by Jeff Kelley | Jun 6, 2015 | Stories, You Are Grryo
I don’t believe in perfection, there is no such thing.
من به كمال اعتقاد ندارم، همچين چيزى وجود ندارد.
Emotion is all that an artist can offer their audience, and I’m no exception; for me, it is about a good feeling.
احساس تمام چيزيست كه يك هنرمند ميتواند ارائه كند و من نيز از اين قاعده مستثنا نيستم، براي من موضوع فقط انتقال يك حس خوب است.
Beyond time and place, the only things which remain are the moments we capture.
فراتر از زمان و مكان، تنها چيزى كه باقى مى ماند لحظاتى است كه ثبت ميكنيم.
The third eye plays with the seconds and makes a century out of them.
چشم سوم ثانيه ها را به بازى ميگيرد و از آنها قرن مى سازد.
When time stops, you observe, and capture.
وقتى كه زمان مي ايستد، تو نظاره ميكنى، تو ثبت ميكنى.
The universe is yours; only emotion is powerful enough to help your hands stop the moments you encounter.
جهان مال توست، فقط احساس آنقدر قدرتمند است كه به دستان تو كمك كند تا دنياى روبرويت را متوقف كنى.
My name is Alireza Sheshmani, a photographer based in Tehran, Iran.
I’ve been taking photos for almost 4 years.
I started in the style of fine art and documentary, but for now it is mostly documentary.
I use an iPhone 5s as my camera because I found it to be the right device for my purpose, that is, getting close to people without getting noticed.
Alireza can be found on Instagram as @iranstreets.
by Jeff Kelley | May 26, 2015 | Jeff Kelley, Stories
photo by Eric Mueller
If you are as frequent a visitor to Instagram as I am, there is a good chance you’ve run across a colorful rainbow umbrella in your feed over the last several months. In addition, there’s a great chance that one of those umbrellas was originally started on its journey by Jill Emmer, also known as @shineonyoucraydiamond. I’ve seen a few other ‘traveling object’ projects (in fact, I’ve even been working on one of my own), but Jill’s is likely one of the most widespread and successful. I decided to have a chat with her to learn a little bit more about both her and the project. There are now approximately 400 photos of the umbrella in her #shineonyoucrayumbrella tag on Instagram; this conversation is interspersed with a few of her hand selected favorites.
photo by @hello__jo
Let’s start with the basics. Tell me a little bit about who you are and how you discovered Instagram.
I grew up as the “girl with a photo habit.” In grade school I remember bringing a little camera with me to field trips and family vacation. In college, I was the girl at the bar and college football games with a camera (pre-mobile phone cameras!) And a few years later, I became a proud member of the proverbial “mamarazzi” – using my kids as my subjects on a regular basis. So, photography has always been a love of mine. It wasn’t really an art form though. It was more a way of capturing a moment. My husband teases me about my obsession with “time and space” because I often say things like, “just a year ago he was crawling!” or, “I remember grandpa pulling bluegills off this pier one after another only a few short years ago. I wax nostalgic. I carpe diem. So… for most of my life, my photos never were about composition or symmetry, or anything like that. They were to capture those fleeting moments that make my heart sing or cry.
Then, a little over a year ago, I started a public Instagram account. I had a private one for a bit before that, but I noticed that none of my friends liked my more “artistic shots”… so I anonymously created my IG account and posted a few landscape and deer shots. I will never forget the excitement of a stranger liking one of my shots! It was beyond thrilling and it gave me a bit of courage to continue to share photos.
photo by @smallmoves
After that I started to make random friends from all over the world, and suddenly, I didn’t feel so anonymous anymore. I was becoming a part of a community! It took me SIX months to tell my old, non-instagram friends about my new friends and the new world I was actively participating in! By then, I had strong friendships, a healthy following and a wee bit of confidence.
So, as you can imagine, my Instagram friends mean the world to me. Without their encouragement I would never have had the courage to share my photos. Thanks to their support I am pretty much bursting with ideas and creativity! It is just so fun!
