and when those needs are met, confidence in our abundance will return. We need to restore our confidence in what we have to give.

Start by telling yourself to re-focus on what you do have. "What if all I have is a dollar? In quarters!?" you ask.

In what way could a dollar in quarters make you feel rich? Try this:

Go to a fruit stand on your lunch break or on your way to work and buy an apple (at some carts in New York, $1.00 might even get you two apples!). Take it up to the kitchen, slice it, and arrange the slices on a plate. Then walk around the office, and start offering your colleagues a slice. Just see what happens! Notice how you feel as you bring a fresh new taste full of energy and life to the people you work with - who are probably accustomed to the taste of stale croissants and machine coffee.

"I don't even have an office to work in right now!" you say. What about using facebook as a way of creating a place of having to "virtually" show up each day, and share with your colleagues. It's a fantastic place to create a persona, because you can add things when you are in the best mood to do so. And here's a way to use facebook (or, okay, the good, old-fashioned cellular telephone) to REALLY get some energy flowing:

Find someone who you KNOW has wanted to work with you - who admires your expertise - and OFFER your services to them. Ask them if there is a way for you to help them jump-start any area of THEIR business. Notice how it feels to come from a place of knowledge and experience. Give your service to them for the joy of being of service - or ask them to barter with you in a way that will bolster your energy as well. Remember - the point is to allow yourself to see what you HAVE. And the best way to see that, is to have it reflected by someone who needs you.

"I know I have money, but it just feels so much tighter right now." Rather than get stuck in the feeling of "tightness," focus on how much more you are doing for the world in keeping the energy moving. Maybe there are artists and small business owners whose services could make your life easier, while at the same time feeding their work-flow and income. Have you been putting off a project? Why not support a smaller company NOW, to get your own juices flowing and make progress on your needs? Smaller companies THRIVE with just a little new business! As we support entrepreneurs, we are creating more flow for everyone.

Finally, take inventory. Count your proverbial blessings. Ask yourself, "Do I have natural talents I'm not expressing right now?" What are they? Begin, gently, to wonder ... "How could I begin to allow these talents to go out into the world? What difference could I make if I really began to let the real me shine?"

It simply isn't possible to feel lack and abundance at the same time, and when you are creating abundance for others, you are innately contacting your own abundance. When you allow yourself to focus on what you have to give, you are inherently focusing on what you have.

What will the world not have unless you bring it?

For me, it's about not being afraid to dust off old gifts and bring them back to light. Many of you know, that before my photography business, I was a freelance writer - consulting on screenplays, writing content for the All Media Guide, writing press releases for the People's Choice Awards, and more. Now, as I encourage you all to expand your natural gifts, I will once again include writing in the skill-set I advertise.

In the spirit of giving voice to what's inside an individual, I have created a free introductory call, True Voice: How to Begin to Hear it. This call is perfect for writers, for experts who want to be writers, or for people who just wish they were better able to express themselves through writing. It's also a great resource for developing a habit of expressing your individuality - getting your real self out into the world through the use of your words!

You are officially invited to take part in True Voice: How to begin to Hear it. On the call, we will complete an exercise that will get you tuned into your inner inspiration, and get words flowing that express the real you!

In this course, I will be helping unpublished experts to articulate their methodology and accelerate their business by showing them how to identify and utilize their own powerful written voice.

Please feel free to email me with any questions about the Writing from Your True Voice course at sarah[at]sarahsloboda.com.

To access a free recording of the call that took place on March 3, 2009, please click here.

Awaiting Spring

2009-02-21T11:24:00.012-05:00

I woke up this morning, and realized that we are only one week away from March. The sun has moved into Pisces on the astrological calendar, and that means - spring is on the way!

This winter, I took the term "hibernation" to heart. I spent countless hours settling into my couch under a blanket with a glass of wine or cup of tea, watching the modern four seasons of Doctor Who, day-dreaming of adventures through time and space.

