PHOTOGRAPHY

Right around Christmas time I went to a Christmas light display at the botanical gardens.  It was very well done and a fun crisp walk in the winter night air is a wonderful family thing to do.  I couldn't help but notice, as we had to walk around them to avoid accident, the plethora of tripods.  My first thought was that maybe this was the 'must have' gift for seniors this year.  Then I noticed a healthy dose of the tripod wielding gang were moms with little kids in tow, often very patiently waiting for mom to get that amazing shot.  Then it dawned on me - these are probably bloggers or at least adamant facebook posters.  I understood their struggle to improve the photos on their wall/blog/board/tweet... the competition is pretty tough.  That's why I stopped taking my own photos after the first few months of blogging.  I now prefer using the photos of the professionals. Like the one above.
I decided to troll through my pinterest boards ( and other peoples) and come up with examples of why nobody needs to sacrifice precious family time to try and photograph something that has already been done by a professional.  My categories :

"PICTURE PERFECT"

A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

EVERY PICTURE TELLS A STORY

I don't want to discourage any budding photographers ( actually these photos should inspire such a person) but using a tripod is not going to give you photos like these.  Talent, imagination, dyslexia... lot's of factors are at work here.
I'm just sayin' if those photos are meant to show all who want to look, that you and your family do interesting things, then ignoring the family to document said interesting things seems a bit backward...
Have fun forgetting the camera/phone/ipad... maybe someone else will photograph you and your kids because you look so randomly happy!

Norman Parkinson

Norman Parkinson by Irving Penn American Vogue 1958

I recently acquired several books regarding the life and work of photographer Norman Parkinson or as he was known in the biz "Parks".  A couple of the photos were familiar to me but most were not. His work is stunningly glamorous, stylish, imaginative and au currant no matter if it was the 1930s or 1970s.  He absolutely had his finger on the pulse of the world of fashion throughout his entire career.
He is very British and fell in love and married a very British, very beautiful actress, who became his model/muse - the epitome of "Englishness" in the late 40s & early 50s.  Her name was Wenda and they were married in 1947.

Wenda 1951

Vogue 1948

A family voyage

Later on he would have other favorite models like Iman and Jerry Hall.  In the early 60s he had a favorite from Sweden named Nena von Schlebrugge that I adore.  She had a spectacular classic willowy model figure and gorgeous young sophistication.  This photo with the roadster and doggies is adorable.

Nena 1958

Lady Curre's Itton fox-hounds 1951

Only an Englishman could have taken this photo! Amidst the action and chaos there is a lovely order.

Henley Regatta, June 11, 1950

Unidentified sitter, 1936

Some of his very early portraits, like this little boy, were imaginative and artistic in a way that reveal what an artist Parkinson was.  This one of three debutantes is even daring its it's avant garde composition.

Debutantes 1935

His early fashion photography is just what you think of when you think Vogue.  Smart, sophisticated, cutting edge, leading the world to a place of elegance and beauty.

1936

1950

1951

1956

1960

Parks was not just a man of his era.  He had no problem capturing the look and feel of the English 60s

Raquel Welch 1967 (gorgeous!!)

Maybe even more impressive is his grasp of 70s glamour.  He starts to get almost Helmut Newton ish.

So, I would like to raise a glass to an exceptional artist, liver and lover of life, and giver of pleasure to the rest of us with his extreme talent, wit and imagination. To you Parks !

Norman Parkinson and Frauke, 1985

I photographed these photographs from these books :

xoxo !