[PHOTOGRAPHY] THE 100 STRANGERS PROJECT: #12 Lucas & #13 Michelle

Read more about The 100 Strangers Project here.

#12: Lucas

I sat beside Lucas on a plane from Newark, New Jersey to São Paulo, Brazil.  I said hello as I sat down, and noticed he was watching a movie.  About ten minutes in, he asked me if I was Brazilian(must have been my flawless accent) and we started a conversation. We discovered we had many things in common.  I am a Canadian living in Brazil; he is a Brazilian living in Canada.  We are both married with two small children.  Both portrait photographers.  We had so much in common it was almost weird.  But it made me think – we probably have a lot in common with most, if not every stranger we come across.  We are all human beings, with joys and struggles and experiences worth sharing.  We just need to be brave enough to ask, and to tell.  I had made a friend by the end of my flight, and it filled me with such happiness to have connected with another stranger.  I can feel this project evolving.  At the beginning, it was about seeing a stranger I want to photograph and asking them for a picture.  Now, it is about having sincere interactions with strangers and then taking a picture to document the exchange.  It makes me even more excited to continue with this project.

 #13: Michelle

I met Michelle at a bus stop about a month or two ago. I had walked behind her for about 20 minutes, and when we arrived at the same destination, I thought of some way to engage in conversation. I noticed her shirt and complimented her on it, in Portuguese. She thanked me and then asked where I was from. When I told her I was from Canada, she switched to English, and told me she was from Peru. We shared our stories of how we’d ended up in Florianópolis. We talked non stop until we arrived at the bus station and had to go our separate ways, which was a good half hour. I was sad to say goodbye to her at the bus stop, but happy to know she lived on the next street over from mine. I was delighted to meet someone so lovely that lived so close to me.

Since then we have gotten together several times, and I am so enjoying getting to know her. I took this portrait of her yesterday, and although the idea for this project is to take a photo of a stranger at the time of meeting, I didn’t have my camera on me when we met. Thank you Michelle for being a part of my project; for being open to a conversation with a stranger.

The Most Important Thing #13: Debby

The Most Important Thing is back!  I’m excited to continue with this project, which is to take photos of people I love and to discover what they believe is the most important thing in life.  This is Debby, a wonderful friend I’ve made since moving to Brazil.  Debby is so special.  She is the type of person that gives you all of her attention when talking to you.  She is gentle, kind, and funny.  I recently took some photos for her professional website which you can visit here.  This was one of the photos from that session and I really like it.  As you can see she is beautiful inside and out!

Age: 31
Occupation: Therapist
Nationality: Brazilian
Belief System: I don’t think I have just one “system” – the ego creates a lot of them!  But I’m trying to let them just be there (in my mind) while I connect with my inner source – my soul, which provides the best way I can see and live reality.

What do you believe is the most important thing in life?

To be open to it.  What it means to me, to accept everything that happens to us – to just exist, without judging if something is good or bad.  Things just are.  And flow, discovering and sensing every feeling, experiencing every taste that life provides us.  In the end, I believe everything is a manifestation of love.  Just to enjoy while we are here! 😉

Thank you Debby!

Make sure to check out what others think is the Most Important Thing!

Ensaio Gestante: Mariana e Hugo de novo!

 

Oi gente!  This week I had the pleasure of shooting this expectant couple for the second time!  They are such sweet, lovely, down to earth people and I can’t wait to meet their little one!  I hope you enjoy the photos – I have so many favourites!

 

CATE FAMILY 2015

I had the honour of photographing this incredible family for the THIRD time recently!  They’ve grown in number since their last photoshoot… and are still growing!  I absolutely love this family.  I admire Nate and Dani SO much, from the way they raise their children to the way they serve their community.  They are truly living for Jesus and they are a wonderful example for so many people.  It has been so nice living closer to them over the last nine months, although I wish we saw much more of each other.  After eight years of serving their neighbourhood through their church, they are starting a new journey at a Bible College ten hours away from Floripa!  I’m so excited for them and yet so sad we won’t see Nate, Dani and their “little kids” (as Shasta calls them) quite as much!  We love you guys and we will be praying for you!

Now onto the pictures!  Enjoy!

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crianças na rua (kids in the street)

The newest member, two month old Nehemiah!

beijinho

little man!

the girls getting ready

tiny dancers

lovely Lilly

“Don’t mess with our baby brother!” How precious is Melody?!

Dougie

Ezekiel

Melody Joy

one of their three dogs

Tudo mundo! (everybody!)

‘Cause when you have nine kids… you might as well have ten, right?!

we’re gonna miss you soooooo much 😦

If you want to learn more about the Cate family’s ministry, check out their blog: http://thecate8.blogspot.com.br.

