Painting With Light - My Daughter's Photos
Last Saturday I decided to try to capture the huge display of holiday lights at our local outdoor shopping center. I had all sorts of sparkly visions of the photos I'd take twinkling around in my head, but was frustrated when the ones I began snapping were nothing close to what I'd been dreaming of. I tried a few more times, but then finally (bummed out), I put my camera back into the car and was ready to leave when my daughter asked if she could try to take a few photos. I told her that the low-light conditions made everything blurry and that she might have a hard time getting a clear shot of anything, but I welcomed her to try anyhow.
Immediately she started snapping away and each photo that the she took was more beautiful than the last. They weren't crisp and clear...they were far better than that! Since we were outside in extremely low-light the shutter was staying open for several seconds per shot and so any movement resulted in blurred streaks of light. She noticed this right away and began experimented with different types of movement: side to side, up and down, fast and slow, and came up with some truly gorgeous shots. The fun continued as we drove home and she captured images of the light displays on the homes we drove past.
Beyond loving what she came up with, the evening served as an important reminder for me to clear my head of that inner perfectionist's voice that says I'm not doing things "right," and to just play around and have fun! We'll definitely be doing more "light paintings" over the holiday weekend...a few might even end up on our New Years' cards. xo Ez
All images by Miss K. (my daughter)
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| by Ez Wednesday, December 21, 2011 
Reader Comments (36)
this is a beautiful post! Merry Christmas!
OMG - I love these. My daughters both love to play with my camera ... we are going to go for a walk around our street one night this week and do this too! Thanks for the inspiration.
Ez, these are stunning! I love them all. Looks like you have a budding artist on your hands. Enjoy the rest of the holiday season!
What a talented daughter you have! These photos are beatiful - I specially love the first one - it reminds me of those fireworks that explode and then bits of them twinkle down to earth.
Well done, Miss K.!! They are Gorgeous!
(I'm especially charmed by that first one...)
And let this be a very valuable lesson for all of us indeed...
^_^
Love this post and accompanying photos.
Absolutely GORGEOUS!!
These are beautiful! I would definitely hang these in my home - especially the first two. And such a nice story that accompanies them - awesome photos, Miss K!
What a beautiful lesson.... my favorite is the colored one.
Beautiful!
--seeing, or re-seeing things through the eyes of someone younger is a great gift.
J
Truly gorgeous! I think I will try this as well. And I too could learn that same lesson.
this is truly awesome. i love when our kids remind us that imperfection is beautiful.
Stunning! Your daughter is one talented and creative lady! Hope to see more of her light photos on the blog. Amazing job, Miss K! :)
Beautiful!
Wow, they are all amazing shots. How creative and inventive of her. I must remember little things like this for my daughter....and to keep an open mind about the right way of doing things as well.
This is such a sweet story! Thanks!
Wonderful!! My favorite is the one that looks like it is shot through gauze. They are all so cool!
I love these! I always hand my camera over to my kids (with the strap around their necks!). It is really amazing the shots they come up with. And these are truly beautiful!
I am BLOWN AWAY! These are fabulous! I mean, you could sell them! I'll be your daughters very first sale!
These are beautiful! My favorite is the second one. We're going to go look at lights on Christmas Eve...maybe I'll try to get some shots like thi!
Thank you all so much for your sweet and encouraging comments. You made my daughter's day incredibly bright! xo Ez
Pretty! I love photos like this.
Oh this is soooo TRUE!!! Isn't it just AMAZING and aren't we just soooo lucky to have our daughters to teach us and remind us about the truly important things? I can so relate to your feelings... Love her shots!
I always have the same problem. I am trying to hard and know exactly what I want and when it doesn't work I got totally frustrated. But wow, this pictures turned out so great and I guess they would look quite wonderful if you would frame them and hang them.
A friend once told me, she thought my perfectionism sometimes got in my way. This is a great reminder to just try something and see what happens; not everything requires a plan. Have a wonderful holiday!