The end of 2008 felt to me very much like a time to quiet myself - to pause and step back from my regular patterns, to assess what was working and what wasn't, and to feel that natural sadness that comes up during the dark, cold winter months. Then 2009 began, and I was still sitting in that place of hibernation a bit, having let the plants on my fire escape whither and die, and knowing that this is time of year when things fall away.

Over the course of the past week, I have begun to feel something move again - like the roots of plants underneath the soil beginning to stir with life. I have a picture in my mind of a seed, just beginning to crack - the muted brown tones of the outer casing break open, and in the darkness of the opening, the phosphorescent green of life deliberately embarks on its uncoil.

Something feels like it is stirring within me, too, and it has inspired me to feel true appreciation for what is right and perfect in my life. In fact, it has inspired me to accept and understand that everything is right and perfect in my life, right now, exactly as it is. There is no lack. What felt like a tremendous loss, was simply the natural turn of a season. Maybe what they call "Seasonal Affective Disorder," is not a disorder at all, but just a natural time for quiet introspection, and even sadness. And if I can accept that everything I was feeling was divinely right, even in the darkness, I can begin to see so many things around me that contribute to my abundant well-being.

In my desire to be more fully appreciative, I am trying to more consistently look around me - closely - to see what I have right now. To see what is supporting me emotionally, and also to see what I have that might help others at this time, as we start to grow and stretch our inner phosphorescence out into the sun.

Today, I realized that I have a beautiful relationship with my houseplants. They don't need much from me - just daily watering and a helping of compost once in awhile - and yet they give me so much! They provide fresher air in my home, a palpable energy, and something lovely to look at soaking in the light from the windows and the skylight. They remind me how simply being aware of the energy of light in my home makes me happy.

These photos were shot on my iPhone, of a moneywort plant I have in a planter on my bedroom windowsill. I love seeing this plant perk up on its ends, reaching for the sky, and fearlessly spreading out. My appreciation would not otherwise have these depths, except that - in contrast - I am coming out of hibernation, and thus I am reminded that everything really does have a season.

Shape-shifting - The Story of my Changing Career

2009-02-18T12:04:00.013-05:00

“Hello, Joe?” I said, quietly into the phone.
“Yes?”
“It’s Sarah Sloboda. I think I need to come in for a follow-up session.”
“Sure, Sarah. What’s going on?”
“I quit my job.”
“Come in tomorrow,” Joe said.

Joe Monkman {http://earthspiritworks.com/} is a spiritual healer trained in the shamanic traditions of Peru. Two weeks before this dialogue, I had met Joe for the first time – feeling sullen, depressed, disempowered in my workplace, and suffering from a stress-related stomach ulcer. Although drawn to his work through a book I read on shamanism called, Soul Retrieval, I was extremely reluctant to believe that his drumming and waving his feather around my body was going to change anything for me, or my career.

Miraculously, my disbelief was suspended after my first session with Joe.

“Breathe in your nose, and out your mouth,” Joe instructed me, as I lay on the massage table in his Manhattan office.

Quite frankly, I didn’t do much else. I closed my eyes tightly, and listened while Joe drummed methodically, creating a feeling in the room that was deeply soothing, yet unfamiliar to me at a time when rushing to meetings from coast to coast with little to no sleep was a rhythm to which I had grown quite miserably accustomed. According to what I’ve read on the subject, Joe was interacting with a non-visible part of reality on my behalf, to balance the energy I was carrying in my body.

I told Joe about the struggles of my life, emotionally tied to the path my career had taken, and how I felt strong pangs of discontent, despite having achieved what I had said I had been wanting for years – a job in the prestigious world of television. My life had been turned upside down after a perspective-changing car accident, and although I had tried to pursue the path that film school had sent me upon, some part of me was no longer present, and neither my medical doctors nor my shrink had been able to help me locate it.

