Gogovivi

Kenya 2013 :: A Fundraiser

Do you remember when I went to Kenya last year as photographer for A Voice is Heard? It was, in many ways, one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Photographically, it was an experience of a lifetime. Personally, it re-connected me with an old friend in a deep and meaningful way. And as far as purpose goes, it helped me realize a lifelong dream: to be personally and deeply involved in doing some good in the world.

I saw that good firsthand last year when the pump handle was attached to the well we drilled in Namelok village, and the community drank from the fresh, clear water streaming from its village well for the first time. I saw the good when we visited our sponsored girls at the Rombo girls school. I saw it again and again in those ten days in Maasailand.

I have put together my favorite shots from last year's A Voice is Heard work trip to Kenya into a beautiful wall calendar for 2013. The photographs in this calendar were taken by me, Kiley Ariail, on location in the Amboseli region of southern Kenya. The people and locations shown will be the direct recipients of all proceeds of this calendar. The calendar is printed in stunning color on heavy-grade card stock in A4 size (8.3x11.7"). It is spiral bound with a hanger. Quantities are limited.** The calendars are for sale in my Etsy shop.

I am so excited to be departing for another working trip in this region, this year in my new role as Vice President of the Board of Directors of A Voice is Heard. I will be working on an ambitious photography project, helping with the logistics and coordination for several well drills, distributing medical supplies and birthing kits, working with local women on a fair-trade economic development project, and more. I depart on January 31 and will be away nearly a month.

Please consider supporting my work and A Voice is Heard by purchasing a 2013 calendar.

**100% of proceeds from the sale of calendars goes directly to support the programs of A Voice is Heard. A Voice is Heard is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. This purchase is not tax-deductible. www.avoiceisheard.org

Looking for Light

85mm | f/3.5 | ISO 400 | 1/1000 sec

Spring Break, Day 0

 The conversation went like this:

"Why do you want to take pictures today, Mama?"

Because I need to practice.

"Why do you need to practice?"

Because I want to get better.

"But you don't need to practice. You are already a good photographer."

Sometimes I take a good picture but I want to take more good pictures and get better. So I have to practice. 

"All your pictures are good, Mama. You're a really good photographer."

I love six years old. Six years old is sweet and six years old still thinks I'm great. Although recently six has started rolling her eyes at me.

Procrastination Means Love

It has taken me four months of procrastination, but I have just finished editing the photos from a newborn baby portrait session from last September.

Four months of forgetfulness, avoidance, and indecision. I couldn't decide which photos I liked, which I wanted to edit, or how I wanted the final shots to look. I was too busy with other things, and just too burned out with photo editing to bother. The mom even had to come to me and say..."uh, Kiley, I know you're busy, but remember those photos you took...?"

This isn't my normal professional behavior. I usually turn around my clients photographs within two weeks. But you see, this wasn't my normal "client", either. These photos were of my friend Rebecca and her baby Marty(pants), and these photos were special. They were the last of a long series that I started taking of Rebecca when she was 15 weeks pregnant, a series that documented her changing body and journey into motherhood, a series that grew as our friendship grew, and resulted in some of the best photos I have ever taken. These photos were also the last ones I had the privilege to shoot of this beautiful pair, before they left Qingdao to repatriate to the U.S.

It seems obvious to me now the putting off finishing the photos was my way of denying that this chapter is over, that Rebecca and Marty have moved on, and that an ocean and twelve time zones now separates me from my good friend. Although we only knew each other for two years, her influence remains. It shows most clearly in my photography, for which she patiently sat still over the course of eleven different sessions while I tested new techniques, new lighting, and new locations. But it also shows in other, subtler ways. Rebecca taught a 40-year old me to shake my booty, Latin style, as my Zumba teacher. As a devoted and confident Christian, she suffered through long discussions about faith, what it means, who the faithful are, and the loss of all faith I experienced when Miles died, all without defense or judgement. She got me hooked on Chinese massage, to the point that for a time, she and I were getting two massages a week. She is a business woman, a fashionista, a fitness instructor, a Christian, and a true friend.

I want to share some of my favorite photos from these sessions. Like this one, which I took while lying in the pool in my bikini, when Rebecca was so pregnant at 39.5 weeks that she could barely float.

Here, she is 30 weeks pregnant and still teaching Zumba 4 times a week.

Or these two, which I love for their simple beauty, taken as I was learning to wrangle off-camera flash, before her baby bump really even showed.

The photos are finally done, Rebecca. These are the last of them. I procrastinated because I miss you and didn't want our time together in Qingdao to end. With all my love.

The Moon over Qingdao

What a beautiful surprise in the sky last night - a full lunar eclipse, and perhaps a greater surprise, a clear and crisp, smog-free night in Qingdao on which to view it. Having never attempted to photograph such an event before, I set up in the sub-freezing temperatures in the back garden with my camera, tripod, remote release, and 300 mm lens to see what I could do.

It was a beautiful way to spend a winter's evening. Knowing that friends around Asia and even on the other side of the Pacific were watching the same moon at the same moment made it even more special. In those moments, I felt not so far from home.

Holiday Cards and Calendars: For a Purpose

This holiday season, in a new endeavor, I have designed a range of holiday cards, note cards, and calendars using my photographs and original designs.

The details are all in the flyer above, and I will be selling the entire range until December 11. Prices are as follows:

• Holiday cards: packets containing 5 cards of one style (choose either China or Qingdao): 40 RMB
• Note cards: packets containing 6 assorted cards (3 packets to choose from): 40 RMB
• Calendars: Two designs to choose from, A4 size, spiral bound, 14 pages: 100 RMB each.

