It’s snowing… beautiful little white flakes of snow falling ever so gently outside my window, making me feel excited for the upcoming holidays. And here I am playing catch up with posting my daily photos. You’ve seen perhaps January, February, March, April, May and June. If not, click on the months in the previous sentence and it should pop up. Now, it’s November on the calendar and July on my computer. Celebrate a little warm sunshine, blooming flowers, beach scenes, lobster and fresh berries. And then get back to the snow. 🙂
“In the summer, the days were long, stretching into each other.
Out of school, everything was on pause and yet happening at the same time,
this collection of weeks when anything was possible.”
If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know that I’m playing catch up just as fast as I can. This 365 project has been so fun and I truly enjoy making an image every day. In fact, I LOVE it! Processing the images, however, has really bogged me down and so when I find myself with some free time, I work on catching up.
June was all about summer. Lupines — oh, those lupines!! I could photograph them all day, and in fact, I believe I did. The farmers market bustles in the Oaks, warm trips to the ocean cleanses the soul, and the blooming of early summer flowers makes my heart sing. This month’s weekly excursions included Pemaquid, Bailey Island and Ogunquit.
Let me tell you this. My work — my personal work that’s just for me — takes a back seat to almost everything. What a shame, right???! And this year my personal work is greatly comprised of my 365 project … one photo every day. I’m loving the shooting part but boy, it’s the processing after that bogs me down! So here we are in November — one week until Thanksgiving — and I’m posting for … wait for it … May!!
In addition to, or perhaps complementing, my project 365, I incorporated a weekly photo excursion to Maine lighthouses and other iconic settings that I had been wanting to capture. Every summer seems to go by in a minute, so this weekly date (a.k.a. self-inflicted assignment) caused me to be intentional in how I spent at least one day out of my week. My friend Joanne joined me for what turned out to be a whole lot of sunrises with a side of breakfast. You’ll see our first two trips this month …. Bug Light and Spring Point. Both lovely. Couple them with the beautiful early morning light? Pure joy!
So, better late then never, yes? Enjoy, and feel free to share and/or leave me a comment.
“I knew this much: that there is objective time, but also subjective time…. And this personal time, which is the true time, is measured in your relationship to memory.”
-Julian Barnes
xoxoxoxoxo
Thanks for catching up with me! Contact me to schedule a session, coffee or a chat!
March Madness. It comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. Well, it definitely came in like a lion as I was scheduled for a flight from New Orleans to Portland on March 2, only to have it cancelled because of a Nor’Easter. L O T S of snow. So I flew out two days later, was here for two weeks, and guess what … two more Nor’Easters hit. Yowza!
So here’s my merry month of snow, beach, crawfish, scrabble, knitting, nashville and the Grand Ole Opry, and just basic madness … in pictures. #playingcatchup
xoxoxoxoxo
Jane is a portrait and lifestyle photographer based in southern maine and sometimes new orleans. Contact Jane by emailing her at jane@janeberger.com for more information. And just to say hi!
Ah, yes. With the arrival of a crazy June, comes flowers — a very particular flower. I like to think of this as our gift in the north for enduring a long winter and many times a rainy April. And really, nothing says spring in Maine like Lupines, amiright????? Those tall, beautiful, bold spikes we all spy on the highways and in the fields during our road trips. They’re mostly purple (ahem, my favorite color thankyouverymuch), and sometimes pink and white. And that gorgeous foliage, deep and bright green, from which they grow? Oh, lawdy! Eye candy at its finest.
“Happiness radiates like the fragrance of the flower and draws all good things towards you.” I’d like to think that I’m creative enough to come up with this sweet prose that pretty much sums up my feelings, but alas, I’ll stick to photographing these beauties and credit this little goodie to Maharashi Mahesh Yogi.
We went north. My friend Joanne and I went north not because we knew we would find these wild and gorgeous blooms (wink, wink), but to engage in a shooting spree starring one of Maine’s iconic lighthouses along our beautiful coast — Pemaquid. (I just had to get yet another reflection of that structure in the puddle of the rocks…. *sigh*) Our travels also took us to Fort William Henry, site of where one of my dear friends got married several years ago and it is lovely! In addition to more lupine (or is it lupines????), we stumbled across phlox, iris, pine cones, a cairn, a coke and a few smiles. Winning!!!
