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!

Inspiration

Worth watching... twice. Follow this link:

Photographer Timothy Allen | Human Planet

  

Mrs. Robinson

Mr + Mrs Robinson decided to lay their eggs directly over our back door in a hanging planter. So I think it's only fair—we can't use our back door, I get to take a picture of the chicks. Hey, if I had my baby on your back porch I'd let you take a picture of him. 
  
[ top: four days old ]   [ middle: twelve days old ]   [ bottom: thirteen days old - first chick to fledge ]
   

Two Kids

Snot. When you have two boys, snot bubbles are big entertainment. 
   

[  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?!

TWO BIRDS: Happy Mother's Day

I received so many moving, emotional emails from single mothers in the Boston area after offering to give a free photoshoot to one single mother. Who knew one small thing to me could be so big to someone else. I take it for granted that I always have someone to take pictures of me with my kids. 
   
The single mothers I heard from are all wonderful, selfless and inspiring women. I only wish I could offer each of them a free photoshoot. The winning name was pulled this morning. (This is an annual event every Mothers Day. Please try again next year.) 

TWO BIRDS is my little itty bitty way of giving back. I do two charity events a year [ usually mothers day and christmas ] as well as probono work for local kids organizations throughout the year. Click here for more information.  

2¢

When shooting kids, always have a back-up plan and then have a back-up plan to that back-up plan. Kids are unpredictable and moody. Rarely will they go for your first idea. So start off with your second idea then go back to the first so your second is really your first. Know what I mean? 
  
(2¢ post series is me offering up my mostly useless, sometimes helpful photo tips. click on "two cents" in the "go directly to" bar to the right to view more)

Class of 2025

I put my camera down and picked up a shovel, some worms and some 4 year olds. We made a "pea-pea teepee," sowed some carrot and pea seeds, relocated some misguided worms to our new veggie bed and then did a rain dance. Which worked because it's been raining ever since. One thing new I learned about this age — they will dig forever... they don't care if they find anything either. Gotta love that! 

  

We only had an hour—here's what we did:


1) WORM HUNTING — we dug up worms from under logs and rocks and brought them back to the kids' veggie bed.

   

2) STICK HUNTING — every child needed to find and bring back a stick for the pea trellis. They measured their sticks to my shovel and all the kids would yell out if it was too short and then keep looking until they found one longer than my shovel. We built the trellis then planted peas. 

   

3) ADD SAND — every child had to get sand from the sandbox and transfer it into the veggie bed before we sowed carrots. Then the kids worked together to create rows and plant carrot seeds.

   

4) RAIN DANCE —we ended with a rain dance which was really just me dancing and then getting tackled by 12 four year olds.

  
(If you're not a parent or gardener then this post just bored the death out of you. Why are you reading this anyway?)

Ahhh, Spring

Spring to parents without sons—tulips, new buds on trees, easter dresses... Spring to parents of two boys—mud, worms and jumping in puddles... bring it on!

Totally Unnecessary

My husband likes to compare our fat little baby to baby godzilla. Hmm, I just don't see the resemblance. 
   

TWO BIRDS: Mother's Day

You take pictures of your kids all the time. Sometimes your wife or husband takes pictures of you with your kids. So if you're a single parent then who takes pictures of you with your children? Well, Two Birds, is going to help with that. If you're a single mother, submit your name, or your friend's name, for a photoshoot with me, Kim Lowe. On Mother's Day, my son will pull the winning name from a hat. Happy Mother's Day!

       

Visit my facebook page for more information — click here.

   

THE DETAILS:
   

 • This gift is for single mothers only. 

• Submit the names of your children (i.e., Jack D., Susan D., etc.) which will give you more options to win. One entry per child.

• Submit their names via email to kim@kimlowe.com or by posting them as a comment here. Submissions will not be accepted after May 7, 2011, 11:59PM.

• All submitted names will be placed in a hat and one name will be pulled on Mother's Day. You will be contacted by May 9, 2011 if you've won. If you don't hear from me then please try again next year. This will be an annual Mother's Day gift.

• The winner will receive a cd with jpegs from the one hour photoshoot along with a print of their favorite shot.

• Any single mother is welcome to participate but you will need to get into Boston for the shoot. We can decide on a specific location after the winning name has been pulled.