Friday, October 22, 2010

finding inspiration

Summer Friends


When it comes to helping me find my inspiration, nothing works as well for me as the unpredictability of my dogs, the sweet smile of our youngest son, and the vibrant pops of color that Florida living provides... for me, it is the perfect photographic trifecta. 

It also doesn't hurt to let your son eat popsicles at 8 am to capture the morning light and essence of summer fun.  The kiss distraction and popsicle stealing was unplanned but provided me with my favorite photograph to date.  It makes my heart warm to see the genuine love of a dog for his boy... and a dog for a stolen treat.

Since my photograph was taken for Day One of Picture Summer, a photo e-course with Tracey Clark of Shutter Sisters... a source of true inspiration to all female photographers, it makes me smile to present my selection from the Inspire Us flickr pool.  The photo shown below is by Xanthe Berkeley, a Shutter Sister and fellow Picture Summer and Picture Fall participant.  

The photographs and video of this amazing engagement photo shoot left me speechless and still has me completely inspired!  It makes me tingly to think about how the people in the station must have felt to witness such love and fun.

"Vanessa & Leon’s engagement session at St. Pancras Station in London, UK. Leon proposed to Vanessa before they boarded the Eurostar to Paris in 2009, so it was the perfect setting to capture their romance before their wedding in October 2010. People in the station stopped, smiled and sighed sweetly at their happiness and at moments the whole station stood and cheered & whooped whenever he leaned in for a kiss. It was true joy photographing these darlings, I wish them all the happiness in the world." - Xanthe

Make sure to visit http://xantheberkeley.com/ and give her some love.

And if you still need additional inspiration, Tracey has generously donated a copy of their new book, Expressive Photography: The Shutter Sisters' Guide to Shooting from the Heartto one lucky winner.  Just leave a comment here telling us when the last time you were truly inspired by the signs of true love around you.  Was it a subtle glance, a hidden message, or a joyful jump up and down declaration for the whole world to see?

Make sure to visit today's special guest, Jožica Rade of Creatissmo Lab on the More Musing page. 

Until next week, stay inspired. ♥ tammy of bliss and folly

jump for l..o..v..e
jump for l..o..v..e by xanthe berkeley
vanessa & leon are in l.. o.. v.. e.. from xanthe berkeley on Vimeo.

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We are having nine days of giveaways and special guests. We will be drawing the winners from the comments left during the entire 9 Days Of Inspiration from all three pages and announcing them in a special *muse flash* on October 31. Make sure to visit the Everyday Beauty and More Musing pages and comment each day for more chances to win.

46 comments:

Haley said...

The last time I was inspired by love was a few months ago when I was staying with my sister and brother-in-law. They were both gone to work, and my brother-in-law was going to be leaving town for a few days for work. I walked past their room and saw that he had made a heart out of his soccer socks on their bed. I went straight for my camera and snapped a shot of it. You can see it on my blog: http://hlyphots.blogspot.com/2010/08/im-going-to-be-aunt-auntie-heena.html

I was reminded that it is the little things that can make a relationship great-not lots of material things.

Kat Sloma said...

Wonderful Tammy! Great way to kick off the 9 days of inspiration. Awesome photo and story Xanthe!

Chelsea said...

Love this story! So special.

The last time I was inspired by love was October 10, 2010. Shortly after waking up, my boyfriend gave me a list of 10 reasons he loves me. It was so special, so unexpected, and made me fall in love with him all over again.

Maria Ontiveros said...

The last time I was inspired by love was at the wedding of my last research assistant. They were so happy, and also surrounded by loving family and friends.
Rinda

Christine said...

The last time I was inspired by love was this past summer at my family reunion. It was so good to see everyone together. Young and old, it was a nice feeling and lots of love!

Megan Belcher said...

Fantastic... thank you!

urban muser said...

The last time I was inspired by love was just yesterday...I saw this cute little old couple walking in the park holding hands. So lovely.

Great post today!

Lisa said...

Loving this post. I recently spied a couple setting, not speaking, just watching the world go by. He quietly touched her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Such a sweet gesture, so private and personal.

Megan Belcher said...

Perhaps the most poignant signs of true love that inspire me are when I see elderly couples together... they might be helping each other to stand or walk, or even just holding hands at the restaurant table; smiling and talking... it makes me feel so good and I like to imagine that my husband and I will still be like that later in life too :)

Naomi said...

Wonderful! Love, love the photos!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful post!

The last time I was inspired by love was last week when we were all so sick and my husband stepped in and cleaned up on more batch of baby sick when we were both too tired to care!

sherry mescher said...

Everyday when my teenage boys are willing to hug, kiss, and tell my they love me. The days they do any/all of these things in front of a friend is always a welcome surprise! Love the post. Thanks Tammy.

Marina said...

such a joyful post!!!
the last time I was inspired by love was a week ago, in front of a kindergarten, when I saw a slightly older girl take the hand of his younger brother to enter together, because the younger boy was crying that he did not wish to say goodbye to him mum.

Amy @ Lucky Number 13 said...

my kids caught me in one of those moments earlier this week. my 4-year old hurt her ankle and was having trouble getting around. i walked into the bathroom to her big brother helping her up onto the potty and her telling him he was the best brother ever, in the whole world. it made me want to cry, made me proud and put a smile on my face all at once.

blue elephant photography said...

i love the photos, it makes me happy! i was love-inspired last night. my husband and i laid in bed and i've mentioned that so far it had been a stressful week at work and with all the extra stuff that we were doing. he held my hand and kiss me on my forehead and told me that we were in this together, and that whatever comes our way, as long as we have each other, everything will be fine =)it was a night goodnight gesture

Jenny said...