The cloudy sky didn’t dampen our spirits. Sometimes I prefer the greyness to bright sun. This was one of those days.
Warning: This blog post might contain enough purple lupines to last you a few seasons. Proceed at your own risk. 🙂
You must do something to make the world more beautiful. Says Miss Rumphius.
— Barbara Cooney
xoxoxoxoxo
Jane is a Maine photographer specializing in elopements, children and lifestyle. Contact her for more information at jane@janeberger.com.
It was all so very innocent. My New Year’s Day Facebook post said something about 365 new days, 365 new opportunities. I mean, that’s what a new year is all about, right? I wasn’t meaning anything more, and that’s when it all started ….
Here’s a little background. My friend (and a fabulous photographer) Kristina did a killer 365 project last year. If you aren’t familiar with that term, it translates to mean 365 images over the course of the year, taken daily. It’s a daunting task if you ask me. Several of my photographer friends were planning on participating and were in the process of creating a special FB page for sharing images, challenges and successes. Me? I was on the fence.
As an aside, you may recall that last year I participated in a project 52 … yup … one photo per week. If you missed it, click here to see my year in pictures, week by week. I didn’t realize how special this project was until I was already done. I put all the images together into one file (wish I had thought of that at the beginning of the project!) and was pretty darn thrilled to see the entire year — all 52 images — pulled together and in one place. I even felt a little proud!
Back to that Facebook post about new days and new opportunities … another photographer friend Judy piped up with one simple question … “Does this mean you’re doing the 365?” Gulp. I threw caution to the wind…. I’m in!
To keep me honest, I’ll share my images monthly. Granted, we’re already well into February, but you know what they say about personal work? It takes a way-back seat. Plus, in order for this to work for me, it has to be on my terms without added pressure … a photo a day is pressure enough! Speaking of that, daylight is winding down, and since I haven’t made my image yet today, I better get going. 🙂
Here is January through my lens.
I walk, I look, I see, I stop, I photograph.
leon levinstein
xoxoxoxoxo
Jane is an elopement, intimate wedding, event and lifestyle photographer covering Maine, New England, New Orleans and beyond. Contact Jane at jane@janeberger.com for information on documenting your special occasion.
For those of you who know me, know that when I pick up my camera, I’m a very happy person. I love my job, which isn’t a job at all because I have tons ‘o fun and meet some truly wonderful people. I’m grateful for finding photography and for photography to have found me. I’ve made this a business, and it’s a happy little business indeed!
But when I pick up my camera with no agenda, expectations and demands — when it’s just me, myself and my camera –my heart sings. Lllllaaaaaaaaaa …. Can you hear it???!!! THIS! This is what fills my soul, feeds my creativity, allows me to observe, to look at seemingly meaningless things in a whole different way, and capture those moments — just for me. It’s crazy good and I love it!
I just don’t do it enough.
2017: Project 52
So last year I participated in a Project 52 … that is, making and posting one personal photo per week …. which got me shooting more than I might have otherwise. It was overall very fun, challenging, fulfilling, and oh so pleasing to see the final 52 — my year — in its final form. It’s worth noting that I do have one exception — week 48. Well, that week was incredibly sad because we said goodbye to a man I have loved dearly for almost my whole life and my focus was not on making photographs, but rather on making a slideshow of his life to share with family and friends. However, you will see his handsome and smiling face still added to Week 48 — a photograph I took when he was inducted into the Chevrus Hall of Fame a few years back. It just feels right.
Before I share with you my Final 52, let me tell you what I’m doing for 2018….. any guesses? Yup … a 365!!! Stay tuned as I’ll share some of those throughout the year.
Without further ado ….. My 2017 week by week…
Enter to win!!!
Did you get all the way through? Thanks for that! Tell me your favorite image and why …. and I’ll enter your name in a drawing for a free one-hour session* anywhere between Boston and Portland, or New Orleans. Use it for headshots, a family portrait, an engagement session, anniversary, a people and pet session, or just for fun! Comment on my Facebook page and you will automatically be entered! Drawing will take place on January 31, 2018.
