mothers day

I love my California family...especially since my own mom and family are so far away.










this last photo was NOT taken by me! Grant gets full photo credit. If you want to hire him to take your child's portrait, email him at grantporter2k@gmail.com

level 3


I was taught once, that there are three levels for categorizing photographic images.

Level 1- Descriptive

Every photo describes something. A red wall. A foot. Black teeth. Easy enough to grasp. Every photo every taken is a level one photo, it has to describe something...even if only to describe light and dark.

Level 2- Story Telling

Level 2 photographs tell a story. There are verbs in these images. A man painting a red wall. A foot being stepped on. Black teeth chewing on meat (gross..sorry). Not every photo is a story telling image, but if you succeed in creating one, you have taken it above only the descriptive and are entering the realm of photojournalism.

Level 3- Emotional

Evoke emotion. What good is any piece of art if it doesn't make you feel? I don't care if you hate, cry, feel uncomfortable...or maybe even experience some surreal state of euphoria. What good is living if you don't feel something? What good is art if it doesn't change you? If I was really trying to create an image I loved, I would always look to make it a level 3. Level 3's matter. While the 1's and 2's are nice and pretty and important in their own right, the 3's change you. I want to be changed.

The reason I went off on that photojournalism 101 lesson was because I've been thinking about those pesky level 3's. The tricky part to a level 3 is that most times it's subjective. Others feel what others don't.....also if you are there, or have experienced what the picture shows, this may give you an unfair advantage when it comes to connection with any given image.

When I look at my Colombia images I feel things. When editing through some of them yesterday I even got teary eyed. I don't expect that everyone (or anyone) will have the same response as I did because I was there. I held the baby, whispered the song in her ear. I kissed the hurt finger put in front of my face to make it all better. I saw the beds and smelled the roads. I touched hands and kissed cheeks.

My greatest hope is that I am not the only one that feels something... I honestly believe that my photography is pointless if it doesn't push emotion...but don't get me wrong I take tons of descriptive images. I love signs and details and colors and walls....but I would be lying if I said taking those images made me feel purposeful.

The whole purpose of me going to Colombia was to tell the story of certain people, certain children in need and hopefully in the story telling effort strike a cord in the viewer to act.

Global family. Everyone is responsible. If there is just one baby in a town starving it is everyones responsibility, not just the orphaned mothers. This is the part about knowledge that I think makes most people comfortable in a state of ignorance. Knowledge means you know and knowing means you then see and seeing means you have become responsible as a resident of human earth to do something.

Colombia was a level 3 for me, I know... because I came back different.

To donate/help/learn more, visit www.sxhu.org

Colombia-Bogota Day 1

I flew in yesterday to Bogota for a one week assignment shooting for Southern Cross Humanitarian. After my first flight was delayed an hour flying from LAX to ATL, I had to run, full force...camera bags flying, to barely make on my flight to Bogota. I actually had to yell to the gate agent as I turned the corner. So I made it, sweating, but my poor little bag did not and I spent my first day 1/2 in Bogota without a toothbrush...or my headlamp!

My group and I checked into our hotel and headed out to the "Tolerent Zone" around 12:30am. The purpose of our late night venture was for me to photograph minors participating in prostitution (the purpose of Southern Cross is to rescue children off the streets and into homes...).

I have lived in big cities, but have never had reason in the middle of the night to hang out by the brothels. 5 of us jammed into a tiny car and drove the streets. It was too dangerous for me to walk around with my cameras, so my only option was to photograph from the car and twice got out of the car, with the four others close by for protection.

It was a humbling experience and frustrating. This was one time where being invisible would have been perfect. I needed to walk around, talk to people, to really capture what I wanted...but the danger was too great. The feeling on those streets are hard to describe and most would have a hard time hearing the details. So many of children of God not knowing what they were worth, who they are and how great each of their spirits are.






Charlie

FAQ About Photo Days.

FAQ:

How much does it cost?

-Each 30min shoot will be $100. this includes time and an 11x14 finished image, a portrait credit of $30, as well as steeply discounted product prices on prints, books, CD’s of images etc..

What are the prices for print, CD and book orders?

-Because you are part of a group photo day you get special discounted pricing! Individual prints will be 20% off my normal prices as well as any book or albums. The biggest discount you get for being a part of a group photo day is on Image Discs. All of the Image Discs are 30% off and the high resolution disc is 50% off!!!!!! On top of all that you get perks for ordering over a certain amount. Here's the breakdown:

-order $100 and receive a complimentary 8x10 print (a $35 value)

-order $300 and receive a complimentary proof set from your session
(a $150 value)

-order $500 and receive a complimentary 7x7-20pg softbound Contemporary Image
Portfolio (a $350 value)

-order $1000 or more and receive a complimentary low resolution Image Disc
(a $500 value)

for a list of the regular pricing click here.

What form of payments do you accept?

-The session fee of $100 will need to be paid by check or cash, but any print, book or CD reorder after you may pay with either Visa or Mastercard, if you prefer.

What equipment do you use?

-Because I prefer to use natural light, I typically use my Canon 5D, numerous lenses, reflectors and a tripod (if needed). Less equipment means I have freedom to move and create a more natural photo shoot.

Can you come do a photo day in my hometown?