So what inspired you to start mailing an umbrella off to random people?The traveling umbrella started after a number of Instagram friends asked me where they could buy a similar umbrella. So I mailed mine to them! It really made my heart soar to see a little part of me in their hands. It became a physical way to link “virtual” friends from all over the world. It truly makes my heart sing to see my friends with my umbrella. This project seems to be the perfect bridge between my artistic side and that sentimental, nostalgic side I’ve always had.Little by little, the list of people who wanted the umbrella grew, and my simple act of mailing it turned into a full fledged global project. I now have several hundred people interested in the umbrella – instagrammers from all over the world – and 7 umbrellas are out there right now! At this moment, [May, 2015] there’s one in Minnesota, San Francisco, Boston, Australia, Rome, London and Malaysia.
What’s been your favorite aspect of this project? Anything that surprised you about it?
I am torn! I have two favorite aspects of my umbrella project!
First, I love the connection it has given me to other people on Instagram. It has given me a physical connection with dear friends. A perfect physical representation of our mutual love of creativity, community and the art of photography. Many new friendships have been created because of this project. People usually get to “meet” the next person they pass the brella on to. It gives me great joy to see beloved friends from all over the world with the umbrella in their hands. People are now starting to recognize the umbrella in different countries!
Secondly I love the wanderlust. I love the notion that this big bright rainbow umbrella is living a glamorous life as a world traveler. Something I have always dreamt of. Since I can’t travel the world right now, at least my umbrella can! Many times when people receive the umbrella, they use it to show off the area they live in. It has been near a red telephone booth in London, adding color to Times Square, used as a prop at a world wide Instameet in Milan, Italy, glammed out in LA, snowboarding in the Catskills, taking a beach day on the Gold Coast in Australia, and alongside some beautifully colored walls in Malaysia.
photo by @golden2dew
Anything else you’d like to add?
Yes – I would like to tell you that I am looking to add on a charitable aspect to my project. So many well known instagrammers are signed up for this project, that I think it would be a great way for a company to get some exposure. I would like a company to sponsor the project (i.e. they pay for shipping or something, and then donate a bit to the charity I choose for each person that has the brella. In return, that company would be mentioned with each post.
I would love to find a company that would be willing to partner with me to help this traveling umbrella have a cause. It has connected us through our phones, through the mail and through our passions – I would like to see it connect us through our hearts as well.
If you would like to see Jill’s own photos, contact her about the umbrella, or if you are looking to sponsor this project, you can find her on
Instagram, or at her website,
Shine On Photos.
photo by Eric Mueller, model: Colleen
by Jeff Kelley | Feb 11, 2015 | Jeff Kelley, Stories
My entire day consists of interactions. Well, I suppose everyone’s day consists of interactions, really, but when you are a mailman on a small downtown business route, they’re certainly more accentuated. All day long, it’s a random ‘hello’ to a passerby that I may or may not know, then directions to a hard-to-find cafe, and after that, an extended conversation with a customer that continues from the previous day.
So it’s probably a good thing that I’m an ‘ambivert with extrovert tendencies’, according to a webpage that even knows what that is. The point is, interacting with people energizes me. I’d certainly dread my job if the case were otherwise. These are just a fraction of the fantastic folks I get to talk with every day on my route.
If I were to string together my daily conversations into one long paragraph, what would it sound like? Likely, a bit schizophrenic– a discussion about photojournalism, followed immediately by talk of raising chickens. A conversation about public school policies would transition into an ongoing joke about repetitive cable company advertising. It would be punctuated with a lot of hey-how-are-ya’s and intermittent chats about everything from ‘how about this weather’ to ‘why does this company send me the same damn catalog twice a week?’ (U-LINE, are you listening?)
If I have my way, I’ll be on this route until I retire– hopefully with the ability to still climb a set of stairs. Without a doubt, there will be a completely different set of people that I interact with when that time comes. I’m sure I’ll be a different person as well. But hopefully, I’ll still be an ambivert with extrovert tendencies– whatever that means.
by Jeff Kelley | Dec 29, 2014 | Jeff Kelley, Stories
We all know there’s more than one downside to the omnipresent smartphone–the invention of the ‘selfie’, the calloused thumbs, the inability to bullshit our way through a discussion about, well, anything that can be Googled.
But you know what my favorite upside is? The ability to take a picture at any given moment. No, I’m not talking about catching a nominee for the ‘People of Wal-Mart’ blog; I’m talking about taking pictures of my kids.
