Our friend Tangobaby agreed to interview us, it would seem that we've never outgrown attention seeking behaviour. Pick us! Pick us! At the end, you'll see the rules and then you can ask us to pick you!
1. As sisters who share a blog, but photographers who see different things, tell us what you enjoy and admire about each others photography style. What do you learn from each other in how your sister sees the world? Do you end up adopting parts of each other's photography style, even if it's unintentional?
Margie: I wondered right away what kath’s response would be to this question. I am insanely jealous of her geographic location. Sounds silly I know but the light in the Niagara region seems to have a magical quality to it. I wonder if she is jealous of my homemade models, my two grandsons, and yes, charley. Subject matter is important and there is no doubt in my mind that I “copy” the sister occasionally, you might suggest that I am influenced by her but let’s remember we are sisters, it is copying.
Kath: I love Margie's portraits and her ability to catch action in her photos. I'm going to ask her to post her skater photo (the guy with the hair) in her photo album today. It is spectacular. I think we do learn-copy from each other, sometimes it is intentional and sometimes it's a fluke. I love it when it's a fluke and we're on the same wavelength. As to how she sees the world? So far I haven't been surprised. Like recognizing her handwriting, I know her style.
2. Which one of you was the first to start taking photos? Which one was the first to become a little obsessed with photography? (I can ask that because I'm obsessed, too!)
Margie: I also had a Canon Elf that but i really consider my first camera to be my Nikon D40. We would have been happy to buy them at the same time and run out into the parking lot screaming and high fiving each other. Perhaps I was more obsessed at the beginning simply because I had the luxury of time but kath has only been a step behind me in this race to the “money shot”. We will always share the laughter of my grandson calling every mushroom a money shot after kath exclaimed that a particularly good picture of a mushroom was her money shot. We like doing things together. She is a crafty one though, me not so much.
Kath: I laughed when I read Margie's answer. Actually I've been taking photos for about five years now. When we moved to Niagara BB bought me a Canon Elf point and shoot camera and I have thousands of photos pre-D80. I didn't have a blog so she may not have seen any of them. BB was using his 35 mm film camera and we would go out together taking photos. Getting the DSLR was a logical next step when the P&S wasn't allowing me to capture what I was seeing. I think the purchase coincided with Margie's because she was doing all the research on which camera to buy. Once the decision to buy the camera was made, my obsession was with saving money. Fortunately I'm over the saving money thing.
3. Both of you avidly followed the elections here in the US, even though you live in Canada. Can you tell us why the election was meaningful to you and what your expectations are after tomorrow, when Obama is inaugurated?
Margie: I hope that Obama will be true to his convictions, that there will be a new era of transparency within his administration and that this same administration will work towards a change in international and foreign policy. There is a tremendous amount of housekeeping that needs to be done in the United States and here in Canada and yet I hope that there will still be an agenda to provide aid to those third world countries which suffer so drastically when there is economic hardship in the western world.
Kath: As you know, because we are Canadian we couldn't donate to President Obama's campaign, but we managed to do so anyway. BB and I sent money to a friend in the States who donated the money for us. It was important to be a part of this time in history and to know that we did something positive. I hope that this administration is given more than four years to make change because there is a lot of work ahead. I also hope that someone in Canada, a person with great political and leadership skills, will be influenced by President Obama's achievement and step forward to lead us.
4. If you had all of the time in the world to create and learn and money was no object, what would be your first goal or project to accomplish?
Margie: I would solicit advice on how to best create a philanthropic course for myself. If money were no object I am assuming that there would be money to give away. However if the intent of this question is that the lack of money would not impede my creativity, then I am lucky enough to be doing just that. Sure I would love a few more lenses for my camera and to travel allowing myself the gift of photographing the world but truly, I am not unhappy or disappointed in how I am pursuing my small goals of creativity at this time.
Kath: My first goal would be to study. Study in a formal classroom situation. Art history, design, photography, architecture and then take actual lessons on how to. I guess the first thing I would create would be a dedicated student in myself. Then I would be happy with anything. Hmmm, this is actually achievable without a lot of time & money, isn't it?
5. What do you most want to share with the world through your blog and your photography? What is the feeling that you want first-time visitors to walk away with?
Margie: I know that I would like to share my enthusiasm for this new hobby of ours. At best, I still walk around with little post it notes in my pocket, cheat notes on how to set my camera and yet I am not afraid to take a shot set on automatic because I know the composition will be fabulous. I am happy that I have discovered that I have an eye and that I trust my eye to see things that perhaps not everyone would see. I hope that you all walk away from our blog remembering that less than a year ago I had never taken a photograph of anything worth showing you. I want other people to see that they can do this too. It may not be photography that you choose but you don’t have to be an Einstein or a Picasso to make good stuff! You just have to have a little faith in yourself and it does help to have a sister along for the ride.
Kath: I want people to know that it doesn't hurt to dig around in your day and find the good bits. When we started the blog, I would think, oh this is boring, I can't write about that. Do people really want to see a photo of my laundry line? But then I would post anyway, because it is about small pleasures, finding some delight in the day and capturing a moment. A good moment. And most of all, sharing with my sister.
Now here is your chance!
1. Leave us a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. We will respond by emailing you five questions. (We get to pick the questions).
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions and link to our blog.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Fun, isn't it!
xo Kath & Margie.