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All photos taken with a Nikon D300s, mostly with a 50mm 1.4 lens.

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Are you interested in a photo shoot?  Comment below or email lindsay.c.muller@gmail.com

Você está interessado em fazer uma seção de fotos? Fale mais e tire suas dúvidas nos comentários ou por email: lindsay.c.muller@gmail.com.

Baby Emmitt and family

On Saturday I spent a good part of the day with newborn baby Emmitt and his lovely family.  I went to their home, found a nice window in their bedroom, and went to town!  There were a lot of shots that I was really happy with.  Here is a sampling!

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The Most Important Thing #12: Lara

This is my wonderful friend Lara, who I met in first year of university at MTA(Mount Allison).  We lived in the same residence and had some classes together as well.  In between third and fourth year, we traveled to southern England for the whole summer, where we worked at a pub/restaurant called The Fat Dog.  Lara was living in Vancouver when Nuni and I got married in the Yukon two years ago, and she and her boyfriend Cody drove 24 hours straight to get there.  She is such a great girl, full of life, love, and passion.  I’m so glad I know her, and I’m so glad she is sharing what she believes is the most important thing in life.

I took this photo of Lara a couple of years ago (?) when we were visiting in Vancouver.  We had such a fun little photo shoot around Trout Lake, and we got so many good shots.  Her beautiful face and incredible hair made it easy.  It also helped that she’s someone I know and love, which takes a lot of pressure off for me(though I’ve heard of photographers who would rather shoot strangers… not me).  I love how the light shines on her face in this picture.  Knowing how to photograph in different lighting situations is a true art… often I just get lucky, I think, because I try lots of different poses and places.  Something is bound to work! 🙂

Hope you enjoy, and thanks a lot Lar for sharing.

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Age: 26

Nationality: Canadian

Occupation: a little bit of everything, but throughout all of it… I’m a girl, sent on a mission, by God who adores me and adores every single person whom I encounter, everyday. And I am able to love them, because I am loved. So whatever that occupation is, I’m working at it.

Belief System: I feel nowadays I’ve got to give a definition when calling my belief system “Christian”. People have so many ideas of what that means. So I’ll try to define it more: radical love. undying mercy. absolute grace. humility. justice. freedom. purpose. And the One who is all this, Jesus. I am a Christian because I actively, and with every ounce of my heart, soul, mind and strength, love and follow Christ.

What do you believe is the most important thing in life?

To put it in simple terms, love God and love people. Love changes everything. Perfect love. Perfect love has got to be the most important thing because EVERYTHING changes when one encounters perfect love. That kind of love changes the focus of your life, and you view it from an entirely different perspective. Life is now focused by love, instead of work, or money, or things like that. So your daily interactions, that’s now different too because you’re approaching it from a point of being loved, and therefore loving.

Love changes everything it touches to something great, something better. Nothing else does that, so it’s got to be the most important thing.

I guess that’s the way I want to live my life, focused on the most important thing, and from that, flows everything else. And to live that way, to live a life loved by God and loving others, it doesn’t make sense without Him. I like that idea, that I am pursuing living a life that not only makes no sense without God, but that is absolutely impossible without Him.

Lara and I in Spain, during our summer abroad!

The Most Important Thing #11: Abbie

Here’s another one of my favourite teenagers.  I started to get to know Abbie and her amazing family last year after we attended one of their home church services.  Abbie is one of those sunshiny people whose smile can light up a room and energy can lift you up in an instant.  Her maturity, thoughtfulness and joyful nature never cease to amaze me.

I’ve wanted to do a photo shoot with Abbie basically since I met her so I was really glad to have this “excuse”!  She has such a beautiful face and smile… it wasn’t hard to get a nice picture of her.  We took these shots indoors – I’m definitely a bigger fan of outdoor shots, but it was such a sunny day that it was hard to find a spot that wasn’t in direct sun or dark shade.  So it was a chance to practice something new.

Thanks Abbie 🙂

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Age: 19

Nationality: Canadian

Occupation: happily unemployed at the moment 🙂

Belief System: Christian

What do you believe is the most important thing in life?

I think the most important thing for me is getting to know God more and in new ways.  The more I grow in my relationship with Him and let Him change me, I’m a WAY happier person and have so much more to give others.  And that’s exciting because I think giving is really important too!  The more you grow in character, honesty, pushing out of your comfort zone, etc., the more you can give something of worth to others.  Besides that, I think really treasuring and fighting for the people I have in my life – my family and friends – is super important!  You don’t know what could happen in the future or how long you have…so making the most of the time you have now, the little things(like rain showers, conversations, walks, hugs), is HUGE… when you’re thankful and treasuring the present, then you’re really living life to the fullest!