For Joe, however, this was common, everyday work. A shaman’s purpose in ancient tribes was to help restore a person’s essence, in order to keep them whole, despite the traumas of everyday life. Joe’s intention with me was to help create a space where the real me could shine through.

When I walked out of his office, I found myself making eye contact with strangers on the street. I felt open. I was seeing through my own eyes for the first time in a long time. Within two weeks, I could no longer tolerate my job. I felt pangs of anguish, knowing that there were other ambitious souls who would love to hold my position, while I was resenting it, and longing for a place to express my creative voice.

I sat in a bathroom stall, struggling to gain control of my emotions for 20 minutes before walking into my boss’s office and giving notice. Part of me was just beginning to gain enough strength to represent myself honestly, although I don’t know how I spoke to my boss at that time without fainting.

I called Joe, and told him what had happened. I had no plan. Just a general knowing that my creative sense, and my experience as a visual artist and photographer was enough to take me forward. With Joe’s encouragement, I was able to begin to make my life reflect what was more authentically me, and I began to see my entire life take on a new shape.

Within two months, I had booked my first big job as a full-time photographer – a wedding in Malibu – and had arranged with the bride who was a graphic designer to brand and launch my new photography company {http://www.sarahsloboda.com}. My photography business thrived the very first year of its existence, and garnered worldwide acclaim for the work I did with children and weddings.

Now operating from a place of near-constant evolution, I have re-branded as Sarah Sloboda: Photographer, Optimist. It is my personal mission to provide millions of people with photographic evidence of their lives working beautifully. I am also a consultant - working creatively to inspire and motivate other artists and business owners who are blocked, stuck, or otherwise need a brainstorm boost.

Following the path to authenticity that Joe helped me to open, my career now has one clear premise – to make sure that the trajectory of my personal growth is reflected in the work I am doing in the world, so that others can benefit from my experience.

(Keep up with this trajectory here, at University of Sarah: the Art School of Optimism - http://universityofsarah.blogspot.com. Click here to subscribe to the mailing list, and to receive a free copy of the 7 Points of Optimism!)

7 Points of Optimism

2009-02-09T17:47:00.010-05:00

A brilliant woman who coaches me on my business, Coco Fossland - self-titled Success Alchemist, was chatting with me in her living room one afternoon this past fall about my endeavor to bridge my artistic sense as a photographer with my desire to inspire millions of people with optimism. She said, "You know what you need? You need the 7 Points of Optimism."

She meant it as an example - a metaphor for some kind of methodology or set of principles that would serve as the guideposts for myself, and for those upon whom I wanted to shed this light. But as it turned out, 7 Points were exactly the right number and way to sum up my thinking.

Many people are interested in the power of positive thinking - particularly with increasing understanding of the Law of Attraction, and the way our thoughts create our life experience. However, I don't know a whole lot of people who would actually identify themselves as an optimist.

I'm not sure how I became an optimist - I reckon I was born this way, although perhaps this will become fodder for future blogging down the line. But for now, I have identified the way that I manage to think about things in a positive way, and the steps are simple enough for anyone to try at any level of neutrality, or even pessimism, about how the world works.

The day after Coco planted the seed in my head, I awoke in the morning and the 7 Points of Optimism essentially wrote themselves into my journal. Each one of them has its own value in the moment, but they can also be used as a 7-step creative process, which could be applied to any artistic endeavor, to conjure a creative business solution, or even when one needs a new take on a personal, emotional issue.

The basis is noticing and being willing to own one's own experience as such - that is, if you are willing to acknowledge your thoughts and feelings as your own, and not something being forced upon you, you are ready to experience things more optimistically, if you so choose. All that is required is a desire to change your perspective, and a knowledge that you can.

You can read the 7 Points below, and I am including them here for easy reference, both for myself and anyone who reads my blog. I would also invite you to download them for free - all you have to do is CLICK HERE, and enter your email address where prompted, and you will receive a printable PDF of the 7 Points of Optimism featuring 3 of my photos.