All proceeds will go to A Voice is Heard, a small non-profit community development organization that operates in developing countries. This February I plan to volunteer my time and money to travel to Kenya with this group to document in photographs their current projects, which include building wells, small business development, and other community-based projects. The funds I raise will cover my travel expenses and all remaining proceeds will be given to the group as a cash donation.

These cards and calendars make a great gift for friends and family back home, to help showcase the culture and beauty of China.

Please support me and A Voice is Heard by buying my holiday cards, notecards, and calendars this holiday season. You can reach me at gogovivi@gmail.com with direct orders or visit me at the Qingdao holiday markets.

 

 

Party Photobooth: fun with a camera

I am not a party genius, but I have a friend who is. She puts together these fantastic, fun, inventive parties for her kids, AND she makes beautiful cakes. I, on the other hand, can take an ok photo but can't make a cake that looks worth eating (though it may taste fantastic). She and I got smart this year and joined forces for our girl's parties. She will bake a cake for Vivian come November, and in return, I photographed her kid's party and set up a photo booth.

The party was great - a spy scavenger hunt, of all things, how brilliant is that? Let me tell you, it was the best party ever. I followed around the party snapping shots of all the excitement, and when the birthday bandit was finally foiled and the cake was found intact and ready to eat, I set up a photo booth to capture a photo of every kid.

I used a simple setup of some cloth hung over a bar as a backdrop. I placed the entire setup in open shade and used a single flash on 1/16 power in a softbox on camera left for lighting. I set up my camera on a tripod and had every kid sit in the same spot, using the props of their choice. All these fun props, and more, I downloaded for free from accent the party and ohhappyday. The kids will each get a print of their photo when thank-you cards are sent out later in the week.

Let me know if you are in Qingdao and want a photobooth at your next kids party! I trade photography for cake...or party planning...or even cash.

Looking at Myself: Self-portraiture

I've been suffering from photographer's malaise. It started at the end of June when I ended my portrait work for the summer. I was feeling tired, uninspired, and I couldn't even be bothered to carry my camera with me when visiting such photogenic places as, say, Prague. One of the most photographically inspiring cities in the world, and all I carried was my iPhone. I feel like I am up against a creative wall. Its a feeling I know well, because I have here before. In the past, similar situations have led me to dramatic measures like a complete change of creative direction. The last time I was up against a creative wall was when I closed my Etsy shop (I used to design and handmake leather handbags). That's when this current photography bug hatched.

I am feeling frightened and anxious about this malaise. I don't want to burn out with photography, I want to get over this hump, not quit. I want to feel high on creative energy, full of ideas, and excited to press the shutter. I want to continue to grow my skills and my creativity, to build a portfolio of images of which I am supremely proud, and to build confidence.

Self-portrait #1

Confidence is the kicker. I know my way around a camera. I have a good eye for composition. I can take a good picture. But when it comes to working with other people, to being "on" and needing to produce a pleasing, technically correct, and creative product, I sorta lose my confidence. And that, the losing it, I attribute to lack of experience. Some moments, when I am in a creative groove, and feeling it flow with the person I am photographing (a recent session in a swimming pool comes to mind, more later) I forget about myself and forget about the photographer-subject dynamic, and just flow. And the shots I love, the creative, well-composed, and well exposed shots, follow. In those moments, I am a photographer.

How do I get from malaise to flow? I need practice. I need hours behind the camera, experimenting with lighting, exposure, setting. I need a subject who never complains and never questions my creative vision. I need me.

Welcome to my self-portraiture project. I will be showing up here, weekly or semi-weekly, perhaps even twice a week, offering my creative vision of myself. For a photographer, being in front of the camera is to be in a vulnerable position. Please be gentle.

Linking up with Tuesdays around the World at Communal Global and Sweet Shot Tuesday at My 3 Boybarians.

 

Faces of May

It hasn't taken long for the word to get out in Qingdao that I'm available for portrait photography. In May, I shot eight photo sessions: two families, three maternity sessions, one infant, and two children. Knowing that I tend to jump into new endeavors with both feet and get burned out fairly quickly, I am trying to pace myself and offer not more than one session per week and one per weekend. So eight sessions per month has been perfect.

Eight sessions per month may not sound like much to established professionals, but that's not all I have on my plate: I am now also working for two magazines, and I am in negotiations with another potential client. I suddenly have a ton of work, where before I used to work just for my own pleasure. Its an exciting change.

In between photo shoots, I have been working on my new website, Kiley Ariail Photography. About a month ago, I slipped a new link, "Portraiture," into the menu bar at the top of this page, but otherwise, I have been pretty quiet about the site. It's not exactly how I want it yet, but its getting enough content that it feels...somehow...official.

These are my favorite portrait shots from the month of May. I will be adding new shots to the galleries at Kiley Ariail Photography often so feel free to check in now and again.

 

 

Published {Exclamation Point}

Last month I reported on my first venture into editorial photography: how I was hired to shoot the cover story, and several other pieces, for a new Chinese yoga magazine. Well, the magazine is here, my shot is on the cover, and I was given photo credit as promised. I was paid on time, the photo editors did a pretty good job, and basically my artistic vision is intact. To top it all off, the overall quality of the magazine, while not spotless and certainly not on par with similar publications I have seen from other countries, actually exceeded my expectations.

I am really super happy with the outcome. I can't express how exciting it is to see my photos in print, how great it feels to know that other people are going to see my work, and that someone thought my work is good enough to publish and pay me for. Its just...I lack the words...great.

Remember the Circle of Moms Top 25 Expat Mom Blogs contest? Its still going on, I'm still in the running, and still need your votes. Please vote every day until June 6. I'm not going to get first place, but it would be great to finish in the top 5. Plus...soon I'll tell you about the exciting and completely unexpected way the contest has already paid off for me...big time. Remember my recent post Good Things Come? Well more good things are coming my way. wink.