*Session only is free. Digital files and prints may be purchased separately. Non-transferrable.
xoxoxoxoxo
Jane Berger is a Maine, New England and New Orleans capturer of memories who loves making images of people connecting with people. Or pets. Or nature. Well, you get the picture. 😉 Contact Jane at jane@janeberger.com for more information.
Fall is typically my busy time of year. If I’m not behind my camera, I’m in front of my computer — culling, editing and posting the images previously shot. This year provided some breathing room and so it was a great time to take a little time off.
Where to go in Maine in the fall? I would run out of fingers and toes tenfold counting all the beautiful spots in this great state. So we settled on Point Lookout in Northport — not too far that it would take more than a half day to leisurely make our way there, and not too close so that it felt like we were going away on vacation. My honey and I, and my sister and her honey bunked in a sweet, rustic log cabin nestled in the woods and warmed by the fire in the cast iron stove. We took the short trip up Mount Battie that overlooked the lovely little coastal town of Camden, and then went into town for dining and some therapy shopping(!). Belfast wasn’t too far up the road and it turned out to be a delight, and Lincolnville was well worthwhile for getting up and out before the break of dawn.
We had such a great time that we’re thinking we’ll do it again next year! I’m happy to share snippets of our mini vacation with you!
I’m so glad to live in a place where there are Octobers.
llmontgomery, anne of green gables
xoxoxoxoxo
Jane is a lifestyle, portrait and elopement photographer covering Maine, New England, New Orleans and beyond. Contact Jane at jane@janeberger.com for more information.
Few things evoke such wonderful childhood memories for me like the sight and smell of lilacs. There were a few large bushes outside our home growing up, and when they bloomed, it signaled that summer (and more importantly, vacation!) wasn’t far away. I still feel that same sense of joy as an adult when it’s lilac time but for different reasons. To me, it’s eye candy but better with a scent so rich and sweet that I can hold a lilac bloom up to my nose, close my eyes, inhale deeply many times over, and be immediately transported back to my childhood. And then, the gentle reminders of a time gone by come swooping in, like my mom sitting on the front steps enjoying the fresh air, my brothers coming and going to baseball and softball games, a lawn mower buzzing in the distance, and my friends who lived a stone’s throw away and always eager to play outdoor games in the neighborhood until it got dark. So when the lilacs are in bloom, I bring as many stems into my house as I can. The aroma thrills me, and don’t even get me started on the heart shaped leaves….. sigh …….
For me, the lilac season is much too short, so photographs are the next best thing. If you follow me on Facebook, then you know what I say every year ….
If heaven has a scent, it must surely be of lilacs.
The smell of moist earth and lilacs hung in the air like wisps of the past and hints of the future. –Margaret Millar
xoxoxoxoxo
Jane is a photographer capturing love and laughter in Southern Maine, New England, New Orleans and beyond. Contact Jane at jane@janeberger.com
I had a list of places I wanted to visit and photograph when I was spending time in Louisiana earlier this year. It was a long list. I didn’t make it to every one, but I did make it to Fontainebleu State Park in Mandeville much to my delight! I specifically wanted to visit this state park for the sunset.
I had some time on my hands, the sky was clear and it was a beautiful afternoon. Perfect! I grabbed my camera and my husband and set out for this place of which I had seen many pictures, but wanted my own.
As we entered the park, it didn’t take me long to yell “STOP THE CAR!!” The sun was moving down the sky and was backlighting these big old oak trees laden with spanish moss in a way that took my breath away. I got to work — which really isn’t work for me at all because it is what feeds my soul, makes me happy, and allows me to share the spin I put on the beauty I witness.
Now you might think that after photographing these gorgeous trees I might be disappointed at what comes next … au contraire! The sunset was a lovely show of pinks, yellows and oranges against the blue sky that made way for the stark contrast for some beautiful silhouettes.
Please enjoy viewing the images because I sure enjoyed taking them!
xo
Softly the evening came with the sunset.
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
xoxoxoxoxo
Jane is a lifestyle and portrait photographer serving southern Maine, New England and New Orleans. To chat about a session for you, contact Jane at jane@janeberger.com.