The Most Important Thing #10: Mari

This is my wonderful cousin, Mari!  She also happens to be the daughter of last week’s MIT.  Mari is one of those teenagers that makes me excited about having children.  That might sound weird, but I mean just that – I look at her and think, “See?  It is possible to grow and raise an absolutely amazing person.”  She is probably the most ambitious, mature, intelligent, kind and caring teens I have ever met.  And I know I say this every week but I am THRILLED that she is part of the project!  It’s been really fun asking important people in my life what is important in their lives.  I do want to branch out and ask some random people what they think, I just have to work up the courage!  I am actually quite shy when it comes to taking people’s photos unless I know them very well – I am hoping this project will help me to get past that.

One thing I’ve learned so far in taking portraits is that props are key.  I wouldn’t say they are essential, but they definitely help with producing an interesting photo.  I think it also takes some of the pressure off of the subject – which most people like(and then there are others that love the camera – I need to find more of those people!).  So when I saw Mari’s unicycle beside the door in her house I knew instantly that it would make for a cool shot!  Of course I wanted to do a few different things so we whipped out the guitar as well.  I’m quite pleased with them all.

Thank you Mari!

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Age: 18

Nationality: Canadian

Occupation: Student, working at a grocery store at the moment

Belief System: That’s a hard one because I don’t really have one word to sum up my belief system.  I am not part of any religion and I don’t know if I believe in any kind of higher power.  Maybe the universe (I know that sounds very hippie but whatever) if anything.  I often feel spiritual and connected when I am in nature.  I am a strong believer in the power of individuals, community, creativity, peace and love.

What do you believe is the most important thing in life?

I think that the most important thing in life is striving to live the biggest life you can live.  When I say big I mean rich with love, connection and relationships with many people.  People who can support you and who you can learn from.  A big life means caring for other people as well as yourself.  A big life means following your passions and finding ways to do the things you want to do.  A big life means thinking about the world and your role in it.  A big life means not boxing yourself in with judgements or what you “should” be like and instead being fully who you are at all times.  A big life means living the life you choose!

The Most Important Thing #9: Heather

I am so excited about this week’s “Most Important Thing,” because Heather is one of my favourite people in the whole world.  She is my aunt(father’s sister) and is just a bundle of joy and energy.  She’s spent most of my life living in Vancouver while I grew up in Ontario, so we didn’t have too many opportunities to connect.  However, since we have moved North, we’ve had lots of trips down to Vancouver and have been able to spend time together(along with my other relatives whom I love equally!) and develop a closer relationship.  As I mentioned in my last post, I spent some time in the city before flying to Whitehorse last week and asked Heather if she would like to be in my project!  We had a very fun little photo shoot and I am so happy with the results.  The featured picture is my favourite… I think it just perfectly captures Heather’s calm, loving nature.  However I love the other photos as well because they capture her spirit of FUN!

Thanks Heather!

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Age: 54

Nationality: Canadian

Occupation: Musician

Belief System: raised protestant, currently agnostic

What do you believe is the most important thing in life?

In thinking about the most important things in life, I kept coming back to closeness and connection.  Closeness and connection with people – friends, family and all humans that one has the opportunity to come into contact with.  Also connection with ones’ self,  with nature and with the world.  To be connected with each other, with ourself and with our earth seems to me to be an important part of our humanity.

The Most Important Thing #7: Susan

Better late than never, right?! 🙂

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This is my own dear mother!  I’m so glad to have her as a part of the project because I value her opinion very much.  She grew me and raised me and loved me always.  Though we don’t always see eye to eye on everything, she is someone I highly respect, admire and care for deeply.

I took this picture of her last year at Christmas time.  Though I spent a few days with her this past week I didn’t manage to get my camera out and take many shots – my excuse is that it was cold outside and no one likes to be behind or in front of the camera in the cold.  I just got back from Brazilian summer, okay?  I need to ease into winter 😉  Anyways, this is a shot she liked and though I think I have taken better, more “artsy” and “portraity” type photos of her, at the end of the day, if you’ve made the subject happy, I believe you’ve succeeded.

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Age: 57

Nationality: Canadian

Occupation: Artist and retired registered nurse

Belief System: Agnostic

Mommy Susan (and my Dad in the background)

What do you believe is the most important thing in life?

As for what I think is the most important thing in life, after sufficient clean water, food, shelter and good health of course, would be to have balance in your life.  (work, play, friends, family, serving others, living your dreams.)   It’s hard to choose just one thing.