Life as ArT

Pictures in my Head

Today, my youngest child turned 30 (my oldest is nearing 40).  Acknowledging that fact can certainly make me feel old but I don’t want to dwell on my gray hair and what caused it, except … lately, I have been browsing through the photo album in my head.  My family will tell you that my memory is faulty (I attribute that to just too much stuff to retain, but maybe it’s because there’s not enough gray matter – ha!).  Nevertheless, there are some images I can pull from my memory and reminisce whenever I wish.  I’m sure you have those too.  It seems that even after decades, I can see the moment clearly, as though I was there again.  Some of these are snapshots and some are snippets of video.

I can still see my daughter, Amanda, on her first birthday.  She wore the special outfit I bought her- red tights and a white print top with red rickrack trim (it now resides in the cedar chest upstairs).  She was walking and pretty steady on her feet that day.  She didn’t yet have enough hair to look like a little girl. 

Jump to Monday of this week.  I added a new picture to the photo album in my head.  I stood in the parking lot of a clinic and watched Amanda, long, dark, silky hair swinging as she carried her sick six-year-old daughter in to see the doctor.  Evie is almost too big to carry now but she wasn’t feeling well.  Her arms and legs dangled as she rested her head on Amanda’s shoulder.  My baby was carrying her baby.  OK, sorry for the mush but sometimes, I think my heart will just burst with love and pride.  I know that picture will forever remain in my head, too.  (Evie is on the mend now.) 

In my head, there is a picture of my new baby daughter’s face the very first time I saw her.  There are pictures of her on the first day of school, waiting on the school bus with her name pinned to her new jumper; pictures from her first dance revue (she was a bunny and scarcely moved on stage); there’s a picture of her sobbing from watching “Old Yeller,” pictures of her laughing in her room with a group of girls at a sleep over;  then there was graduation, the wedding, and the births of her three children … the picture album in my head seems infinite, and yet, I wish I could remember all of it, every moment.  So many pictures are “out of focus” or missing.  That makes the images I do have in my head all the more precious and important.

So, it must be karma or fate or a natural extension of who I am or something, that I now make pictures of babies, children, young adults, so that their parents can remember how they thought their hearts would burst with love and pride.  This is the best job in the world – it’s what I was meant to do.

Happy Birthday, Amanda!

(Oh - Eric, my almost 40 year old baby boy, will have to wait for his June birthday to see what I have to write about him.)

Fifth Anniversary of KWP

K. Weatherwax Photography has now been in business for FIVE YEARS!  Woo Hoo!  I have learned so much in that time about how to take good portraits and how to run a business.  And it hasn't been easy.  In the beginning I also worked a full-time job at Purdue.  After 20 years at Purdue, I recently retired (early) to work full-time at the photography biz. 

From 2004 to 2007, I ran the business from my home.  I opened the studio in Delphi on September 29th, 2007 and I'm so glad I did.  Here's a picture of the studio on grand opening day:

 
I want to thank my customers who have made it possible for me to do what I love to do.  Thank you!  Life is good!

Portraits as Art

In my work creating portraits I have fallen in love with art, specifically portraits that look like works of art.  After taking the image with the camera, there are many applications, techniques, and skills that can turn an image into art.  Here is one of my recent works of art.

Love it!

Max

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million.  ~Walt Streightiff

They said, "Don't quit your day job." ...

… but I did.  And I am so glad I did.  Actually, I retired, a kind of quitting, I guess.  After 20 years in information technology at a local university, I retired (early) on August 14th.  Now I can devote all my energy to my studio, my customers, and the portraits I take. 

Quitting has such a negative connotation.  It’s a bad thing, right?  You know what they say, “Quitters never prosper.”  But, when you quit something, generally, it frees you to start a new chapter, start fresh, reinvent yourself.  That’s a good thing.  It also allows you to leave something behind that doesn’t suit you, doesn’t fit who you are anymore.  That’s not quitting, not failure, that is growth! 

Life is short.  Quit something that doesn’t work for you anymore and find your passion.   You’ll be happier.  Be happy!

This is what makes me happy:

 

 

It's Senior Picture Time!

 

Summer Camp for Photographers

The Winona School of Photography just completed its first session at Brown County State Park.  When I say first, well, the Winona school has actually been revived in it's current state having been defunct for many years.  The school replaces the former IPAS school that met in an Indy Hotel.  The park experience is much richer and more enjoyable than the hotel school.  One day, after a rain, I stood on the veranda and watched the mist wafting up from the distant trees.  It’s really beautiful there.  Some campers stayed in rustic cabins, some in the lodge.  The last two summers, I’ve attended photography school in Iowa.  This is much closer!  I'll be there again next year.

Winona is like summer camp for professional photographers.  When I registered, I chose to study under Carl Caylor, a much degreed and award-winning photographer from Michigan.  His work is amazing!  The class focused on natural portrait lighting.  Each day, we spent time outside photographing models (families, young men and women, kids), then back in the classroom, the instructor critiqued those images (sometimes this was painful, but always enlightening).  I learned a lot this year.

Here are some of the images I took at this summer’s Winona school:

 

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July from the staff at K. Weatherwax Photography:  Amanda, Kaitlyn, Randy and Karen.  This is Taylor, ready to celebrate.

Congratulations, Graduates!

It is not lost on me that I am often present at special family milestone moments.   From newborn portraits to senior pictures, I feel an awesome responsibility to do my best.  Recently, I was asked by four families to photograph three cousins and the two foreign exchange students who stayed with the families this school year.  The goal was to get fun images of the five grads-to-be in their caps and gowns.  We all had a great time, one they will remember, I’m sure (I know I will).  Here’s an image from that session:

 

While I’m at it, I’d like to congratulate all the seniors I have photographed this year, including senior reps Katie Randol, Krysta Reef, and Travis Yoakum (THANK YOU!).  Here are some of my favorite senior pics:

 

 

 

 

NILMDTS - Our first March for Babies!

I thought it would be a great idea to put together a team to walk in the March for Babies this year.  Some of you know that I am the area coordinator for the Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation www.nowilaymedowntosleep.org, a network of wonderful volunteer photographers who photograph babies who pass at birth or soon after.  The purpose of the images is to help the grieving parents to heal.  So, what better thing for us to do than to help raise money for the March of Dimes – you know, eliminate the need for  NILMDTS.  So, one of the fabulous volunteer photographers, Kristin Taylor, took the idea and made it happen – Thank you, Kristin!  YOU ROCK!  We wore fuschia t-shirts with the NILMDTS logo on them.  The 15+ walkers raised $660!  A big THANK YOU to my generous customers, also!

So, on Saturday, the 25^th of April, we gathered at the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds in Lafayette to March for Babies.  And, wouldn’t you know it, my knee decided to cause me grief so I opted to not walk.  But, I was there to see the team off.

Teams in matching t-shirts were there to help babies born too soon or with birth defects.  Some walked to honor a child – Sam, Olivia, Lydia... 

This march included children of all ages:  in strollers, wagons, carried in slings, kids on scooters.  There were even some moms-to-be. 

Oh, and let’s not discount all the dogs there to support babies – lot’s of canine support at this walk.  Very  fun!

These girls in pink are part of the NILMDTS team. You can do it Kristin!

Here are some of the wonderful people I work with at Purdue.  Hello Purdue Team!  Kudos!

What a wonderful thing to see all the generous, caring people who came out on this warm Saturday in April to help all babies get a good start in life.  Maybe there will be a second annual walk for the NILMDTS Team in 2010...  Maybe my knee will let me walk, too.