Week In The Life™ 2014 | Monday Words & Photos
Ah, Mondays.
My first thought tonight, as I sit down to write about the day and work through the photos, is that I'm thankful.
I'm thankful for a million different things but one of the big things today is simply the ability to capture pieces of my life through my lens.
It's a simple thing that I sometimes take for granted as I get caught up in this or that. I love being able to use my camera to tell the stories of our lives.
Before I share my photos for today I've got some general observations on the process:
- One of my favorite things to do with this project is go through the photos at the end of the day. I love seeing what went right (in terms of captures) and what didn't quite go right. Ha. When I go through my photos I know without a doubt that I won't use more than one shot of the same thing. I delete the ones I will not be using.
- There were some things I tried to capture today that just didn't come out right. For example, getting Anna to school. Almost all were blurry - too blurry to use. I made a note to myself to capture more of that process tomorrow.
- I definitely don't try to capture every little detail of the day. I took more photos today with people in the shot vs. photos without people. As you'll see, I took a lot of self-timer shots.
- I'm really conscious about light and the way things are lit/where light sources are coming from. I'm on the look out for interesting light and I'm really enjoying playing around with getting my camera to do what I want it to do. This project encourages me to experiment and I like that.
- I also liked thinking through the lens of story today as well. I didn't feel as frantic as I sometimes do and I was less lax than usual in terms of writing down stuff as it was happening.
MONDAY PHOTOS & STORIES
About 200 with my Canon 5DMKII (24-70 lens) + about 25 with my iPhone
Today began with my alarm at 5am. I took the shot at the top of the post holding out my Canon 5D and praying I didn't drop it on my head. Grabbing my phone is often the first thing I do since it's my alarm and as I was reading over some of my early morning emails I was thinking about how the iPhone was so bright in a very dark room and wondered if I could use it to light my face. I got up out of bed, grabbed my camera, got back into bed and took a couple shots (not using the timer, just holding it out and clicking the button).
Ah, yeah.
And hey, when you're the only one in the house you gotta make it happen for yourself.
I used "Monday Photos" word art from my Daily Photos & Stories package.
The story of my morning today is that I wanted to get up earlier than the kids. I like that quiet time. It's a bit earlier than normal because when I'm doing this project I often need a bit more time to get my other projects done.
And did I say I like the quiet time?
The story of Anna's morning, which began about 6:40am, is that she found Hannah Montana on Netflix.
This school year I'm doing things a bit different in the morning. Simon, as he gets older, needs a bit more sleep. I'm letting him sleep in while Anna gets up and dressed and I get her to school. By the time I'm back Simon is up and has made himself breakfast and is dressed and ready for the day.
Did you read what I wrote above about not getting any decent shots of getting Anna to school. I kinda like the motion and movement in this one.
The story of today includes notes-to-self.
I took a bunch of shots in the car, telling the story of the time I spend driving the kids to and from school. For these shots I set the camera on the dashboard and turn on the timer.
I get what I get.
The story of today includes a boy who might have slept in a little later than he was supposed to but pulled it all together and out the door on time.
The story of today includes a stop at the grocery story after getting the kids to school.
That would be a self-timer self-portrait in the grocery store. I set the camera on the floor and hit the button and walked over to grab the Teriyaki sauce from the shelf.
And one in the parking lot.
I like the experimentation of these shots. They aren't perfectly composed. They don't have a perfect focal point. But they show pieces of my day.
The story of today includes the fact that I spent all my working hours sitting right here.
Except when I went downstairs for lunch.
And when I took a iPhone selfie after putting on my hat.
The story of today includes no shower (at least at the time of typing this up).
And the story of today wouldn't be complete without mentioning that Katie is gone this week as she spends time with her family awaiting the arrival of her first niece. Katie rocks with babies. That's going to be one lucky baby to have her for an Auntie.
The story of today includes a kid who loves when I pick him up from school. Big, full smile.
The story of today includes a kid who loves when I pick her up from school.
