Mental Nutrition

Photography is capturing the essence of human beings. Who we are and what we stand for in one moment in time. Today we have a different form of photography. Narayanan Krishnan shows his essence every day all day, not just for that one moment. He is one shiny person. 

"Food is one part. Love is another part. So, the food will give them physical nutrition. The love and affection which you show will give them mental nutrition... Everybody has got 5.5 liters of blood. I am just a human being. For me everybody the same. What is the ultimate purpose of life? It's to give. 

START GIVING. SEE THE JOY OF GIVING."

Smile my friends. The world is beautiful.

Jen

The Old Couple

Beautiful.

So many things about this photo are working.

It's closely cropped. And follows the rule of thirds to a T. Lets look at it a little bit closer...

Her body is on the third line on the left and his is on the third line on the right. Their faces occupy the third on the top and bleed down into the third in the middle. This is the same with the hands, they start in the middle third and bleed to the bottom. The kiss is located in the top middle box. Its central and important.

The first thing I see when I look at this picture is his kiss.

Then my eyes travel down the slant of her face to her eyes and that adorable smile. From there I see her hands holding his wrist. My eyes follow his wrist up to his hand tenderly holding her face. (Notice that wedding band? Because it's important for the story that this picture tells.) And finally I go back to the kiss. Round and round my eyes go.

But the best part about this photograph is what it says: LOVE. His kiss, her smile, the hands, the ring. This my friends, is true and pure love. This photograph tells their story, and I think gives hopes to all of us that we too can love someone forever. The photographer captured this emotion so perfectly that the fact that you don't see the mans face makes it 10x better. His kiss and her joy are enough. I believe including his whole face would take away from the meaning of the image. The point was not to take a portrait. It was to capture this love and infect the rest of us with it.

Lovely, absolutely lovely.

Smile my friends. The world is beautiful.

Jen

Photo take from www.pinterest.com. Author and origin unknown. (AKA. I did not take this and do not own it.)

It's okay to cheat...well, sometimes.

The most important thing you can have as a photographer. Print one out and keep it in your camera bag. Take it everywhere with you. There is nothing wrong with cheating...well, sometimes. :)

Smile my friends. The world is beautiful.

Jen

Film Fridays with Jen

"Of these things, in this world, there is too little."

Sam Abell

One of my favorite photographers is Sam Abell. This is what he has taught me.

Anyone can grab a camera and take a picture. In fact, you can take a thousand pictures and at least half will turn out fantastic.The act of photography is simple. Press a button and BOOM you have a picture. But there is so much more to it than that.

It requires patience. LOADS of it.

Instead of being "snap happy" take 50 pictures and make each and every single shot the best shot. Be more AWARE of what is around you. Take the time to LOOK at what your capturing.

You have to wait.

Wait for the light.

Wait for the color.

Wait for the people to come in and finish the composition.

Search less and stand more.

Smile my friends. The world is beautiful.

Jen

Photos by Sam Abell, National Geographic Photographer, taken from Google Search

The Photographer

Well, Hello!

I'm Jenna, but my friends call me Jen (and sometimes Jude). This is my first blog. I've always been afraid to make a blog. You see I'm not the writer of the bunch. My mind doesn't think in words. Instead it thinks in pictures, colors, and textures. So if I misspell a word and decide not to use spell check or have terrible grammar or flat out make up a word, don't make fun, just laugh. That's what I do. :) Because, sometimes I am convinced the Lord replaced my brain with paint.

Ps- you can blame the grammar on the fact that I was raised in the south

So here's a little bit about me... El and I have been friends since we were five. Thats 15 LONG years. Hehe :) I am a Art Education major and possibly minoring in photography. I am also the one who moved away. I just recently transferred to BYU in Provo, Utah. Making me 4 long hours away from my wonderful friends.

I am the photographer. You see those cute pictures of Els and Jace? Well, most of them are from me :) I don't know what it is about photography that makes me love it so. Maybe it's the gratification of having a work of art almost instantly instead of the long many hour process involved in painting and drawing. Or maybe it's because I see the world differently when my camera is glued in front of my eye. Colors are more vivid. Shapes are more profound. Textures are more soft or sharp or rough..whatever they were designed to be, but better. Its almost a spiritual experience. Or maybe its the ability to capture the beauty that constantly takes my breath away. Maybe its all these things combine. Who knows. Point is: I LOVE IT.

Smile my friends. The world is beautiful.

Jen