Happy Spring!

In honor of Earth Day today, we're announcing our 2nd annual seedling sale-fundraiser to raise money for nature + gardening programs at our Boston public school. Please save the date! Purchase your tomatoes, basil, cucumbers and flowers from us. Organized by really amazing second graders and "kinder-gardeners" of Philbrick Elementary. We have over 300 seedlings already started — phew! 

More info to come later. 

    

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I feel very lucky to have played a small role in a big event this week. 
   
The AdClub had their annual Women's Leadership Forum. A few weeks ago, they approached me about using my photography for their banners, programs, books and more. Of course I said 'Of course!' Their theme this year was "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And they needed photographs of girls to work alongside quotes and answers to this question. Well I have shot some incredible girls in the past ten years and I was happy to share those beautiful, happy faces with the AdClub for their event. 
   
What I didn't realize was how amazing they would make my work look. Big, bright banners rose up over my head as I entered the venue. Photographs flickered on big screens. A book met me on my chair filled with smart, funny quotes and beautiful photographs. For a second, I didn't even realize they were MY photographs. 
   
I was honored that they used my photography. I was even more honored to be in a room filled with 700+ great women (especially at a table with two of my favorite women) and be in the audience listening to and absorbing messages from leaders that I've admired for a long time. 
   
When you get a chance, not IF, but when you get a chance, watch the video on the AdClub website. You will be inspired by the amazing speakers. Listen to Azure Antoinette's poem — not once, but twice, so you don't miss anything. And you will be moved by my friend Chris Edward's remarkable story. You'll want to give him a standing ovation right there in your living room.   
   
http://adclub.org  

Trending for 2015

So I've read that a trend for 2015 in the photo-advertising industry is that clients are no longer expecting a photographer to capture a single photograph for say, a print ad, but are requiring a photographer to capture a library of imagery. A library is necessary to a client because their advertising needs have changed over the past few years — an image for a print ad may be needed still but along with a Facebook cover shot or post, a blog post, a tweet, an instagram image, a banner, a meme, etc... you get the picture. What's interesting is that — well, I've been shooting libraries for clients for years now. Because I wanted that from my photographers when I worked on Royal Caribbean and John Hancock in my Art Director/Designer years, I guess that's why I've always done that for my clients in my Photographer years. 
   
I mention this as I just finished organizing a library of photography from a photoshoot with FamilyFun magazine last year. It took me a few months to narrow down 5,000 images to just 75 but take a peek. My team and I worked hard (really hard in 95 degree temps too) to capture a range of shots for the 6+ scenarios in a single day photoshoot:
   
http://www.kimlowe.com/#/categories 

January 12, 2015

Five years ago today Mother Nature unleashed a devastating earthquake on Haiti. A couple months ago I had the great opportunity to visit with Free the Children and Luke's Lights founder Gisela Voss and document the progress of rebuilding and healing in the deep countryside of Haiti.
   On this one day, I was lucky to arrive (after a 4 hour grueling hike) at Manac just as a well was being completed and fresh, clean water began pouring from the well. The elders in the community wouldn't let the children touch the new water because it was too clean. They thought something was wrong with it. So one Haitian man went to the well and put his head in the water to show it was safe. The children then rushed over with fierce joy to touch the clean water and let it soak into their little hands. It was an unexpected, life-changing event for me.
   Please take a moment today to visit Haiti — to see the beautiful side of this strong country by following this link to kimlowe/#/newwork. 

     To view more imagery alongside my short, personal stories please visit tinyurl.com/sixdaysinhaiti

    

Six Days in Haiti

I've been here in Haiti for six days. And it feels like a month. I've seen so much. I feel as if my heart, my head and my camera are going to burst. There is so much to capture and I can't move fast enough. There is so much to digest and my heart can't take it. This has been a journey of a lifetime. I don't know how to go home.
   

It is very difficult to see this kind of poverty. I've seen poverty. I'm lucky to have never lived in poverty. I never realized how lucky though until now. But this is extreme. This poor country has been stripped of so much and not just from the earthquake. And yet it still shines.

Our team traveled an impossible route to a small town of Manac yesterday. I hiked four hours in and four hours out with food and friends and water and hiking shoes and nothing to carry but a camera. And it was difficult, to say the least. There were rocks moving under your feet, mud making you slip, tall grass hitting you in the face and keeping you from seeing the trail that was on the edge of a cliff at times, and the sun was beating you on the head like it's raining rocks on you. 

   

An entire community of Haitians who barely eat two meals a day, without shoes, without water carried on their backs and on their heads (YES!) all the supplies to build a school in Manac. Think about the metal, the concrete, the wood for shelves, for desks, for chairs along with all the tools to make these buildings. They wanted their children to learn so much that they carried every piece of that school four hours up these mountains. Then they began to build a school, A COMMUNITY, with their own hands. They broke ground. They sang. And a school rose up. There is so much more to this story. This is just a piece. 

   

I was explaining to a friend how beautiful the light is here in Haiti. Everything glows. 'Luminous' might be the word I'd choose but still it's not a strong enough word. After being here for only six days— having feeling so loved, so welcomed, having children hold my hand and follow me with giant smiles and giggles, having elderly women make me promise to come visit again and kiss me, having families show me their tiny, tiny but beautiful homes with so much pride — I'm convinced that the only reason this country shines so bright is because of the people.