In her case it's actually the after-care at school - she loves it and asks to go every day.
The story of today includes an effort to get the three of us together in a shot. Fun counts.
Anna introducing Simon to Hannah Montana.
Seriously.
The story of today includes picking up Simon's new glasses. First pair.
The story of today includes boxes piled in the garage.
The story of today includes grass that's still green and leaves that are falling.
The story of today includes this cat, George Washington Edwards.
The story of today includes this Dad, who came to pick up the kids to take them to dinner with his parents to celebrate his Dad's birthday.
The story of today includes this guy, who came over to have sushi with me and then make cookies.
We both ate the sushi. I made the cookies.
The story of today includes a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors for who gets to sleep in my bed with me tonight. He won. She gets tomorrow night.
The story of today includes the bedtime prayer, Anna counting to 100, and Simon reading to me from Harry Potter.
Both are timer shots I set up myself by placing my camera on a shelf.
LENS OF JOY
Want to learn more about looking through the lens? Join me for Lens Of Joy.
Designed with the storyteller in mind, Lens Of Joy is a 4-week photography workshop that covers processes related to capturing life through the lens of your camera. I'll walk you through my personal workflow from picking up the camera, looking through the lens, establishing the story, experiencing the moment, composing, uploading, organizing, editing, printing and pairing the end result with words to tell a more complete story.
Get the full details here.
SHARE A LINK TO YOUR BLOG
I'd love to have you share a link to your MONDAY words and photos below. Please link directly to your post vs. a general blog link. In addition you're invited to come over to the free Week In The Life™ Community Gallery & Message Board.
Wow. Just wow. This has inspired me in a HUGE way. The storytelling in these shots is off the charts. You've made me want to go even deeper with this project.
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I love how you stated it all as the story of today. I'm going to think of it that way when I think about what I want this album to be about.
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Love these! Simon looks so grown up all of a sudden. I must admit, Ali, I wasn't going to do WITL because I'm off sick from work - haven't worked all October - and I thought I wouldn't have anything to document. But then I thought, that's precisely why I SHOULD do it! Life isn't perfect is it? I have been inspired by your use of the self-timer because I rarely get shots of myself, so I've done a couple like that today. I do Project Life, so this is going to go right in my album. I even have days of the week cards that I wasn't sure I would use! Thank you again for your inspiration :)
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I wasn't planning on doing WITL this week, but Monday morning, I changed my mind. :) So glad I did.
Here is Monday: http://www.table-for-five.com/week-in-the-life-monday/
Huh. The link-up doesn't show up in Chrome. I just went over to Safari and saw that it was there after reading some comments here implying there was an actually place to put links. :)
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I love the "story of today" prompt. My past WITL albums have been more about our daily schedule. I'm not feeling it this year. I want to see what stories emerge throughout the week. It's a great prompt to keep in mind as I prep my photos and my album. I love WITL.
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Love the shot of you reading your phone in bed! :) Thanks for the inspiration to do this project. I am really enjoying it!
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Love love love the angle of the shots and your use of the self timer. It's just me and my 4 pets and I miss out showing some of my stories. I feel inspired to exercise the timer on my phone and camera this week. What I'm most excited about so far is I got some great selfies of me and my dog today...WITL has me snapping more photos than normal and I'm loving it.
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I truly enjoy the way you tell the stories of your life, however, for me I do not have children and I am not sure if I could make things like December Daily interesting enough with just my husband and I. I am trying to figure out the best way to do that.
I absolutely believe, with all my being, that we each live stories worth telling every single day. It might be a simple story. It might be a story from the past that comes up as you go about your day. It might be that everything is the same every day - that in and of itself is a story.
Our thoughts can be stories. The way you walk through the grocery store and smile at another person can be a story (how strangers interact). The phone call with a friend or family member.
Another approach you can take is to find one thing each day to celebrate.
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I am struggling with how to document my work day. I am a counselor and the majority of my day is spent in other peoples homes and traveling in my car (my office). Any one have any ideas on how to capture the work day?? Thanks for any suggestions.
