Joy

My brother, Jeff Calabrese, head coach of the Hartsville High School Red Fox football team, embraces his wife, Jennifer, moments after his team's state championship win at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. The win marked an end to the most challenging season of his career. See the photo gallery.

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Inspired by Ali Edwards, for the past several years on January 1, I've chosen a word to guide my intentions throughout the year. Unlike a resolution, it can't be forgotten or broken. Much like a compass, it keeps me focused in the right direction. This year I've settled on "joy" – to create, uncover, embrace, and share it.

Kinetic

Life is complicated on either side of the lens. A chain reaction of decisions and actions made in the present moment, influenced by the reality of your past and the fiction of your future. For the past twelve months, I've been turning everything upside down to make it right-side up. More to share when the dust settles.

In other news, my latest book, Lens on Life: Documenting Your World Through Photography is now shipping from Amazon. I poured my heart into it. And I hope it lights a fire in you.

Thoughts on Togetherness

I've been thinking a lot about the notion of what it means to be together. As individuals, we each have our own unique perspectives, beliefs, priorities, ideas, strengths, weaknesses, and values. When we are together, ideally we bring the essence of our individuality and blend it in equal parts. I grow and benefit from your individuality. You grow and benefit from mine. The sum of this blend has the power to shape each of us if we invite what's different, embrace what's new, and remain open to change.

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Students from Koseli School in Kathmandu, Nepal enjoy being together at recess. You can learn more about the school and support these students here: Koseli School

Trajectory

The path described by a projectile flying or an object moving under the action of given forces.

What You Can Not See

Pinky making images of her home, Jadibuti slum, Kathmandu, Nepal

Photography is much about exposing your view, but there's so much more going on beneath the surface. There's a complicated concoction of thoughts and feelings that drive the impulse to lift a camera to your eye, to compose the raw material of what's present, and to wait patiently for the proper moment of capture... when time and space sync and align.

Teaching my eight photography students at Koseli School through my non-profit organization, Lens on Life, was such a thrill for me. I loved sharing the Art of iPhoneography and studying their images with each of them. While I've been slow to share this experience and the children's images with the world, there's been a lot of effort beneath the surface... things you can not see. But, it's coming. The children are still shooting. I'm working hard to sort and place the puzzle pieces into their proper spaces. And I'm eager to share more with you when the time is right.