Today I am launching the first of regular photography art shows here on my blog. If you would like to be featured, please @ me or DM me.
My first artist is Darrah Parker who today is celebrating the one-year anniversary of her blog as well as her birthday!
Darrah will be giving away a free print from her Etsy shop which she will pick from the comments left on her blog. She will announce the winner on Friday, May 28. The comments can be about the show, or about one of the topics she covered in my short interview with her below the photos. http://www.darrahparker.com/blog/a-birthday-celebration-give-away.html
Enjoy the visual feast.
Darrah Parker is a Seattle-based portrait, family, and “slice of life” photographer. Armed with her camera, she is on a constant search for the joy in everyday life, beauty in the over-looked and under-appreciated, and the magic in simple moments. She lives with her musician husband in Seattle and can be found most days at a coffee shop or farmers market, usually with a camera in hand. She shares her thoughts on living a creative life, bits of inspiration, and photos from recent shoots on her blog. She sells fine art photography prints in her Etsy shop and is available for portrait sessions in the Seattle area and beyond.
Why do you take pictures?
Simple: it makes me feel good. Something happens to me when I have a camera in my hand. I go into a zone, my senses get heightened, and I find that time passes quickly. Photography makes me feel connected to myself, helps me understand and connect with the world around me, and brings me utter and pure joy.
How did you start?
I’ve always called myself an artist, but never felt like I’d found my “thing.” You know, the “thing” that clicks. I grew up surrounded by creative people, studied theatre in college, and went on to teach drama and noodle around with different art mediums in my spare time.
About a year ago, I was working at a job that I was really good at, but wasn’t fulfilling me. This wasn’t the first time this had happened, so I decided enough was enough. This was the year I was going to listen to my instincts and do things that brought me joy. On a whim, I decided to buy a fancy dSLR camera. I wasn’t sure why I was buying it, but every time I thought about it, I got excited (the first clue that I was on the right path.) Instantly, I knew that I was closer to finding my “thing.” For the first time, I found something that I could do all day, every day (another clue.) When I had my camera in my hand, I felt like I had finally come home (a big GINORMOUS clue!)
Within a month of buying the camera, I told my husband that I wanted to spend my days taking photos, writing about life and creativity on a blog, and sitting in coffee shops. I finally had a vision of what life could be like. Within a few weeks, I had a blog and within a few months, I quit my job. I now spend my days taking photos, writing about life and creativity, and sitting in coffee shops.
What would you say to encourage people to take photos on a daily basis, not just at big events? Why is it important? What can/does it add to our lives?
For me, taking photos of my everyday life helps me appreciate my life exactly the way it is. There is beauty to be found everywhere – especially in what we might consider messy or imperfect.
Early on in my blogging, I started a weekly feature called “Slice of Life Tuesday” in which I share photos from my everyday life. Every Tuesday I post a new theme for others to look for in their lives and photograph. I’ve learned that you don’t have to look far to find beauty.
Big events are exciting, but they pass quickly. When I think back on my life, the things that I remember most are the everyday moments. The real juicy goodness is found in the day-to-day, in our routines, in the quiet moments with our family, and laughter with friends. There’s beauty in dirty laundry, in crowded streets, in coffee shops, in cloudy days, in cooking dinner (even if it’s peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.)
I would encourage everyone to carry a camera with them every day. Even if you don’t have a “fancy” camera, many of us have cameras conveniently located on our phones. As you make your way through your day, slow down and take time to notice, observe, and study the details of your life. Notice light, shadow, color, creases, crinkles, wrinkles, puddles, trees. Take a photo every time you see something that stirs something in you – whether it’s joy, sadness, curiosity, or confusion. Photograph it. In doing so, I think you’ll find a sacredness in your everyday life and an appreciation for things that are typically overlooked. Photography has a way of showing us just how unique we are and just how much we all have in common.
In a way, photography is meditative. It’s restorative. It’s about showing up and being present.
blog: http://www.darrahparker.com/blog
etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/darrahparker
{ 10 comments }
Totally inspired by Darrah’s philosophy, passion and photography. I just need to remember to put my camera in my bag every day…
Thank you for introducing me to her Bindu.
wow. i recently graduated with a degree in photojournalism and have slowly been discouraged by not yet being able to make a living from photography. this has inspired me to work 100 times harder.
i’m going to submit my work to the bindu wiles art show asap!
as the hippie chick in the muppets would say with her long, enviablyy-straight hair swinging side to side: too true, too true. i’m papering the laundry room in our nc house with snaps from times gone by, and though there are a few professionally-done photographs that have made the cut, by far the ones that pop out the stories and make us bust out laughing are the ones we just snapped on any given (read: special) day. going over to check out darrah’s blog, too. it’ll smell like coffee, no doubt.
.-= jeanne´s last blog ..nature’s crayolas: orange, yellow, purple =-.
Bindu, thank you SO much for inviting me to hang out on your blog and share my art. It is a true honor. Big hugs to you!
.-= darrah´s last blog ..a birthday celebration & give-away! =-.
These photos do that heart-filling, take-a-deeper-breath-of-life thing! Thank you so much for making us aware of Darrah, Bindu. And right here in Seattle, too
Such riches.
.-= cecibooks´s last blog ..Ms Tillotson’s Class – The Amazing Room 11 =-.
love that your blog is starting to speak in new languages.
Bindu, what a great idea! are you a photography enthusiast then? Darrah’s work is beautiful and from what I just saw on her blog she seems to be a really interesting blogger. She’s on my feed and I’m looking forward to more. thank you for this post!
I’m sooo excited by this new series! I’ve been feeling photographic nudging for some time, and I’m still not quite out the door, but I KNOW that the inspirational platform you’re creating here is a gift. To everyone. Yippee!
.-= emma´s last blog ..Stoned at the Cemetery =-.
So proud of you, Darrah!! xo
brilliant all around. love love love.