Kstevens- I felt this way a few years ago. I work in a secure facility and there are no cameras allowed, even on the drive up to our building. I just take notes during the day- food I ate, side conversations with friends, hightlight of the day- that kind of thing. I don't have pictures to go along with it, but I can always use a card to document that portion. For me, the morning/late afternoon/evening can be full enough to fill a page.
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Oh, I love that iPhone photo first thing in the morning - what a cool idea! I really need to get on that self-timer train, though I have been asking my eye-rolling hubby to take a few shots of me each day :D
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Thanks Ali for including a blog link up as part of Week In The Life.
I was going to ask whether you were going to do this again, as it's a part of the process l really enjoy.
Top stuff xx
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This is just beautiful Ali. It's so evident that your days are full of life, of stories, and how comfortable you are with yourself. It's so wonderful to see the time and effort you put into being the best mom and person you can be. I love the effortless look of the pictures, they are simplistic, but tell the perfect story. Thanks for the continued inspiration.
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I love this project, and am grateful for the insight and inspiration you provide Ali! I am learning to take more photos including me, and am loving the process this week. I have written about Monday here if anyone is interested -
http://moloneystylestamping.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/the-anatomy-of-a-day/
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Love your photos, especially the one of the three of you:. I know I've said this before, but your storytelling for the photos is always the BOMB!! You have a serious gift my friend:)
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Love the picture in bed. My big camera is out at the shop so I am using my phone to capture pictures this week but I need to try that shot at some point. I did get adventurous with the self-timer and tried taking a few shots drying my hair yesterday. Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration to try something new.
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Oh, your photos are excellent! The wide(r) angle view is perfect for a project life this, getting all the details of your surroundings in. I can't do an arms length selfie with my dSLR because I don't have a wide enough lens - thank you for reminding me that getting one is a priority. And after I saw these pictures I jumped up and put my camera over on the TV stand to get a perfectly imperfect shot of my morning laptop/couch/hot drink/pug snuggle routine. I've been working on WITL since Sat (to avoid overlap with another project) and I have my daily doings written down really well, but the photos haven't been quite what I wanted. I'm reassuring myself that any documenting is good documenting though. And I'll make more effort to use my dSLR to get the photos I want. :)
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I'm not sure the right place to share links to our blogs, but mine for Monday is here: http://athomewiththerichardsfamily.blogspot.com/2014/10/645am-brent-gets-up-at-his-normal-time.html
Hi - you can also include it up above at the end of this post before the comments (right after where I talked about the Lens Of Joy class).
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Hi Ali! What did you use to/how did you set up your camera on your dashboard? Thanks!
My subaru has a flat shelf-like surface right in the middle of the dashboard. My camera was able to just sit right there.
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Loved your Monday. Such a great idea for getting you in more shots. Not sure I'm doing an album this time around but will include all the photos in project life. I have told a story today over here - http://mysilverymoon.com/?p=7975 and kept going with the 'tell me more' prompt you have mentioned. It's great to tell more isn't it!
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I can't believe how old Simon looks with glasses! Great shots of the day. I need to learn to use the self timer, and then not be afraid to take the shots.
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Lots of great real-life shots, Ali! Love Simon's new glasses on him. And they look a lot like the pair my 13yo son just picked out recently and is waiting to come in any day now!
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I don't see my link from Monday, did I do it wrong?
Hi! Sometimes it takes a little time for it to show up. Is it there now? If not please try again!
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Rock, paper, scissors for sleeping in your bed... CLASSIC. :)
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two things I noticed in today's photos:
Anna watching the iPad in almost the exact outfit and pose as you at the Keurig
how much Simon resembles you in the photo of his new glasses
You are brave putting the camera on the floor of the grocery store. I'd end up with some speedy senior whipping around the corner into the aisle and plowing it over with her wagon!
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I really like your pictures, your kids look adorable
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