aline smithson

Many years ago while attending a Santa Fe portfolio review, a lovely fellow participant noticed my name tag and said hello. She had seen my work in Shots Magazine and really liked it. We shared our portfolios with one another, had drinks and dinner and quickly became friends.

My friendship with Aline Smithson has deepened over time. She, practically unknown as a photographer that year in Santa Fe, has blossomed into quite the photo super star! You may know her blog, Lenscratch (if you don't, you should) and you've probably seen work from one or more of her series in various photo publications. Maybe you've shown her your work at a portfolio review (she sits on both sides of the review table these days), heard her lecture or taken a class from her. Recently, perhaps you've seen her book. Aline is a busy and talented woman. She's also incredibly supportive, generous and kind.

We traded prints early on in our friendship. I selected one from her series called "Arrangement in Green and Black: Portrait of the Photographer's Mother," her ode to Whistler's famous painting. I love this body of work, and it was the one that really defined Aline's arrival as a photographer (in her past life she was both painter and fashion editor.) Her mother, well into her 80's when she agreed to pose for this series, was in poor health but maintained a great sense of humor about it. Sadly, she didn't live long enough to see the completed set of images, but Aline has always said she's "up there enjoying her success."

Aline's "Spring Fever" series is another of my favorites. In it she photographed seven-year-old girls wearing hats from the 1950's (she loves a good garage sale). In Aline's own words:

"Juxtaposing hats traditionally worn by women half a century older with the visual of a child on the threshold of knowledge and sophistication allows us a glimpse into the future, and possibly a reflection of a face that wore a head full of flowers long ago.

Some believe that articles of clothing hold the essence of the original owner. It is my hope that we are not only looking at a contemporary face, but an echo of a person that once wore a hat covered in flowers and worn during a church service or a garden luncheon, when once upon a time, we celebrated Spring with fanfare and a hat."

In spite of the fact that Aline has so much on her plate these days, she continues to be a prolific art-maker. And now, 20 years worth of her work as a photographer has been compiled in a gorgeous book called "For Self & Others: Portraits as Autobiography." With a thoughtful introduction by Karen Sinsheimer (of blessed memory), essays by Aline and just over 100 beautifully reproduced images, the book is a welcome tribute to a smart, engaged, curious, witty, sensitive and poetic photographer. Among the 18 bodies of work represented, I still love her older black and white work (Aline remains a film devotee) that includes, among other things, images of her family and her environs.

Aline considers all her portraits a reflection of who she is and has created a visual narrative that defines exactly that. I think it's ultimately what most of us are trying to achieve in one way or another; she has succeeded with style and grace, and I congratulate her heartily. I'm glad she came up and said hello in Santa Fe; I truly value our friendship that has spanned these many years.

lenscratch!

I am so happy to be featured on Aline Smithson's wonderful blog, Lenscratch, today. Please check it out here.

lenscratch

I am so excited to be featured on Lenscratch today!

Lenscratch is considered one of the top photography blogs in existence. And Aline, its founder... well, she's not so shabby either. A truly lovely and passionate mother/photographer/writer/friend.

Thank you so much, Aline, for including me in your "Success Story" lineup. I am truly honored.

sold out!

Nine short hours after the initial offering of Aline Smithson's print on Collect.Give, the edition has sold out. Thank you Aline, Collect.Give and all those who purchased a print for a fantastic contribution to Change the Truth!

aline smithson: collect.give

My amazing, generous and talented friend Aline Smithson has pretty much knocked me out this morning. Please take the time to read the following, which is what appears on her blog today. This is a fantastic opportunity to own one of Aline's gorgeous images and to help the kids at St. Mary Kevin, too. It doesn't get much better than that!