Last night my husband and I went mini-golfing. (Cheesy, I know.) There was a family with small children. The children were gleeful and having a blast. The parents had huge grins on their faces and were watching their children with so much love. It was great to see.

Anita @ GoingALittleCoastal said...

What a joyful video, thanks so much for sharing that. It made me realize it's been way too long since I've seen a gesture of love. Perhaps I should initiate one today.

aclamp said...

i see love everytime i open my eyes each morn :)

xanthe said...

thank you tammy! so very sweet of you to show my work, very honored. this shoot was brimming with love... that new love where sparks are flying.
i love what you ladies are doing here. x.

Anonymous said...

Great pictures !!! Love , love is always a great story!!!

Marji said...

I'm inspired by love everyday. If I just open my eyes its there to see. Some days its in the sunrise... one day it was the heart shaped leaf that ended up by my front door, and one day it was the lady bug that was on my car window. Today it was in the flock of geese that flew by as I stood at my kitchen window - one goose was white. Its there everyday - you just have to look.

April said...

Both the photos are inspiring! Lovely shots :)

Jamie said...

The video is amazing! Just watching it makes me happy!

I am inspired by love today as my parents take off on a 40th anniversary trip. To see them still in love and excited about a week long road trip reminds me love is so worth it.

Jen said...

Wow. Nice kick-off for this theme. Gorgeous photos and amazing video. Yesterday, I was watching a elderly woman walking with a toddler, holding his hand. I thought it was so sweet. It made me think of my grandparents.

Tracy said...

Your photo with the popsicle, the dogs and your sweet boy is just priceless! The perfect summer shot! And of course Xanthe's photos are just amazing as well!

Just this past week my two year old daughter surprised us when she said "I love you, daddy!" first thing one morning when he went into her room. The first unsolicited I love you and now she's doing it all the time to me too. It's the best!

GailO said...

I loved this shot when I first saw it in the summer...in fact I love every shot you take of your son...he is obviously your muse:)

these engagement shots are outstanding! How I wish I could have been one of the bystanders!

My moments of love that are inspiring? Right now it is the love my two grandchildren give to me...the circle of life.

Amy P. said...

My most recent moment was when I was take pictures of this couple under the tree they got married at. She surprised him with this recreated moment... Just seeing the tears in both of their eyes and hearing them talk about their wedding day and moments that meant the world to them since that day... At that moment, I realized... That is why I'm a photographer... :0) Amy P.

Arin S said...

Both shots are simply amazing! Great post to start off the 'inspire' series. I remember your Picture Summer Day 1 shot, Tammy - right off the bat, bringing the A-game :) Inspiration every day!

Meghan said...

I'm inspired by hearts I see in the fallen leaves. They are everywhere!

Holly { Soupatraveler } said...

hey guys, this was classic! tammy, loved this picture back in july and the story on xanthe's shot is so heart-warming, i love it! my last photographic love inspiration was watching my husband bond with our live-in alarm clock, major, our aussie!

Fran said...

Amazing photos! That video has me grinning. I see love everyday. I volunteer at a pet adoption clinic. So much goodness.

Anonymous said...

love that video! Today was the day. We went to this halloween party and my little boy kept asking extra candies for his little sister and he was so proud and loving when giving her sweets. Love that moment. Michelle P.

Bethany said...

Aww, these photos are both so cute! And they emit great emotion, fun, and happiness. Good inspiration!

Maureen said...

I love your shot, Tammy, for so many reasons, and I think it is so totally you. That beautiful bright color that is always present in your photos, your beautiful family, {two and four-legged} and most importantly your fab sense of humor! Love this shot.
And the photos by xanthe? Well, I've watched that video so many times and it makes me tear up every time. She did such an amazing job of capturing that emotion on film, true artistry.
what a fun 9 days this will be!
♥mo

Faith said...

Dear Lord! What an amazing photo! Aren't pets great?

And that video will inspire me for months. Love everything about this post!

Jan said...

I am in total awe of that video.
Seriously, not enough words to describe the AWESOMENESS that is that whole shoot!
LOVE IT!!!

Vickie said...

Love the video!!! And the pups and popsicles made me laugh!

Monybean said...

I am just smitten :) what a fantastic slide show. and the puppy love is well, wonderful =)

journeyswithasimplegirl said...

your photo coupled with Zanthe's enchanted video filled me with inspiration...serious food for the soul!

Unknown said...

what a fun photo! A great way to kick off the inspiration.!

Emma said...

Awww, so much love here! :) :)

Heather aka Htekmo said...

I love that video.
so much joy.

AnnGeeDee said...

Wow.Wow.Wow. I just love Xanthe's image here. What a true testiment to love. I had a couple in front of me on a plane this week that kept sneaking smooches and sweet glances. Reminded me of my hubby and I leaving for our honeymoon.

JLC said...

Nothing's sweeter than a boy with dogs.

Kirstin said...

I cannot tell you the number of times I have watched this video. It makes me smile very time! And Tammy, how I love your happy, inspirational summer fun pic! x

Unknown said...

I just took some photos of a couple who just got engaged. The little things this man did for the woman were so inspiring. He treated her like a lady and it was beautiful.

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