In sharing these words, I want them to become even more real in my life. I would love to hear from you about any attempts to apply them to your experiences, and about any thoughts you may have.

Sarah Sloboda’s SEVEN POINTS OF OPTIMISM:

1) Appreciating things as they Are.
Recognizing that nothing needs to change for me to be happy in this moment.

2) Finding the "Awe."
Once I see how things are, I can find ONE thing wonderful in this moment, exactly as it is.

3) Experiential Immersion.
Allow myself to bask in the "awe" feeling I have discovered in the now. To feel fully, all through my body, the wonder of this moment I am experiencing.

4) Relishing.
Jotting down the thought, calling a friend and sharing, taking a picture. Making the awe of this moment somehow go beyond this moment. (This creates expansion of the "awe.")

5) Self-discovery.
Recognizing my role in this experience - that the reason this moment could be relished was because I took the time to engage in it.

6) Honoring my Value.
Appreciating the role I have played, and thanking myself for allowing the true wonder of this experience to flow through me. In relishing it, I have expanded it for myself and others.

7) Make space for Creativity.
My call to interpret the moment beautifully is innate. All I had to do was make the space for it, and it appeared.

Dumbo's Magic Feather

2009-01-31T11:55:00.007-05:00

"Use the magic feather," Timothy the mouse guides Dumbo, who is afraid to open his ears and fly. He puts the feather in Dumbo's trunk and says with absolute conviction, if you hold this, you will have the power to fly; just open your "wings."

Many people have offered us "magic feathers" throughout our lives. Very well-intentioned parents, teachers, and elders have said, "work hard, and you'll be rewarded."

But what happens when the magic feather slips through Dumbo's grasp? He believes all his power to fly was in that feather, and without it he is paralyzed with fear.

When we lose a job, an opportunity, or anything else that felt like the roadway to our desire, we seem to act like we have lost our magic feather. "Without [fill-in-the-blank], I will never be a writer or a famous performer, or I won't reach the financial goal I set, or I won't get that apartment I wanted." And this is the way we use our disappointments to block our future success and keep ourselves small - by making certain circumstances into magic feathers, without which we cannot function.

Once we have identified our "magic feather," we put all of our stock in that. Essentially, we give our power away to it.

Then, suddenly, we find ourselves high up on a platform with hundreds or thousands of people watching, a little mouse in our hat yelling, "Fly! Fly!" A gust of wind has swept the magic feather from our grip. Frantic and terrified, paralyzed by the loss of that feather that slipped away just as easily as it had come, we stand there, frozen. Everyone is going to be disappointed in us. Maybe the circus master will hurt us or leave us without sustenance. Or, if we risk the leap, quite literally, we fear instantaneous death.

But the truth is this: "The magic feather was just a gag - you can fly!" Timothy shouts this desperately, trying to get Dumbo to simply stop clenching and open his ears.

As we let go and trust, we see it is our own strength, our own essence that allows us to fly. It is not that lost job that would have brought us to the feeling of wealth and abundance we seek. As soon as we release the job as the magic feather, there is room for wealth and abundance to come in the best, easiest way possible. Through our natural gifts - no matter how freakish they may appear on the surface - we naturally take off. Because it wasn't Dumbo's magic feather, but the giant ears he had so fearfully tried to hide, that let him fly.

Spontaneous Clarity

2009-01-24T12:24:00.007-05:00

It seems to me that sometimes after months and months of meandering aimlessly in one's own thoughts, suddenly clarity comes as if spontaneously out of nowhere. And one might think, "Whoa, where did that come from?" But upon further reflection, it had obviously been building up very carefully through obsessive, relentless self-inquiry.

Tonight, speaking with a dear friend, I had an epiphany.

