Day 1 | January 1st

Every year I seem to always try to make a commitment to get in the frame more. This year I actually want to really work on it. I have a new lighting set up that I can play with some, so that will help a lot in terms of being able to set up for a self portrait.

For this week, I chose to be in front of this window, using natural light. It is a north facing window that has very soft light that filters through the trees.

Also I have dubbed January my “black and white” month where I try to shoot primarily in black and white.

Day 2 | January 2nd

There are a lot of parenting decisions that have adjusted during Covid-19 and being isolated away from people. The amount of video games that we let the boys play is one of them – I truly hate video games. They tend to cause behavior issues, adrenaline rushes and then crashes when they are done. But right now it is one of the only social things the kids can do safely, so a compromise was struck. I still hate them, but they get to play them a lot more.

Carter tends to game on his PC and with our current set up, that is right behind me. He asked for a new mouse for Christmas in order to do specific things within the games he plays – click per second is apparently very important. I warned him he will strain the muscles in his hand if he keeps up with the crazy clicking, he of course dismissed me. In the meantime I have pulled out my noise cancelling headphones to put on while he plays because if I hear aggressive clicking I am gonna lose my mind.

But the thing about his mouse – it glows. So does his keyboard. And it looks really cool.

Day 3 | January 3rd

As part of my “Year of Creativity” I am trying to study artist and photographers more. I am participating in an Art Study of 50 Famous Paintings through one of the networks that I engage with. We are supposed to study a painting for ten full minutes, uninterrupted, then write down what we remember about the painting. After that there are educational videos telling you about the artist, history and techniques used in the painting. Then we create our own “interpretation” of the painting in a photograph. It is so fascinating and I am learning a ton.

Our first painting is The Lamentation in The Arena Chapel by Giotto Di Bondone. I have placed a copy of it below for viewing and there is a lot of information online to learn more about the Chapel and all the paintings. When studying this painting, I was drawn to the gesture of the arms and hands of everyone. I decided to recreate the hands of one of the individuals in the painting and had Jeremy pose for me.

Day 4 | January 4th

I purchased my older brothers studio equipment in December and finally got a chance to start messing around with it. Here is a one light set up with a hair light behind Carter. Normally he doesn’t want his photo taken, but he jumped at the chance to help me today and boy will I take it. He is really looking and acting older these days – no longer a little boy at all, but stuck in that weird in between where he isn’t quite a teenager, but doesn’t fit in with younger things either. We have been having some great conversations where I have noticed a shift in his thinking and ability to comprehend the more complex and subtle parts of life. It’s a glimpse into his growth and maturity and I am loving that part.

Day 5 | January 5th

Oh this little stinker has been such a joyful light in our lives. The Itty Bit was sitting in just a sliver of light and I wanted to play with my new Lensbaby Sol45 lens. She was stretched out so comfortably, I was jealous of her nap during the middle of the day.

Day 6 | January 6th

Kristen and I went for a walk in the late afternoon. There has been so much rain lately, it felt like a rare moment where we had a dry patch to go get some exercise. We headed one neighborhood over and found this unusual sight – a horse laying down in the mud. Sadly I only had on my Lensbaby Sol45, so I couldn’t isolate the scene like I would have liked, but I ended up getting this shot.

Day 7 | January 7th

Another dry day, so Cart-o came over to play with Gavin. They kept practicing synchronized Fortnite dances on the deck, so it felt like the right thing to shoot today. These two are little nuts.