Grandma

"No, no.  Don't take my picture," she said as she stood by the window and I positioned myself for the shot, quite unsuccessfully trying to be sneaky.  Grandmas always do have a keen sense of what you're up to, even when you think they don't


"You're a beautiful, old, lady!" I yelled, with slightly more frustration than comfort, and a little too much emphasis on old.  She really hates to have her picture taken, but like most Grandkids, I often get my way.

She'll never really know how beautiful she is.  How much I love every single wrinkle on her perfect face, freckle on her slender arms and bruises on her over-worked hands.  All the things she sees as imperfections that she would gladly trade away given the chance that couldn't possibly make her more perfect.

Nothing I could ever write, no amount of words however well thought out or heartfelt they might seem could ever really express how much I truly love and adore my Grandmother.  I do hope, though, that she can see it through my photographs, because sometimes "I love you" just doesn't seem to be enough.

Tiptoe Through The Tulips

Inspiration can come in many forms, from a desire to explore a concept, convey a message, challenge perceptions, share the love of a subject, the manifestations are infinite.  This particular set was inspired by a dear friend.  Every year, Spring arrives along with her favorite flower and reminds me how lucky I am to have her as a friend.

Freddy - 1

Here in Pittsburgh we've finally accepted the fact that this winter weather isn't going anywhere and headed out to embrace the huge fluffy snowflakes of the day.  It was a glorious 10 minutes!

So today Freddy gets to make his first appearance on the blog!  He might have been excited, but he's too busy trying to get all of the snowballs out of his fur.

Farmers of Ohio - Post 2

This weeks photo is a view of the sunset over the forest bordering the farm.  I'd like to say that we never missed a sunset, but the truth of the matter is that we were often too busy to stop and appreciate them for very long.  By this time of day we would be busy getting in the last of the hay, packing up the produce stand, or getting dinner ready.  

Try not to let too many sunrises pass you by.

Farmers of Ohio - Post 1

"Farmgirl" is one of the few nicknames that I've been given over the years that I happen to love. It's very fitting and reminds me of a time and place in my life that I remember fondly. I lived next door to my family’s farm, but for all intents and purposes, I was raised there. We raised just about anything that we could eat and would grow in eastern Ohio. We worked hard and studied harder. While hard work doesn't exactly sound like fun, there's just something about farming that is simply good for the soul.

"Farmers of Ohio" is a documentary project currently focusing on the farmers of Eastern Ohio. The purpose of this project is to highlight the work, knowledge, and tenacity required of farmers to survive. As my grandparents' generation of farmers ages, a treasure trove of knowledge is being lost. Younger generations are no longer farming and that way of life is disappearing. I hope I can capture some of the farming life through this documentary project before it's gone forever.

I thought it would be fitting to start with one of my very favorite images. The first photograph I'd like to share is one of my grandfather with his newly acquired International Harvester wagon. He was very proud of his find at a local auction and assured me that it was very rare to see one in such good condition. He downright insisted that I take the picture.
I sincerely hope that you will stick around and enjoy this project with me.

Cheers,

Erica

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Experimenting with multiple exposures - 1

I've been shooting with my new D600 for a few months now and loving every second I get the opportunity to do so.  Last weekend I finally had the opportunity to experiment a little with multiple exposures; one of the perks to doing work for other artists is the opportunity to be a little more experimental than usual.  The following set is a combination of three exposures of one subject, shot with my Nikkor 50mm f/1.8, ISO 5000, and no flash.  The timing of the exposures was completely manual.  I'm very happy with the results so far.  I hope you enjoy!  

Special thanks to The Redlines!  Please check them out at www.facebook.com/theredlines and try to catch a show; you won't be sorry.