I have decided to become a consultant - working creatively to inspire and motivate other artists and business owners who are blocked, stuck, or otherwise need a brainstorm boost. If you are a screenwriter, and a friend of mine, you have probably worked with me in this capacity before. Or, if you run a business, and I've ever sat down with you to talk about it, you might have noticed it is natural for me to throw out ideas, and to want to help people bridge the gap between their desires and their accomplishments. I have been doing so for years, almost by accident. Now I can see with absolute certainty that it is time to take this gift more seriously.

I know that when I launched my photography business full-time in 2005, I was undertaking a wide array of challenges that would make me a better photographer. I am completely enamored with image-making and recording. It helps me make sense of the world, and focusing on it as a business enabled me to take it further than ever before - it helped me focus on making my work more articulate, more honest, more engaging.

Now, as I fully embrace the love I have for helping others to step into their dreams, complete unfinished projects, and polish blossoming works, I know that building a business around it will naturally enhance my focus and my ability to inspire and encourage people. In the process, I am owning the latter part of my tagline, "Sarah Sloboda: Photographer, Optimist." I didn't know all that I would learn about imagery by running a photography business, just as I now don't know all there is to know about helping others. But, if my experience in photography is any indication, I feel certain that following my deepest desire - to help people discover and relish their happiness - will lead me to insights that take my work in this arena to a new level as well.

This news was so big, I just had to share it. As of now, there is no business structure, website, or point-of-reference. Just an unmistakable feeling of clarity that this is my path. I would love to field any questions or thoughts, as I know doing so will help me to formulate this new endeavor even more rapidly, so feel free to email me at sarah[at]sarahsloboda.com.

The revelation came as the kind of clarity that whispers to you, at first, as if to let you in on a secret. And you can ignore it if you want, but you know it will keep tickling your ear. And soon you'll have to scratch it or you'll inadvertently start twitching and freaking people out on the subway.

Or, you can just say, "Yes, little whisper. I hear you. I don't know where we're going, but I hear you."

New Year's Intentions

2009-01-12T14:40:00.014-05:00

The term "New Year's Resolutions," has been used for a long time, and recently, I have noticed that people are shying away from it. I told my friends I was setting "New Year's Intentions" this year, and they liked that better than "resolutions." That made me wonder a little bit...

Because resolution - coming from the word resolve - seems to carry more weight, actually. If you resolve to do something, nothing will stop you from doing it. You will do whatever it takes. So, if we really want to reach our goal, why the repulsion to the word resolution? Is it that we feel we have failed in the past to do what we supposedly resolved to do? Or, have we learned that even though we may think we know exactly what to do, sometimes life surprises us by making it more difficult than we imagined - or even, impossible to achieve it the way we originally thought?

Maybe enough of us are starting to see that in life, you can't always force things. By making the statement gentler, and simply intending to do something, it feels more like leaning in the direction of the desired outcome, and leaving room for it to manifest at its own pace, and in its own way.

It also leaves room for the unknown, for magic, for serendipity, for cosmic orchestration. It makes life seem bigger and more vast - it helps us tap into a grander sense of existence. It leaves room for a random phone call from a person you never would have expected, for things to fall into place more easily than you even dared to hope.

It opens us up to what we probably already know - that we really don't do anything on our own. All kinds of situations and people and pre-existing conditions help funnel the life we want to us. And if we're smart, we'll set our intentions to leverage the power of these other forces to work collectively with our own efforts - rather than creating a resolution to do something our own way no matter what.

I have set some ambitious financial intentions this year, and I know it's going to stretch me beyond what I now know about myself in order to be able to achieve them. I know if I simply "resolved" to accomplish them from where I am now, I may not have the will, the knowledge, or the endurance to persevere when I inevitably come up against areas of challenge for me. So, I am intending to reach these financial goals - knowing that I don't know everything about how I'll reach them - and so gently forcing myself to be open to new information, and help from places as magical as my own psyche, as dull as a textbook, from obvious things, and esoteric things - simply knowing that being open to receiving from wherever it comes, will be the only way to be sure not to miss my real lesson.

Because, quite frankly, who knows what that will turn out to be. All I really want, deep in my heart, is to grow.

