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One {May 2016}

With my big kid in school and increasingly of an age where he's not so keen on being in front of the camera, the sad reality is that I have far fewer pictures of him as of late. I hope to fix that a little over the summer. In the meantime, the small kid is making up for it. She is hilarious at the moment and very theatrical. Her most recent game is to make sad, serious faces at the camera and then a few second later she's cracking up at how funny she is. See below, then click on over to see Krista's beautiful work out in the Pacific Northwest and  around our small One circle blog for the special moments that have stuck with each of us this month. 

Photo Noir Exhibit at the PhotoPlace Gallery

A big thank you to juror Aline Smithson for selecting two of my images for inclusion in the Photo Noir exhibit at the PhotoPlace Gallery. I love to create images using dramatic, cinematic lighting, so it is a true honor to have a those efforts recognized among a pool of very talented artists. Such a wonderful way to kick off the year!  

Big Apple Circus

Hello, 2016! While I greet you with the best of intentions, I won't insult you by making a bunch of promises I can't keep. 

For example, I am sitting on a pile of holiday photos and should be putting them in albums for some VIGs (very important grandparents) but I couldn't resist looking at a batch of images I took this afternoon. Conveniently, I am attached to someone who likes to scout out fun adventures for our weekends, and this morning he woke up and suggested the circus. Not his most obscure effort, but the kids were enthralled. Although I hadn't set out to create a fully black and white set, the colors ended up distracting from beauty of the lights.

Thank you, Big Apple Circus, for a lovely January afternoon! 

One {November 2015}

I'm having a hard time deciding what to share for my One post this month - we've been busy and there are a lot of fun pictures hanging out on my hard drive, just waiting to see the light of day. However, we did have a new experience last week, so I am going with more of a "one" moment.

We were very fortunate to attend a party with ring-side seats to the staging area for the Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons. They are very big, they are very fun and they inspired excitement and huge, wonder-filled eyes in my small people. Seeing the world from their perspective can truly be a joy. 

Please head out west to see what the lovely and talented Krista has in store for us this month!


L.A. Photo Curator - Cityscapes, 2nd Place

Also! A few weeks ago, I came across a call for entry for an online exhibit called Cityscapes - the gallery group was new to me, but I quickly learned that they contribute a portion of artist proceeds to charities of the first place winner and juror's choice. That alone made a submission feel worthwhile, so I was very excited to learn that my image was awarded 2nd place. As a longtime admirer of Henri Cartier-Bresson, it made my day to hear that my work evokes thoughts of his "Decisive Moment." I am truly honored. 

Stacey Leece Vukelj | In Tandem

Artistry - Week 3

Audience. Who do we shoot for? How do we modify our choices based on our anticipated viewers? These are the questions we are considering in our initial conversations on Artistry over at Who We Become. 

As I mentioned in my biographical post last week, city images are a particular love of mine. When I go out to shoot it is with the hopes of capturing something that will intrigue other city-lovers as well. I admit, this particular image was shot with my friend Elaine in mind. She is a runner and her icy instagram posts of her early morning runs on the West Side motivated me to get out there and check it out for myself. 

Hiatus 1

We are gearing up for our next project over at Who We Become, but rather than let our perfectly lovely collective blog grow moldy until the new year, we will be posting a hiatus project. There is no theme, no rhyme or reason, just images that we want to share. 

For my first hiatus post, this solitary figure caught my eye as evening fell. Please head over to the blog to see what the rest of our group has seen recently.

One {October 2014}

We've had Something Wicked This Way Comes weather these past few days, but overall it has been an unseasonably warm October. Someone turned five in our house, and we've seen lots of kids and pumpkins and costumes and fun family moments. And yet, I did manage to sneak out for some time on my own here and there. My one shot this month is of a dear friend as we headed home past curfew one night. While we aren't riding the carousel backwards, we can still be young at heart. 

Please hop over to my most incredible friend, Sarah Zalan. She's been quiet this month so I can't wait to see what she's got up her sleeve. 

Photo 52.2: Framed {Week 45}

We are spending August exploring traditional compositional methods. This week, it is the intentional use of centered composition that gives our images some oomph.  Here, I have a fun iPhone shot of the Super Moon as well as an unusual perspective of Grand Central Terminal. The Park Avenue access tunnel and overpass were closed to vehicles on Saturday and bikers and pedestrians took advantage.

Please head over to Who We Become for everyone's work this week!

 


p52.2 Framed {Week 28} - Low Key

This week on P52.2 Framed, we continue to use lighting techniques to add mood to our compositions. Low key lighting emphasizes darks and shadows, giving a dramatic or contemplative feel to an image. While the technique is a favorite of mine and makes for beautiful shots, this week's exercise demonstrates how much more of an impact low key lighting can have when the mood of the subject matches the tonality of the image.

And yes, there was also a hair cut.

Please pop over to Who We Become to see everyone's work this week!

P52.2 Framed {Week 24} - Patterns & Contrast

As March inches onwards, over at P52.2 Framed we have transitioned from featuring patterns in our compositions, to using various concepts of contrast as the underpinnings to our images. This week, we are looking at traditional contrast - light versus dark.

On a family outing to Brooklyn yesterday, I had fun searching for the right light to work with for this week's assignment.

It's a beautiful and dramatic collection of shots over on  Who We Become - please click on through to check it out. 

Jane's Carousel

Streets of DUMBO

Bargemusic

Moon over Brooklyn

P52.2: Framed {Week 21}

Solitary Man

On the Fire Escape

It's our last week on perspective and having had a gorgeous weekend here in New York, I think I finally have a little of my own. Seems as though this winter has secretly been getting me down and it felt wonderful to be outside in the sun with my camera. And, much like my attitude, our theme this week was looking up. Shooting from below is a great way to get an interesting perspective on the ordinary, or focus on the things that often go right over our heads, literally. 

Below are a few of my non-kid favorites (see Friday's post if you missed out on the boy in rain boots). Then, please do head on over to Who We Become to see the full collection.

View From the Lower Level

P52.2: Framed {Week 19}

Over at Who We Become, our look at perspective continues to feature crop ratios - this week, 1:1 - a square crop. Dynamic, inclusive and comparatively small, this is an interesting crop to work with and as I am not an Instagrammer, I have very little practice with the format. So today, I decided to break out the macro and have a little fun. Or maybe too much fun, because an entirely different set of images is being saved for another post. But for now: feathers. 

P52.2:Framed {Week 18}

In our ongoing study of perspective, this week we are focusing on aspect ratio as a compositional tool. Not every camera shoots with the same dimensions so this week we are bidding adieu to the traditional 3:2 ratio that is the default of most DSLRs and playing instead with the ratios you see on medium or large format cameras, such as 5:4, 7:6 or 16:9. 

I admit, having moved this week, my time to get out and have fun with this project was curtailed by the amount of time my poor camera spent in a box. But when an opportunity arose this morning, I tried to use different aspect ratios to capture the height of the windows and the shadowy light on this snowy, cloudy day.  Please head over to Who We Become to see how the rest of my talented friends approached this theme.