A few simple ingredients for an outdoor escape. An overcast summer day. An toddler with energy to burn. An open field to explore. Some things come together with so little effort.
There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.
Elizabeth Lawrence
I’ll be honest. I’m more of a fine art conceptual photographer… Unless I’m photographing my own kids. My kids, particularly Viv, are objects in motion that stay in motion. It’s a focusing workout. I’m dirty, dusty and sore trying to get them in the frame because if I want to compose a shot in camera, it’s gonna be on me. They won’t sit, stay or even slow down.
Taking shots like this of Viv has made me re-evaluate a lot of things. One thing in particular being crops. Stuff that people tell scream in the photography groups and preach in the workshops. Where the body crops, the straight horizon line. I’ve realized that I kind of like the randomness that Viv has forced me into with these shots. I like the spontaneous crops and the tilted horizon only adds to the sense of movement and action. And frankly, I am off balance when I’m shooting her. Why pretend that I’m not?
I feel like the pandemic has stripped certain things down in my photographic sensibilities. I don’t have chunks of time where I can really think deeply about my vision, everything has become much more spontaneous and improvisational. And needs to be accomplished far more quickly than I’ve ever produced before because I don’t have the stretches of time to create that I once relied upon.
It’s interesting how these things sort of work out. I only had time for simple. And yet, simple was what I realized would work BEST to really showcase the beautiful Ponponia designs.
These bright, airy, simple shots really reminded me of the brand itself. I did almost no color or exposure balancing in these images. I just wanted things to remain simple and true.
Viv has a BIG personality. She’s funny, charming and extremely adventurous. I love how try as I might, she called all the shots. Including pushing her hat down over her eyes and making silly faces. The girl cracks herself up.
One of the great things about this little outfit is that the material is extremely soft and comfortable. She was able to simply run, play and climb.
One of the biggest challenges when I’m shooting her in areas where she can run wild is that focus can be an issue. I love to shoot wide open so when a little human is charging you at full speed, it can be a bit crazy-making. The funny thing is that I’ve come to love the soft, slightly out of focus shots as much (maybe more?) than the sharp ones.
Something about these fuzzy, dreamy shots speaks to me about the incredible speed with which these days pass. Even in quarantine. A month passes and she’s taller, pronouncing words differently, new interests, new favorites. These moments are so fleeting and something about the soft blur speaks to that for me.
Childhood is a short season.
Helen Hayes
To see more Ponponia designs, please visit their website. This is not an affiliate link and I’m not being paid to create this blog post. I promote what I love and I can personally assure you that you will be thrilled with the quality and timelessness of these beautiful outfits.
Summertime: Viv in Ponponia