Flashback - Top of the Rock Field Trip

2008-12-12T10:45:00.010-05:00

Recently, tucked safely within my Voigtlander, I came upon a roll of undeveloped film from an excursion I took with my parents to the top of Rockefeller Center back in September. I have been to the Top of Rock on a couple of occasions, and it never ceases to thrill me - it certainly provides the best view of the Empire State building from within the city - and something about the giant towering antennae hovering overhead and projecting television signals up to satellites that broadcast to millions, always makes me feel like I'm really at the heart of something.

I wanted to share a few of the shots I took this time around - trying to see the Top of the Rock from a slightly different perspective. There is something uniquely fun about developing a forgotten roll of film, and suddenly recalling what one was thinking about and experiencing at the time that one shot it.

I recommend this spot to all of my out of town guests. And, it's no joke - you really must try one of those binocular devices - you can see so many cool things all over the city for just 75 cents! (That's so cheap, they don't even put cent symbols on keyboards any more!)

Of course, you will have to pay to get up there first. But the rollar-coaster-like elevator ride is entirely worth it, in and of itself.

View a shot from my last trip to the Top of the Rock by following this link to my blog entry from last December.

Holiday Card Designs

2008-12-09T23:55:00.007-05:00

This year, I decided to offer my clients original holiday card designs - in adherence with the trend of sending cute photos of one's kids for family and friends nationwide to post on refrigerators.

I created a couple of little graphics with the help of my friend Neil. Neil is beyond genius at design - check out his blog, The 25-Hour Day - so this was clearly a simple endeavor compared to most of what he does. I had "painted" the images with oil pastels and then scanned them. Neil helped me to make those into files shaped like the images - in other words, cut-out shapes with no background color. Then the images could be used like clip art.

I wanted the designs to be cute and festive, but fairly simple, so as to offer my clients an alternative to some of the cheesy and/or run-of-the-mill photo card options. I came up with these two designs, and posted them to a separate webpage, so that I could easily link to it here: http://www.sarahsloboda.com/holiday_cards.html.

Non-Dominant Eye Experiments - Part 1

2008-11-28T22:07:00.006-05:00

It was recently brought to my attention that we humans have a dominant eye - the eye our visual center defaults to, with the other creating our 3-dimensional sense around the first. This seems like common sense, if you've ever laid in bed staring at a pillow up close, closing one eye, and then the other. One eye gives a perspective that seems utterly disorienting from when you had both open - the other is just about what you expected.

You can test this for yourself by aligning your thumb with an object in the distance (both eyes open), and closing one eye and then the other. Your dominant eye will show the thumb aligned with the object. Your non-dominant eye will show the thumb quite removed from the object.

I happen to be fascinated, not only by the visual cortex, but also by the workings of the brain hemispheres. I am right-handed, and was often jealous of the off-kilter, creative thinking of my left-handed peers. (For novices on this subject, if you are right-handed, you are left-brain dominant - and logic oriented. If you are left-handed, you are right-brain dominant - and artistically oriented.) When I was in college, I tried writing left-handed for an entire semester to see if it would effect my thinking process, and open up some creativity in the writing I was doing at the time. It was nearly impossible to take legible lecture notes this way, which changed the way I was thinking, in and of itself.

So, when I heard this theory about having a dominant eye, I was intrigued! After performing the test, I discovered that I am right-eye dominant, as well as being right-handed. Of course, my college experiment sprung to mind immediately, and I wondered what would happen if I started taking pictures closing my right eye, and using my left to look through the viewfinder.

First of all, this was physically challenging. I had to really think about closing that right eye. I shot all of the photos in this post with my left eye, and I felt a different kind of mental presence in the exercise, although I am not sure they are altogether more creative than they would have been, had I shot them with my right. I wouldn't go as far as to say I could sense when my right brain hemisphere had been activated (although wouldn't that be cool if we could sense that?), but I did find myself very much in the moment, and absorbed in the process of capturing my surroundings in a way that felt fresh and new.

