Photography Blog | The Life and Times of Julie Harris Photo Blog | Photography Blogs. Welcome! This is where I show my work and write about what stirs me. Mary Ellen Mark says, "Reality is always extraordinary". I live by this. I'm a documentary photographer with a thirst for love, life and truth... a true bohemian at heart. In an industry saturated with trendy processing techniques and emphasis on style instead of substance, I strive to make honest images that are full of emotion and reality. Please visit and comment often!
You can probably tell by the Christmas tree in the last two photos, that once again, I am way behind in the blogging department. I loved these images so much, however that I had to post them no matter how dated they are. The Sanders were great! They won my “watch me grow” package in a silent auction for a cancer benefit so I wasn’t sure if they were familiar with my style. I was a little nervous that they would want a bunch of stiff posed family shots for a Christmas card, but they wanted just the opposite and proved to be my ideal clients! We played and laughed and had a great time in the snow and then decorating the Christmas tree! Good times with the Sanders!
Sleep deprived, maybe. Smitten, absolutely! Erica and Tim have been some of my favorite clients–super chill, and creative themselves, they let me photograph their lives however I choose. I get to be a photojournalist—no posing involved. And Marek—well, there’s not much to say here that’s not conveyed through these images. He is beyond adorable. And he already has a strong little personality. He’s a perfect addition to the Holt family….
My parents live to help single mothers out. In fact, our family actually did foster “cradle care” when I was growing up. It seemed we always had a baby in the house. Over the years, I think we had something like 33 babies come through—something that I didn’t always love when I was a teenager. However looking back, I am so proud that I have such amazing, caring parents who give, give, give and never take. Shante, a single teenage mother, and her daughter Bella are currently living with my parents in Boulder My mom called and asked if she could pay me to shoot Shante’s senior pictures. I of couse said yes and wouldn’t accept a dime from her, but these are Shante’s senior portraits with her beautiful baby, Bella!
On a completely different note, I wanted to touch and go on the technical aspects of my work. I was a die hard film shooter until the last three years, so I shoot and edit my digital photography to look like film. I am overwhelmed and amused by the “tack-sharp obsession” that a lot of new digital photographers are striving for. I do love that with digital technology we can get tack sharp images, and there certainly is a time for this, but sometimes I think it’s become an obsession that has taken away from the true art of photography. Film was different. I personally prefer creamy, softer, shallow depth of fields. I almost always open my aperature all the way up–even if I know the image will be soft and out of focus in places. I actually think there is something impacting about an image that isn’t “perfect”. Humanity isn’t perfect. Art is imperfect. But both humanity and art are perfect is their imperfection. This approach to wedding and portrait photography isn’t very conventional, but it has always worked for me. I shot this series of images below, completely open with a 50mm 1.4. Some of you might love this, some of you might be uncomfortable with the “softeness” of some of these images. But this is one of the “tricks” to my work and a snit bit about the way that I shoot…
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