Happy Monday

If Monday mornings could be summed up in one facial expression:

   

Happy Spring!

[ I'm completely ignoring the fact that it's snowing right now in Boston. ]   In honor of this first full day of Spring, I'm posting about my garden journal. C'mon now, control yourselves. There's enough of this fabulous blog post to go around. 
  
I keep more of a visual record of my garden's progress but I've also got a binder full of good stuff. I've gathered magazine clippings, advice, pictures and more over the past six years that I want to refer to easily and quickly. I started with a 3 ring binder and divider pages from Russell and Hazel. And this is how I organize it (follow to flickr).
  

If you want a simpler journal idea click here. 

Two Kids (enough said)

[  TWO KIDS Series ]  I'm the mother of two boys! How the heck did that happen and when are their real parents coming to get them?!

WEBSITE Book One

"Kids photographer Kim Lowe just uploaded a new portfolio to her web site. Titled "Book One," the book features crisp, colorful images of children at play in the sun and snow. Her use of color, props and composition create beautiful images that preserve the playfulness and curiosity of childhood without relying on nostalgia to incite emotion." 

   

I would never have been able to characterize my work in such a beautiful way. Thank you Barbara Goldman of PDN/Photoserve.  

  

My roses are growing on Flickr...

In case you want to follow someone who knows very little about gardening, click here, where you'll find lots more about my garden adventures on flickr. Yes, yes, I am obsessive—I love my garden as much as I love my husband. And that says a lot because I love my garden a real lot! 

  

2¢

So... before you order 2000 promos, think about the cost to mail those 2000 promos. Uh, I forgot about that part. Let's do the math — 2000 x 44 = no, not 2 cents, it's $880.


(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. enjoy!)
  

Plant a seed. Watch yourself grow.

Six years ago we bought a house in the city with a huge yard. It was a yard — not a garden. To me, there's a magnificent difference between the two. A yard is something you mow. A garden is a journey—it's something you respect and love—it's a compost pile you care for because you know it will grow healthy vegetables which in turn, feed your children; it's a single chair nestled into the farthest corner so you can look back and smile at her one minute before the sun is totally gone for the night; it's the roses' scratchmarks on your arms and the dirt engraved in your knees for life; it's the complete joy of watching snakes wiggle across the grass, frogs sneak in under the privet, butterflies dance just outside the window, wrens raising a family in the dead tree you swear to never cut down; and of course, it's the sweetness of the first tiny piece of candy of the season - a cherry tomato. 
   
Before March 2005 I was not a gardener. Every plant I owned died. I didn't know the difference between an annual and a perennial. I didn't know the definition of "full sun." I just woke up one morning and decided to plant some seeds with small hopes of transforming a yard—instead the yard transformed a girl.
   
This is my journey. A work in progress.  (follow this link to my garden on flickr)
   
Happy Spring everyone! 
   
Plant a seed.
  

To Flash or not to Flash?

My friend Will Burns of Ideasicle recently said that he thinks he can do all his work from an iPad2. Which is a real bummer for people with sites created with Flash, like me. Anyone visiting kimlowe.com on their iPhone or iPad get rerouted to my blog and miss out on my fabulously-entertaining-mindblowing website (slight exaggeration there). A lot of photographers, artists and designers are in the same boat.  
  
If a prospective client is only using their iPad to view online portfolios then we could easily get overlooked for a job. Especially if people are replacing their computers and laptops with an iPad. And as Will pointed out, most people using iPads are creatives.
  
So you can 1) recreate a new site, 2) reroute viewers from your site to your blog or 3) I'm still figuring out #3, I'll get back to you.   

Grown-ups vs. Kids

Someone just asked me why I don't shoot adults. I told her — "Because grown-ups aren't nearly as interesting as kids—or as funny. When was the last time a grown-up paused halfway through a shoot to pick their nose? And don't say yesterday."