These were taken in the Catskills - in a small town called Medusa, New York.

Fall Kids' Portraits - Part 3

2008-11-20T14:17:00.010-05:00

One final set of kids' fall portraits!

This one was particularly fun because of the angle of the sun during the shoot. Once again, this little one found a twig - it had leaves and an encased nut attached, but it was a twig nonetheless.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves about how much fun this shoot was!

I am honored to have had the pleasure of serving my clients by photographing their beautiful children this fall - and want to thank them for allowing me to share the results with you.

Fall Kids' Portraits - Part 2

2008-11-18T13:16:00.005-05:00

Prospect Park was simply beautiful this fall - full of color and light - and with some mild November days, it was the perfect setting for these portraits of an energetic little guy and his parents. (Click on any of the photos for a larger view, and hit back to return here.)

What I am learning from photographing kids ages two and under, is that they love sticks. What is it about sticks? They're fun to run with. They're fun to hold. They're fun to use to poke at things. Sometimes I wish I was so easily amused, and that all I needed was to find a stick and run gleefully through the trees...

Time and again, working with little ones reminds me of our light-hearted true nature. This child's smiling eyes were so endearing, and his nature so honest, that when I looked at him, I couldn't help but think, "Perhaps life is not so hard, after all." Often I wonder if kids like him - able to change an adult's attitude with merely a glance - have any sense of the joy they bring to the world. Does he even begin to fathom his tremendous inherent value?

I couldn't hurt for all of us to remember our role, as bringers of delight! I want these photos to remind me to smile more, and I hope they'll do the same for you.

Fall Kids' Portraits - Part 1

2008-11-12T14:59:00.010-05:00

The changing of the seasons in New York this fall has been absolutely bursting with color! I have had the pleasure of photographing lots of kids' portraits against this stunning backdrop, and I wanted to share some of the highlights (this is part 1 of a 3-part series of portraits).

This shoot took place on the far side (coming from Manhattan) of Prospect Park, where horses meander along the trail by the water on their way back to the nearby stable. It was a gloriously sunny day, and the 1-year-old subject was more than delighted to see a row of horseback-riders rambling by.

We sat in the shade and played in the leaves, and as 1-year-old's do, this one kept finding sticks and trying to eat them. (No amount of hearing the word "Yuck," could convince her otherwise.)

She was a delightful subject and would sit and look right into the camera, or glowingly at her mother. Talk about merging work with pleasure! It was a wonderful way to spend the afternoon, and I found myself in total appreciation of the fact that my career consists of being willing to bask in the sun on a mild fall day, and play in the leaves with a 1-year-old. What an honor to get to spend an hour with this beautiful, little girl.

Autumnal Moments

2008-11-08T17:02:00.007-05:00

This year in New York City, autumn has been gorgeous!

In years past, I noticed that the trees in NYC would stay green until Thanksgiving and then be suddenly bare. This year, fall slowly but surely turned leaves yellow then orange and red, at a pace slow enough to be relished and delighted in. Rainy days have alternated with sunny, and the temperature has fluctuated from cool to mild. All in all, a perfectly quintessential fall!

Not only was I able to take several of my clients to the park for their child's yearly portrait session on some of the more radiant afternoons of the season, I have also made time to capture the brilliance of the leaves on rainy days, too. While rain isn't any good for shooting portraits, the overcast sky makes for extraordinarily vivid colors, so I was finding myself enamored with the leaves as they changed colors and scattered themselves on the ground.

These are some images I snapped, inspired by the last burst of fiery life in these plants before they take their well-deserved winter respite, and a shot of a heart-shaped cloud break on a lovely fall morning, just after setting the clocks back for daylight savings.

New Beginnings

2008-10-27T23:51:00.007-04:00

Once in awhile, something big moves in your life. A partner comes or goes, a job does, or an opportunity...

