Friday, September 17, 2010

The Art of Mothering Photo Contest


(all images from NieNie Dialogues)



I started reading Stephanie Nielson's blog when I was a new, not-sure-about-this-gig mother. She inspired me in so many ways it would take a week of posts to explain. One of my favorite aspects of her beautiful, honest blog, is that it is full of pictures of Stephanie, in the act of mothering. Although she's never pretended that mothering is easy, she has always shown us how beautiful it can be through her honest words and real, candid photos.

A few weeks ago I was playing tag with my sons in the back yard. As I rounded the corner of the lawn, I caught a sight of how we looked in the reflection of the back window. I saw a blonde woman in her t-shirt and corduroy skirt, laughing as she pretended to chase her sons, with goofy smiles plastered on their faces. And I loved it.

And then I realized something. I have almost no visual documentation of my life as a mother. I have oodles of photos of my boys and a few family photos. But I have almost no pictures of me, doing what I do every minute of every day. No pictures of me wiping my boys' hands, giving them a bath, reading stories to them, walking to the park with them...

I want that to change. I want what Stephanie has--a record of how beautiful a life of mothering can be.

Inspired by this idea, Emily and I introduce to you...

The Art of Mothering Photo Contest

We want photos of women in the act of mothering/nurturing. You can submit a picture of yourself, or another woman in your life. Please send your photo to us by email at aplacetobloomATgmailDOTcom. We will narrow down the field, then ask for your help in selecting the winner.

Please have all photos in by Wednesday, September 29th at midnight. We will post the finalists Friday, October 1st, and your votes will determine the winner!
And, even though a pat on the back is probably enough for you, we'll throw in a fun prize for we can't help ourselves!
xo,
anne and em

9 comments:

Sheila said...

What a super idea, too late for me as my kids are all grown up but I just know that I have dozens and dozens of child pix, many with daddy, but not a lot with mummy - I was always behind the lens. This is an idea to encourage, well done & good luck.

Lindsay said...

LOVE Nie Nie's blog! So inspiring. Off to search the archives for at least one picture of me without a double-chin or an unfortunate grimace.

The WoodLand School said...

What a wonderful idea!!! I can't wait to see the submissions :-)

EmmaJ said...

I love that about Stephanie's blog too. What a great idea for a contest.

Carla said...

Love this idea! Especially because it'll help us mothers really see what it is we do everyday and help us appreciate motherhood even more.

Abbie said...

this is exciting.

Valerie said...

Wonderful idea. I am excited to see the pictures. And what a good reminder that we should capture the moments of motherhood :)

Unknown said...

I have a question. Should this be a non-professional photo? I have a couple sweet photos taken by a friend, but she is really good and they have a professional studio look to them. Not sure if they are what you're going for.

Bloom said...

@Pearlmarie,

We all have different cameras and styles and abilities. You can submit whatever type of photo you have that fits in the theme.

xo