The "Story Behind the Picture" is Moving!

After many months of hard word, I'm thrilled to announce both the new website and new blog for mkc photography!

The "story behind the picture" will still be posted every Friday, which you can find right here. Please come by and visit, or better yet, subscribe to the feed so you never miss a week!

Thank you so much for taking the journey with me every week, and I hope you'll continue to do so.

Best Wishes,
Michelle

Story Behind the Picture: Sunflower

Today, we're going old school for the story behind the picture. There is still something magic about film and vintage cameras and tinkering in the darkroom until you get the perfect exposure.

Now, I'm not really a "big fan of the sunflowers," as my son likes to say - they're all stalk and leaves and look far better en mass in fields than they do on a singular basis. I was born in Kansas, so I feel I've earned the right to this opinion. My husband must have heard me mention my feelings about these flowers once and only heard a few select words. He reassembled them in his head and remembered them as "I was born in Kansas and I'm a big fan of sunflowers." So imagine my complete lack of delight when he planted sunflower seeds. As a surprise. For me.

Me: "What on earth is that big gangly thing that's sprouting in that pot on the deck?"
Marty: "It's a sunflower! Don't you love it?!"

I tried to kill it by sheer neglect, but those things are hardy. I grumbled about the unfortunate color combination of yellow and brown, which reminded me far too much of my Catholic high school uniform colors. Then, one day, I decided to have a closer look at the center, bearing the perfect mathematical spiral of Fibonacci's Sequence, which is actually quite lovely.

I decided to make the photograph a little more magical than average. No color, a bit of hazy mist, and the focus on the miracle of nature's perfect spiral.

Then, one day, I "forgot" to transplant it when it outgrew the planter on the deck. I pretended to be sad when it died, but now you all know the truth. At least we have this photograph to remember it by...

Story Behind the Picture: Seven Words

I took a poll. I asked women what words they would want to hear when facing a battle, what words they would say to their mother, their sister, their friend. I arranged them in order, from the first day, moving on and upward, through the journey. These seven words are for my aunts. They are for my cousin. They are for my college professor. They are for my childhood friend. They are for each one of us, because cancer touches us all.

In honor of May and Mother's Day, 25% of all proceeds from this print will go directly to my dear friend's organization, Phi Mammo Grama, as they raise funds for the Three Day Walk in the hope that, one day, the eighth word will be "cure."

Story Behind the Picture: Rain Boots

Life with young children makes an otherwise sane human being accept certain things as "normal" that the rest of the world views as "odd."

Like buying pants for your child specifically because they have extra pockets to hold all the treasures he's always finding.

Or walking through the aisles of the grocery store accompanied by children dressed in Halloween costumes. In April.

And, finally, going to the pool (and the beach, and the boardwalk) for an entire summer with children who insist on wearing rain boots.

One gets many strange looks from other adults when one is spotted calmly escorting their rain-boot-clad child in cloudless, 90-degree weather. To the pool. These looks are usually followed with a laugh and an understanding nod, as if to say "ah, I see you chose not to battle over the choice of footwear this morning."

Half of parenthood - motherhood, especially - is about knowing when to let go. Yes, my child's pants are laden with little toy cars, rocks, leaves, and a random plastic barrette of dubious origin. Yes, my child wore a full-body dinosaur costume to Acme last week. And yes, my child will probably once again insist on wearing rain boots to the pool this summer. He's not screaming, crying, or having a temper tantrum, is he? No? Then it's all good.

Parenthood is about learning to let go and realize what our children have know all along: rain boots aren't just for rainy days.

Midweek Update: From Scratch Indie Market

Anyone in the Allentown, PA area on Saturday is welcome to come to the From Scratch market! It's indoor (yay, no weather worries) and will be full of wonderful gifts for all the upcoming celebrations like Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduations, or even a little something for yourself. Visit the site to preview all the vendors, and be sure to find the "mkc photography" table and say hi!

Story Behind the Picture: We Fly

Last night my computer died: literally crashed, burned, and lay in a pile of fragmented-hard-drive-rubble on my desk. The last back-up was four weeks ago, but as you all know, I create a lot of new work in the span of one month. I was particularly heartbroken because I thought this little collage that I created six days ago had been lost forever. Imagine my dance of delight when I realized I still had a copy that I emailed to my dear friends for consideration in their new nursery (is there any higher compliment than to have a friend choose your artwork for their home, especially for their new baby?).

I still haven't decided if the children have captured and are pulling the hot air balloon toward them, or if they are flying it like a kite...the details don't matter as much as the inspiration: don't let a tiny thing like reality get in the way of your dreams. Why settle for a little red balloon when you could capture and fly an aeronautical adventuring machine? Go and fly amidst the twinkling lights and enjoy every moment.

Story Behind the Picture: Go Green!

*Phone rings*
Me: "Hello?"
Colleen: "You HAVE to enter this contest."
Me: "What contest?"
Colleen: "The one I just emailed you about. If you win, Bloomimdale's will sell your design as a tote bag. Go come up with something!"

This is my friend Colleen. She calls/emails/Facebooks/tweets with all kinds of crazy ideas for me. She's like a one-woman brain trust for all things creative, and I always nod my head and do as she says, having long ago learned to trust her incredible judgment about these things.

So, Bloomies wants a design for their "Go Green" campaign, do they? I happened to be standing outside, barefoot in the grass, at the time she called me. As Sheba, the resident crazy dog and professional paw model galloped passed, this image popped into my mind.

One problem.

Have you ever tried to get one dog, two boys, and seven Scrabble tiles to sit/stand/lay nicely in the green grass on a beautiful sunny spring day? Let's just say I'm happy there are multiple "R" pieces in a Scrabble game, because Sheba nearly ate one (and wet, dog-saliva-covered wood tiles are not the same color as the nice clean, dry ones). The boys were, of course, complete angels and never once poked, prodded, or pushed one another. At ALL (please read that last part with all the sarcasm it implies).

I took about five or six shots before Sheba collapsed in exhaustion on top of the words "go green," Lucas discovered there were far more interesting things to do (like dig for ants at the base of a tree), and Danny informed me he had to take a call. On his cell phone. Which was really a twig he discovered in the yard.

Now it seems this little memoir of one sunny day and three marginally cooperative models has reached #4 in the country in the polls. If it wins and you see random women wandering around carrying my bag as they shop at Bloomingdales, you can tell them that the "R" is a replacement letter because Sheba slobbered all over the first. Then, please do come back here and tell me if they enjoyed the story. Or if they called mall security. I'd love to know which one it was.