And when that happens, it's like trigger, that suddenly makes you aware of all the things in your life you thought might be different by now. One thing stops time, and all of the little voices, that were heretofore in the background, resound in a chorus of demands on you to fix whatever is wrong - and there is a LOT to fix.

I thought about some big shifts that occurred in my life recently, bringing questions and feelings of doubt, along with an ungrounded feeling. Sometimes when something moves, and you had, in part, defined yourself by your relationship to it, it is possible to feel detached, as if you had somehow lost a part of yourself in the transition. Or, maybe you glimpse a part of yourself that is bigger and more powerful than you ever imagined - and that is, well, equally terrifying.

Coming from a place like this, as an optimist, I thought, "What can I say about this that would be of any use to people?" In other words, how can I find something inspiring to say about something that makes me (as it would anyone) uncomfortable and confused?

Well, you have to start with the truth. I may be an optimist, but I firmly believe that you cannot just smile and pretend things are okay. You have to be [sometimes brutally] honest with yourself. The only way to look at something optimistically, is to acknowledge what you are really feeling - what you REALLY make of your life. And then, you can access the parts of you that see it differently - that see it all as a magical endeavor for you to grow and learn with.

So, the truth is - something sucks. You feel lonely, disoriented, skeptical of the people you meet, and doubting that you will ever really know another person with good intentions. At the same time, something nags you inside to notice how glorious you are - begging you to step up to the plate. The more you don't, the worse you feel. What does this feel like? I'm not going to describe it for you - just feel what it feels like. I did this tonight after a long hot bath, and it brought tears. There weren't any thoughts, there was no blame. I just felt some obscure sense that there is hurt in the world, and that I (like anyone) touch a lot of lives with my presence, and that there is some significance in that.

And then, I realized that must be what my friend had felt when she thought she might lose her kitten. That must be what my brother feels like when someone lets him down. That must be what that client felt like, when they had a bad day and took it out on me. That must be what that waiter felt like. That must be what that sad man on the subway felt like. And on and on...

Just as soon as I had honestly acknowledged any pain, I felt the opposite - I felt utter compassion. In knowing what life really feels like, I can be a better friend, a better sister, a better vendor, a better customer, a better person to run into on the street. Because we learn compassion from acknowledging our fears, worries, faults and misunderstandings, those things have a strong and powerful purpose.

I won't pretend to really understand what troubles anyone else - the stories people have about their life are deeply personal and they are very attached to them, for better or worse. But I do think we feel the same pain, regardless of the story line. And there is something inspiring in that.

Certainly, artwork is often created in a form that inspires many different individuals to relate their own story lines to it in many different ways. Art is seldom universally liked, but great art does speak to a certain mass of people - those who like Tchaikovsky or David Lynch would not find themselves loners by any measure. So great work, in appealing to the masses, demonstrates that there are some things a great deal of us relate on. I would suggest that one of these things is our pain - that that could be the great work of Universal art that unites us all. If we could be open to the knowing that we are not alone in our suffering, maybe it would soften us. Maybe it would allow us to really connect.

Most of us have felt this when we could see someone we love suffering. But what about our own little sufferings? The little everyday voice that says, when? how? why? That wants to blame and label and categorize. What if we could have compassion for ourselves instead of allowing that little voice to berate us, and thereby realize that everyone we meet has a little voice, too.

In thinking about everyone else's little voices, I decided to post this blog. Previously, I had decided only to post things when I was already feeling totally optimistic. But today, I had a feeling that honestly conveying what seemed like a fairly common thing, might allow me to shift into feeling optimistic. In other words, putting myself out there for others to relate to seemed a greater gift than not sharing at all until I felt more perfectly suited to do so.

On that note, I guess today's lesson is: Do it anyway. Even if you don't feel like making art, do it anyway. Feelings you're afraid of showing might be more shared than you think. It is my hope that we'll find some truth with each other in this way. Wouldn't that just change the world?