The truth is, I really didn’t take any pictures at all before I succumbed to the allure of that sleek rectangular gadget. In fact, everything I’ve learned about photography has indirectly been the result of stumbling across a photo app a few years ago. Now that I’m able to take photos at any given moment, countless events that were once seemingly insignificant (like, uh, dental visits) have been captured on-the-fly, off-the-cuff, and even in middle of the street. The fact is, even if I <em>had</em> owned a camera, those spur-of-the-moment memories would likely have never been immortalized had I not been wielding my trusty iPhone.
So the next time someone collides into me on the street whilst checking Facebook, I’m going to think about that perfect photo of my kid–the one that was taken by a phone, the one that’s going be sitting on the mantle for the next six years, and yes, even the one that’s going to be sitting on a hard drive for the next sixteen.
Sure, I’ll likely succumb to carpal tunnel syndrome within the next year or two and end up with the permanent posture of someone decades older than me, but that hike we took on our family vacation? It holds a permanent place via some pixels in square form.
And when I’m in line for a coffee and the guy in front of me is haphazardly ordering a chai tea latte with almond milk and an extra pump of chai while day trading stocks, instead of whacking him upside the head, I’ll just take it as a trade-off. He gets to be obnoxious, I get to remember that look on my daughter’s face when she’s grown, and maybe her kids will get to know her a little bit better because of it.
Admittedly, not all of the disadvantages involve other people, and the perceived urgency my phone causes in me is distressing. It’s just slightly possible that I don’t need to take my phone in with me every time I use the bathroom. And it’s probably a good idea to actually interact with my kids in addition to getting the perfect shot for Instagram.
Maybe, if I’m lucky, my kids will take up photography. Or at least look back on the photos I’ve taken and appreciate them. It’s possible that in a few short years they will have their own phones and will be telling me to go stand in front of some foggy woodland scene so they can post it somewhere. I certainly hope so. I’ll try not to be annoyed.
by Jeff Kelley | Oct 27, 2014 | Jeff Kelley, Mobile Photography, Stories
I discovered the account Me & You, 52 on Instagram a couple of years ago and was drawn to it for two reasons- one was the weekly themes that gave me something to think about creatively. The other was the purposeful pairing of two pictures, created by two different photographers, into one diptych. It was a concept I hadn’t run across before. I ended up chatting with Anika Toro, one of the co-founders about it- here is her story:
J: Tell me a bit about how the idea of Me & You, 52 was conceived?
AT: Me & You, 52 was started in 2011. Christy and I were on the Blogosphere a lot. I had hosted a link-up on mine for mobile photography. We had both just gotten an iPhone and I think it changed the way we both looked at taking photos. Christy contributed her shots every week to the link-up and we began a virtual friendship. When we both started blogging less, I asked Christy if she wanted to collaborate in some fashion. We both loved mobile imagery and so we went from there. She had followed a side-by-side Polaroid project called the Polaroid Girls; I contributed to the defunct diptych project called The Miss Match Project – we both had a love for diptychs! We wanted the project to span one year, 52 weeks, and to be prompted by something new each week.. So we decided that we could shoot for two rounds of the alphabet – we would follow the letters of the alphabet to guide each week’s word, each week’s inspiration. When we got to the end of the round we realized that the creative push from the project was sometimes the driving force to keep us producing. It challenged us to come up with ideas we wouldn’t have thought of if it weren’t for the project. So we went for another year!
“H is for Horizon” by @deuxpieces
J: When did the project grow from just the two of you to include others?
AT: In early 2013 we both thought it would be even more fun to include other people’s perspectives. More people were using their phones to create art and experiment. It seemed like a good time to involve more people. The more the merrier! I have always loved collaborating and so think that I enjoy the project when it feels like more people are contributing their viewpoints. We all see things in our own unique ways but sometimes we happen to think of the exact same thing, sometimes we imagine the lighting the same way, sometimes we happen to use the same apps, and sometimes we come up with something nobody else thought of. Then, when images are connected into a diptych, a story, they become something even more… They become half of the story -The Me to the You, the You to the Me. For me, one of the best things about this project is the serendipity. The connections made between our unplanned images start to get this groove where it’s not just a narrative that takes shape but our horizon lines match up, shadows blend perfectly into another’s image, the story on one side completes the end of a story we each didn’t know the ending to. More artists means more interpretations, perspectives, inspiration, and more possibilities for impromptu story telling.