   

We shot stills and motion — which means we shot a lot. It'll be another journey just editing and digesting this amazing, life-changing experience. 

Please visit Haiti via this link:

http://tinyurl.com/sixdaysinhaiti 

Six Days in Haiti

Over the past six years I've been incredibly lucky to work with an amazing woman, the brilliant toy-maker of B. Toys, Gisela Voss. With every B. toy purchase, she made sure portions of that sale go to 'Free the Children.' Her story is emotional and large and inspiring. And she's heading to Haiti to not only see the schools and communities she (and you) have helped grow but she's bringing light. Really. She's delivering solar-powered lights to families without electricity. The word 'amazing' might be too small a word to describe her actually.

And I have the opportunity to travel to Haiti with her and Free the Children. We leave Thursday and will be trekking to six villages in six days. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I've never felt luckier in my life. It's pretty fair to say that I'll be sharing stories and photos here and on my facebook page. Stay tuned.

http://www.mybtoys.com/ftc/
http://lukeslights.org
http://www.freethechildren.com

http://www.facebook.com/kimlowephoto 

Welcome Spring!

My two sons and I are going to sell our very own vegetable and flower seedlings in a couple weeks to raise money for their Boston public school. The four year old helped me sow the seeds, throw dirt at the cat, and sing to the seeds and my six year old is in charge of advertising - here's his first poster. 

   

More than just a toy.

Just a little something to warm you on a cold day:

"We visited the Mystic Aquarium the day before school started and I bought a Beluga whale plush toy for my son, Ollie. We were standing near the whale exhibit, about to leave, and noticed the four beluga whales flocking to my son. They were taking turns coming right up to him, making noises and opening their mouths as if they were actually trying to talk to him.

A crowd even started gathering. All the grown ups couldn't figure out why the whales were acting this way until I had my son hold his new whale up to the glass and immediately the beluga whales began pressing their foreheads to the glass, staring at the toy, with what seemed like smiles on their faces. They seemed to want to get closer to the stuffed animal. It was incredible to witness, especially as a parent. Then all the kids around us started asking to hold the toy, too. The toy was magic to them.

Oliver sleeps with his beluga whale every night. Still."

One of my favorite magazines, FamilyFun, picked up my little Oliver story. Find it in the March issue.

Sorry Budweiser

Okay so Budweiser's 'Best Buds' ad was the best of the SuperBowl ads. But did they have kittens and babies and hedgehogs in their ad? No they did not. 
    
The Cuties Citrus ads (that do have puppies, kittens, babies and hedgehogs!) can be viewed here. Sorry Budweiser. 
   

PEACE.

Our five year old son, Sawyer, drew this picture when our city, Boston, was on lockdown after the Marathon events in April. It's tough to explain to two small boys why you can't go outside for an entire day. So we tried to explain to them that there are good guys and bad guys in the world and that lots of good guys were out searching for one bad guy — we needed to stay indoors so they could do that. Sawyer then drew this picture with hopes that 'all animals, aliens and people' could live peacefully together.
   I thought this was an appropriate message to share for this new year. 

Looking down.

As I reorganized and reevaluated all my new photography for my website recently, I noticed that this "always looking up" kind of girl takes a lot of pictures looking down. So I can't believe this, but I'm suggesting to all of you... take time to look down. For the full series follow this link. 

   

5 Regrets

I did a shoot recently for Prevention magazine. The portrait was of a woman who discussed the top five regrets of people nearing the end of their life. I can't stop thinking about the talk. Think now about what your five would be. Then maybe change the direction of your feet.
    
Follow this link to read about the author referenced in the talk. It's an amazing article!

Ray Bradbury

If you're not moved, inspired or stirred by this then please take two fingers and check your pulse.  
   



http://youtu.be/EBtZjbTDTDk

INSTaGRAM

If you can't seem to get enough nosepicking or naked bum jokes here on my blog, feel free to see what other flippy material I can offer up on Instagram. And you might also want to consider therapy. Have a great weekend everyone! 
   
Follow link to kimlowephoto on instragram. I'm just getting warmed up.
   

PDN Photo Annual 2011

PDN has posted the 2011 winners. I'm not just in good company, I'm in great company. There's a lot of beautiful work to see this year: take a look at the other winners.

I was crazy to do all the photography, the producing, the styling, the designing and the writing myself [ Kim Lowe ] but I was at least smart enough to leave the flash programming to this guy [ Sean Sullivan ] 

I'm in the second row wearing a yellow flower. Fun fun night!

My New Favorite Blog

Sunday Suppers Blog 
http://sunday-suppers.blogspot.com/

Don't be afraid to be a girl.

I have no intention of making my blog political, but this is a great article for both men and women to read. Follow this link (yes, you, the one person following my blog): 

Joanne Lipman's NY Times article: The Mismeasure of Woman

Coolest Video on YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfBlUQguvyw

Boston's Textures

There are many reasons to love walking around Boston's South End, this is one of them. The textures you find outside schools, underfoot, on every street make this city beautiful to me.

It's a Beautiful Day