Moms are essential and all they essentially want are smiles.
Posted on November 24, 2020
Hello Fellow Memory Collectors!
This is a gratitude post.
Bonny came to me with one wish, to see the smiles on her children’s faces so she could plaster them all over her walls at home. As a mom myself, I knew what she meant. She was looking for those smiles you see when you tickle your children after they grab another cookie out of the cookie jar, just when you weren’t looking. Or the smiles, you see as you are chasing your kids in the backyard during a pick-up game of tag. Even those sweet smiles you get when you cuddle to read your children some bedtime stories as you rock them to sleep. In short, the smiles that show you as a mother you are getting through to your kids. The smiles that demonstrate your children know how much you care about them, and how much you LOVE them. You may not get a “thank you” for your selfless, 24/7 unrelenting efforts of being a mother, but their smiles are GRATITUDE enough.
This session has a whimsy with an Americana background during a time of autumn. I spent time telling the story of a kid’s perspective, paying attention to the ripples in the pond, along with the exploration that happens when kids are in play, and motherly love. Their story is of a time when they smiled during the golden hour with gratitude for their mother.
As for me, I simply loved being there to witness their authentic love.
Introducing: Made of Moments Photography
Posted on November 10, 2020
Hello fellow memory collectors! I’m so glad you are here today.
Made of Moments Photography’s very first entry is on the topic of memory creation, and memory safe keeping. Take a second, and resurface a feel-good memory. Are your senses alive with taste, smells, vivid colors, and all-the-feels? Good. Keep going…I’ll wait. 🙂
Research shows that when we assign emotions to moments the memories last longer, and sustain their vividness over time. Our very own neurobiological systems of emotional arousal and memory are inextricably linked together. Meaning, memories don’t just happen rather, they are made.
One-way researchers have found, to support sustaining memory, is through memory retrieval over time. Specifically, if we can see the things we want to remember (for example, your photos), and we retrieve those images periodically over time, we will have better success at remembering. When we can see the image, and remember the emotions, and can recall the sensory details around the moment…the memory becomes more lasting.
That is to say, for our sustainable memory creation we need images and photos that capture the human experience, and we need to revisit them often, over time.
The human experience suggest the realities of your human existence. Our existence encompasses our mind and body, our emotions and our spirituality. Photos in non-ideal settings, with everywhere mess, the lack of smiles, and even the frustrations of every day life, are authentic examples of the human experience. The smell of the dinner you just burnt, or the sound of giggles (or naughtiness) of your children, sometimes the feeling of sadness and grief from the loss of someone you love, this is real life. Perhaps the placement is common, in celebration of the winning goal at a local sandlot, or under a street light where you are standing when you and your partner embrace and you feel your loving connection. Whatever the detail, keep it simple, keep it authentic, keep it about your human experience and your photos will result in memories that sustain.
“Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.” ~ Dr. Seuss
I am a visual storyteller, passionate about capturing authentic images that tell a story full of meaning. So, what do you want to remember? Let’s document your soon to be treasured keepsakes now!