-YES! I love to travel and as long as you have at least 5 different groupings interested, plan a date and fly me out!! If you find 10+groupings interested I will fly myself out!

Does it have to be outside, or can I plan a photo day for friends inside my home?

-Definitely. This is a great idea for parties of any kind. Bridal showers, birthdays, holidays, play groups, reading groups, families...the list goes on and on. Whether we plan the day outside or inside it makes no difference.

Please contact me with any questions about photo days or ideas you may have!

Peru 2007

There is no denying the pull I have when creating a photographic image. I pull towards people and color. This is not to say I am not frequently inspired by other things as well....shape, texture, the perfect stream of golden light, like a gift sent by heaven for me and only me......but eyes and color really get me. There is something so rich and expressive in both. Part of me really feels like I am cheating nature if I extract the color that is naturally found in or on something. It was probably my photography ethics class and my photojournalism class in collage that started this line of thinking. I'm already leaving out everything I decide not to include in my camera frame and I really wish I could include everything. Leaving out anything is hard....

So, this taste of the images I took in Peru last month is true to those two loves. Its hard not to feel connected when you lock eyes and lenses with a complete stranger. We may not have been able to carry on a conversation but there is definite communication...and if you browse through my other images you will see the amazing color that is found in Peruvian culture and landscape.

While is was there to hike the Inca Trail I was able to shoot for two different humanitarian organizations, Southern Cross Humanitarian and The Hope Alliance. One was in conjunction with an orphanage we brought supplies too and another was for a village assessment for future dental and medical teams to be brought out. Check out the bottom of this post to find links to the rest of the images.

I loved working with non profits and would love to take more trips like this one where I can give something I have to give. Peru was amazing and now I'm thinking Africa.....







To see more of my favorites from peru go to www.rachelthurston.com/peru
more from the Sunflower Orphanage, www.rachelthurston.com/sunflower

Ella

I have been wanting to take photos of this little girl since the first time I met her , about 7months ago. Those brown eyes..those eyelashes...those curls....She takes after her other 4 siblings who are all out to make everyone fall in love with them. She was antsy and on the go, curious about the world.. true to form for most 1yr olds, but I didn't care. As creepy as it sounds looking at her was reward enough.

Mike and Natalie, there is something about your kids....perfect might be a strong word...but...

Where can I get some?














Torture

What it must be like for a child to have to be confined to a single seat in a stuffy airplane for hours is beyond me.

I know there are those people who cringe when a child is screaming a few rows behind them on a plane...and I'm not trying to be a saint when I say this, but I usually feel tremendous amounts of sympathy for them...so much so, that I have to restrain myself from wanting to try to calm the child myself. Maybe its the budding mother in me or maybe it's the bad parenting techniques I see implemented.

I think this child's airplane ride was different. He was so happy..and I dare say content. He lives most of the time in Utah (I think) with his mother and then comes to stay with his dad in LA once a month. Maybe he has become accustomed to airplanes being that he is constantly on them..or maybe he just likes to chill with his dad.

I liked peaking into these two's relationship for an hour or so. Sometimes I wonder how the little guy is and I hope he is still just as happy.








Boy Crush!!!!

I have a thing for little boys. How much they love their moms, how cute and flirty they can be even when they are only 5. I love the awkward boy stage when they are too old to kiss their parents but too young to sleep without a night light. I love little boys.

These three young heartthrobs I'm sure will cause many a crying girls in their due time. I photographed them on a work trip to Utah last week and loved how different they all were to photograph. One more shy than the others, one a comedian in training and one concerned about doing the right thing..posing the right way, looking the right way..not wanting to make a mistake.

Seriously so cute (but if they heard me calling them cute they would probably be totally embarrassed), so in case they can hear me, "You guys rule!".













this is the reason.

As a lover of the senses..touch, taste, sight, sound, smell...I often find myself searching for the meaning in the tangible and the not so tangible. What gives meaning to my life? It has never been enough for me to be OK with the "doing" without the "why". I want it to mean something to me. I want it personal.

Many times in my career I have contemplated why I choose photography, or why photography choose me. I have wondered about the course I should take with photography and how within that given course I can make a difference, or contribute to something more, something better.

I am still on my journey to finding out all the ways I can and should make a difference with my photos, but tonight one of my reasons was set in concrete.

I was musing through my friend Nikki's blog and came upon a woman's blog. This woman is a photographer and has taken beautiful photos of not only others peoples children, but her own. I started reading and was immediately sucked into something real and something unmistakeably meaningful.

Her daughter Ava at the age of 3 died in a tragic accident. Her blog, started before the death, chronicles a beautiful life before and a beautiful life after. As I read and watched her photos tell their family's story I was..in a trance. I knew that these photos she had taken of her baby were some of the most important reminders of happiness, hope and life that she will ever have.

Read her story and ask yourself the questions that a story like that demands you ask.

What gives meaning to your life?

For me, one of my "meanings" come from trying in my own way to help people remember and cherish the nature of their lives. To document something that is real for them. To be there when important moments happen and try to give them something tangible as a reminder of the intangible things that can only exist and stay deep in the resting place of ones soul.

There is a Native American and Aborigine superstition that taking a photograph of a person steals a part of their soul. Maybe they are on to something. Maybe its less like stealing and more like copying or borrowing. Maybe its the reason so many of us are drawn to beautiful photographs. Maybe.