Serve mothers in the quest to bottle up time.

Apr. 16, 2013

Choosing to root for love instead

The strangest thing happen to me yesterday in the wake of the Boston marathon bombs … I felt love. A tremendous amount of love and gratitude for my family and friends and my girls who I held a little closer, for the people on the ground in Boston caring for and helping and comforting those around them who were harmed and grieving.

I felt a tremendous amount of gratitude for life!

This is a new feeling for me. In the past, this would have created greater fear and anxiety. I would have sunk into myself, withdrew and threw up every bit of armor and false sense of control that I could muster with the belief that I could protect, prevent or even avoid this blast to the core of our souls. Instead, I chose to grieve and empathize with the people affected … hoping that they know we are with them, that they are in our hearts.

This act of violence (and the others before it) is unacceptable. It is not something we should get used to, it is not something we should become numb to. If we do. Then they win.

I’m choosing to be thankful and root for love instead.

My Mom’s Flowers

My mom has a green thumb. And if there is ever a memory that I have of her in a place that makes her happy, it’s her in her flower garden.

Back in California the garden in front of our house was the most beautiful, most cared for, most lush area of flowers within the entire neighborhood. Hell, I’d venture to say the whole city! People would slow down to admire it and if my mom happened to be out front they would stop and let her know just how beautiful it was. Heck, some people would ask her who her gardener was. That question ALWAYS cracked me up.

So the cactus in the left image of the next two diptychs was not exactly her favorite. She always imagined herself falling and impaling herself on them once they were huge, which they were. But I had to include them because their texture and shape are so awesome! Sorry about that mom.

These images are some of the first images I ever took as I started my journey in photography. That is the wonderful thing about images. They may not be perfect to the technical eye, but dammit I’m so glad I took them and so mad I left them sitting on my computer for so many years. I’m just sitting here smiling remembering my mom, in her HUGE hat out in the sun in the front yard caring for her flower bed. These images bring back distinct memories. That, to me, is the most important part.

My parents have lived near me in Texas for a few years now and it think it’s about time that she creates a beautiful flower garden here too. You will, won’t cha mom?

Going Backwards

I brought my camera with me recently to a neighborhood dinner club and my neighbor just shook his head at me. ”I don’t understand,” he said, “you are going backwards!” He’s an older gentleman, so we’ll forgive him for that.

And backwards I go!! Very happily and with much excitement … I’m leaping right into the world of film. I don’t consider it backwards. I consider it progress. I consider it being better. I consider it intentional. I consider it diving deeper into my craft. I consider it the right thing to do for me.

Here are some practice shots with my beautiful test subject, Maeby girl.

Just on regular old film with regular old Walgreen’s film development scanned to a disc. I couldn’t be more in love with this new journey.

Kim Percival | The Blog

Choosing to root for love instead

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My Mom’s Flowers

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Going Backwards

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