“Why Do You Love Photography?” Luminance Contest Winners, Week 2

“Why Do You Love Photography?” Luminance Contest Winners, Week 2

We are one week closer to Luminance 2012, PhotoShelter’s conference happening this September, and we want to make sure that all in attendance are surrounded by people who love photography.

Luminance speakers are leaders from FacebookGoogleLytroBehance20×200,Christie’sHipstamatic, and many more. If you’re a photographer, technologist, designer, or care about the direction of photography, this event is right up your alley.

So we asked, “Why do you love photography?” and every week we’re picking 3 winners to win two tickets each to the event, plus the#ilovephotography party.  We will be announcing the winners every Thursday on The PhotoShelter Blog.

We combed through all of the entrants up to July 25th, and after rounds of deep thought and careful readings, we have come up with our top three photography-lovers. In no particular order, we’re all set to share them with you now.  Here are this week’s winners:

1. Jennifer Hudson:

I love photography for the feelings and emotions that are evoked with each memory that is captured in a photo. Not only is that particular moment captured but all the moments that surrounded that photo. The laughter, the sadness, the happiness, the loss, the love, the joy, the accomplishment or even the heartache… each photo brings the moment back to life. I feel blessed when I am the person that gets to capture those emotions for anyone. I love all things photography… it is more than a love, it is a passion!

2. Tony Lanza:

I love photography because…Well, I would say I am passionate about photography, and have been since the early 1970s. Photography is a way to capture a moment, a feeling, an inspiration.

People smile when you ask to take their picture, and thrill to see pictures of their progeny. Give a parent a picture of their child at play, or the child’s priceless facial expressions, or the parent and child interacting, and you’ve given them a timeless gift. Wedding pictures, when captured and printed with care, touch hearts forever, even when you are not the paid photographer, because it lets them know how important that event was to you, too. Oh, and humans love their pets, too, and feel good when theirs is worthy enough to you to photograph. Give the gift of a picture of a flower someone has nurtured and takes pride in and you’ve made their day. Youngsters that are so excited when you give them pics of zoo animals, and place them on their dressers or carry them around – priceless, yet cost so little. Oh – ask them their favorite animal first, then give them a picture or collage and see their excitement and laughter.

Extensive nature photography has given me a window into creation that I would never have seen without camera and lens – extraordinary beauty and genius that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. How amazing to zoom in and capture a male Great Heron as it returns to the nest with its latest cache of building materials, and then capture the moment when he passes it on to Mrs Heron who will arrange it just so – like a homemaker moving a couch around to the best spot. The instinctive nature of Mrs Heron calming the unrelenting cries of her young as she feeds them, while the male opens his glorious wings to fly off and fetch more food to bring home to the nest. To capture the beauty and grace of an orchid, or the awesome artistry that lies before you in fall foliage that reflects brilliantly in the calm waters of a cool lake – breathless, an experience without end although I live in Florida – because of photography. I have experienced the many joys of photography for many, many years, with images of all the above to view and share and bask in again and again. So sorely lacking the skills required to paint on canvas, photography is also my way to express art.

Ah,I do love photography.

3. Natalie Wi:

It has been said that with great success come many failures, so I’m trying for the opportunity to win the tickets to Luminance again.

I always knew that I wanted to be a photographer; as a kid, I would sit on the living room floor, spending hours upon hours scouring through decades of National Geographic magazines, imaging myself traveling the world and documenting different cultures as a photographer.  As the years went by,  I discovered that I was also good with languages and so I chose to study International Affairs in college since I was under the impression that  it was a more “viable” career choice than photography.

Days  before the  second semester of my last year began, my father passed away unexpectedly.  I took the semester off to spend time with my family and re-evaluate my life.  It was during that time that I met so many people who begrudgingly worked an uninspiring job day after day and I realized that I still had the opportunity to live my dreams and feel passionate about my work every day of my life. 

I also remember looking through old photographs my grandmother had from during the war and it amazed me that no matter how difficult life was for her and her family as they were forced to flee from Ukraine and live as refugees, hidden in a concentration camp in Germany, to making new homes in Brazil and then America, they always made the time and found the money to have a family portrait taken.

In the semester prior to my father’s death, I took a b&w photo class and after his passing, his cousin told me that I had inspired my father to consider selling his business to open a photography studio.  That’s when I knew I was making the right choice.

I changed my major when I returned to school and since it was so drastically different from my original International Affairs major, I had to study for an additional 3 years.  I also secured a position in the lab at National Geographic with the intention of becoming a National Geographic photographer.  However, during that time, my husband and I learned that we were expecting our first child and I was again faced with an opportunity to re-evaluate the path I had chosen.  I knew that I wanted to be a part of my child’s every day life, which ruled out any travel for a while.   That was when my husband and I opened our first event photography studio.

I could keep going but the point is that I love photography because it has afforded me the opportunity to live my life as I’ve needed and wanted through the years.  It has been flexible and grown with me.  It creates opportunities for me to travel when I want to and is also flexible enough to sustain me during those periods when I want to be home.

In the past 15 years, I have opened 3 successful studios in 3 cities across the US.  I love photography because with it, I can do it all and I can do it anywhere.  I can be an artist, a business woman, a world traveler and a mom. I am a photographer.

Again, we would like to thank all of our enthusiastic entrants on their fantastic posts and contributions.  Remember, you still have a chance to enter for next, this contest is on-going and the rules are still the same.

Enter for your chance to win! We’ll be picking 3 winners every week until the big event.

To enter:

  1. Share this link on your Facebook page, tweet @photoshelter, or hit the ‘Like’ button on this blog post to help spread the word and let people know you’re excited for the event. Then,
  2. Post your response to “Why do you love photography?” as a comment below in this blog. Be sure to enter your full name and website in the comment fields provided so we can contact you.

Contest Rules:

  1. We ask that contestants share this blog post link on their Facebook page, on Twitter by tweeting @photoshelter, or by hitting the ‘Like’ button on this blog post.
  2. Contestants must submit their response to “Why do you love photography?” as a blog comment on this post.
  3. PhotoShelter will announce the winner every Thursday on PhotoShelter’s Facebook and Twitter page. We’ll also shoot the winners an email to let them know it’s their lucky day.
  4. Contest ends on Thursday, September 6, 2012.

Good luck!

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  1. Robert Angus at 2:05 pm

    I love photography, and the way it makes me feel. Photography has helped shape who I am today, and who I’m going to become in life. It gives me the chance to let others wonder through the journies on which I’ve been. To walk in my shoes, peer through my view finder and endulge in the essence of life.

    Photography is my art, capturing the warmest and coldest moments of life. To some photography may just be a way to show others what they see, but I aim to make all spectators experience the emotions I felt. I love photography because there’s nothing else that can allow you to embrace the precious moments of life, your entire life, over and over again.

    There’s is no being part of photography, every aspect in the world of photography is gained through the passion every individual photographer places in their work. Weather a photographer may be a successful business owner, or a heartfelt amateur, nothing seperates the beauty involved. Some say good pictures require good cameras, but I believe great pictures only require a great photographer.

    Every reason behind my passion for photography stems from my love of the world in which we live. The world often suffers great tragedies and hardships, disasters and violence. But in the midst of worldy chaos, one may find simple pleasures in life. Photography allows me to show those who struggle through the daily anguish, that beauty exists in the world. I hope to one day be honored for something amazing, in which I can only be thankful for the world of photography and what it’s allowed me to become.

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