J: The serendipitous pairing is definitely one of my favorite parts of the account. We end up seeing the visions of three artists in the end- the two created by the individuals, and the third created by you, who has paired them together. Can you pick a few of your all-time favorites and tell a little bit about them?
AT: Wow, well thanks so much. Funny, but I feel like the diptych is second to the idea of mobile-only imagery. I honestly haven’t really thought of it that way…until right now. I think of the storytelling angle, yes. But I guess I feel like I am facilitating a presentation for each image so that it can shine even brighter on its own while working in tandem to strengthen its neighbor’s image. Even though a collaboration of sorts, I think of this project as an individual challenge; one created by the participating artists. We each contribute our images without knowing what the other will be creating. Even I try to stay ahead of the group so that I am not swayed to create something to match with another member’s image. We all to come from the same place of not knowing, of using just our own experience to create from. That way when images are put together it seems even more magical how they match up. It’s like the personal inspiration comes first, the connections come second. That said, I have always really loved the story telling of two images.
I do have a couple of favorites. The first pairings that come to mind are from the beginnings of the project when it was still just me and Christy. Most of the earlier diptychs were less narrative and more graphic in nature. For example, with “E is for Eyes”. Our styles are quite different but seem to go together well in this duo. We were both inspired by that week’s theme. I feel like this diptych really showcases what we were trying to do when we started the project.
“E is for Eyes” by Anika and Christy
With more voices come more possibilities for narratives. I just posted a diptych with an image from Claire and an Instant Lab image from Chris. It’s beautiful. They both were on the same page as far as the idea and even the coloring! I was blown away when I got the second image of this pairing…it was too perfect. This one for me, now, feels like what the project has become.
“G is for Guide” by Chris and Claire
It’s nice to see how this project, this collaboration of sorts, is evolving. I think that’s why I am drawn to a current pairing with Christy. It’s interesting for me to look back and compare it to our earlier connections. This was from a few weeks back and is “D is for Double”.
“D is for Double” by Christy and Anika
J: Can you tell me a little more about Instant Lab and the Deuxpieces account?
AT: Gladly. During the last round {Round 5} I learned about the Impossible Project’s Instant Lab. It was like a little fairy produced this magical camera – one that combined the spontaneity of Instant photography with a mobile device! It seemed like the perfect thing to add to Me & You. This all began with a love for mobile art; why not showcase it in another form? I decided to seek out some Lab users who may like to join the project. I tried to find artists that were passionate about instant photography, had experience using the Instant Lab, and that had a strong unique style. {I think it may have also been an excuse for me to justify the purchase of more film.} You know, every one of the Instant Lab shots, so far, have lined up perfectly with its partner…it’s wild! Here is an example, “A is for Arch”. The Instant image {on the right} is by Keith. It is partnered with Monica’s image. To me it’s like one image is an abstract drawing of the other. I love this one. The addition of the Lab has been very inspiring.
“A is for Arch” by Monica and Keith
Also, new for round six is Deuxpieces. Deuxpieces is an ongoing diptych project between Elke and Corinna. I had known both Elke and Corinna from those way-back blogging days and have admired their photography and stories ever since. We had discussed, a round or two back, how we might be able to work together and so for Round 6 we figured out a way. The difference in their creations is that they make purposeful connections. One of them will play off the other’s image and work from there. Sometimes their diptych is connected by color or design, sometimes it’s planned conceptually, and other times one half of the diptych is half of the other’s half. It’s a great project! M&Y has always been about connecting the unplanned but the addition of Deuxpieces adds the intentional. It’s interesting to compare the processes and see what two people working together come up with for the same exact inspiration that individuals create for (for example, “H is for Horizon”, shown at the top of the article).
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If you’d like to get involved, feel free to follow the Me & You, 52 account on Instagram and add to the #meandyou52 tag. You can also visit the blog site online, or if you are interested in being a part of the future of the project, you can contact Anika at anikatoro@gmail.com.