Imagine, Aline Smithson

"I am honored and excited to have my image, Imagine, be the newest offering on the terrific charity site, Collect.Give. Founded in 2009 by photographer Kevin Miyasaki, Collect.Give is a place to collect contemporary photography and donate to worthy causes at the same time. It would mean so much to me to have you join me in this venture. The following is from the Collect.Give website:

'The participating photographers have pledged to donate 100% of the profits from their print sales to their chosen charitable organizations. Neither the photographers nor collect.give have pre-arranged associations with the organizations to which funds are donated. Rather, the photographers will make individual contributions with the funds raised. Purchasing prints on collect.give is not considered tax deductible.'

After much consideration, I decided that I would like to support the amazing organization, Change the Truth founded by photographer Gloria Baker Feinstein. Gloria was in Uganda as a participant in an NGO workshop and spent the majority of her time photographing at AIDS orphanages. Upon her return, she could not shake what she had witnessed and was determined to make a difference . She reached out to her Kansas City community and to friends around the county, and was able to 'adopt' the St. Mary Kevin Orphanage.

St. Mary Kevin Orphanage Motherhood is home to about 190 orphans and disadvantaged children. It provides shelter, food, security, clothing, medicine, love, access to education and training in vocational skills. The orphanage has few resources because of limited government programs and extremely high poverty levels. Children at St. Mary Kevin have come to Uganda from as far away as Burundi, Rwanda, Sudan, Congo, Chad and Niger. They have been abandoned, often abused and mistreated. Many of the children come from northern Uganda, where they have lost their families to war. The way things are, these children have little hope. That's their truth... but with your support, we can change it.

Gloria is a long time friend, and to watch her commitment to these children has been remarkable and inspirational. She represents the best of our community, using her photography to change the world. Each December, Gloria and a team of Change the Truth volunteers travels to Uganda, rolls up sleeves and offers on the ground assistance to the children and staff at the orphanage. You can read a bit about these trips on the NEWS page or, much more extensively, on Gloria's blog. If you are interested in participating, please contact Gloria!

Please consider purchasing an image as all the proceeds will go directly to Change the Truth. I pick up the costs of printing, preparing, and shipping the work as my donation. If I am lucky enough to have the edition sell out, please consider making a donation no matter how large or small which would allow Gloria to bring even more supplies this December. $40 would mean so much to these children, and isn't that what it's all about, changing their truth?"

happy 4th!

Because of so many other responsibilities lately, I've morphed into a person who doesn't make pictures every single day. I've always felt strongly that our picture making muscles - the ones required for visualization, framing, composition and timing - need to regularly be stretched, strengthened, pushed and conditioned. So tonight, as dusk was setting and the pops and cracks of Independence day celebrations were lighting up the sky, I got out my camera and went for a walk. The clouds were filling up with moisture and growing more ominous with each passing minute. Kids and their parents were busy with sparklers, smoke bombs and firecrackers. I walked through the thick Midwestern air, an occasional raindrop falling here and there, with the sole purpose of making pictures... maybe nothing important or even worth saving. But for me, the act of simply carrying the camera always leads to a sharper look around - and a fuller appreciation of what surrounds me. I did manage to make a picture I like, though what was clear is that I need to get back into a regular exercise program.

My extraordinary friend and fellow photographer/blogger, Aline Smithson, asked her readers to submit pictures that conjure up the spirit of Independence Day, Lots of readers responded. When you have a few minutes, treat yourself by scrolling through Aline's 4th of July Exhibition.There are, of course, as many interpretations of a subject as there are people with cameras, and here you really get the full sense of that.

thanksgiving shots

My friend Aline has asked her photo pals to send in our best shots from Turkey day, all of which she has promised (she's a brave and kind soul) to post on her blog sometime next week. This is my contribution.

424

Four years ago when my mother was diagnosed with leukemia, I set about making photographs of the house I grew up in, the house where my parents still lived. I had just turned six when we moved into this house; I still return there to this day to be with my dad.

I was inspired to post images after seeing a series photographs by Phillip Toledano entitled “Days With My Father" a moving and wonderful body of work that my friend Aline Smithson recently featured on her blog.

These pictures, while they aren’t about my folks specifically, are about the details of the home they created and shared with my siblings and me. They are about the quiet, still moments that existed/exist in a space that is as familiar to me as my own breathing.