JClements Photography • The Blog...

Simmons Family Sneak Peek!

2010-11-15T10:32:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday I had the most fun with the Simmons family! This was my second trip to the Arboretum that week, and man, did we have a blast! This is one of favorites of all the kids together. I'm almost done editing and will be posting so many more from this shoot, can't wait for you to see them!

Thanks to Octavia, Sean, Kobi and Keisha for rocking this session!

-Jess

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." - Elizabeth Lawrence

2010-11-15T06:55:00.000-08:00

Autumn is an absolutely beautiful time for outdoor portraits, especially when the leaves allow for some extra natural props for the kids to play with. As much as running around in the leaves with little ones is a blast, this time of year is great for couple sessions as well. The changing leaves represent the beauty, as well as the necessity of change and growth throughout each year. And who doesn't love to be dressed up nice a cozy in light coats with scarves without being stuck in the snow!

This past Tuesday, I had the pleasure of photographing a great old friend and his girlfriend for their almost-two-year-anniversary! Dave and I went to high school and college together and I've known Liz for a couple years as well. We went to the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, MA (if you look back to very early blog posts you will see some photos of my dancer friend Angie posed in the changing leaves of this same location 3 years ago!). The Arboretum is the most beautiful, versitile landscape ever! You could wander around for days, never passing the same tree twice - perfect for photoshoots! Anyway, let's get to the good stuff - here is Dave & Liz, enjoy some of my favorites from our afternoon in the chilly November weather!

Of course we have to end on a silly one - here the happy couple is clicking their heels at the same time! If only we had brought balloons and then it'd look like they were floating away together! Love it!

Thanks again Dave and Liz, you guys made my job so easy and are great models!

-Jess

"I don't want people who want to dance, I want people who have to dance." ~George Balanchine

2010-11-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to update my blog more often, things have just started getting pretty busy for the upcoming Holiday season! I have had a bunch of shoots the last couple weeks and can't wait to show you some great photos! Most recently, I had a shoot last night, and I am so excited about the photos I had to put up some favorites! My friends Angie and Guerreiro are both skilled dancers and capoeira students. We have done photos before, but I think this particular shoot is one of the best! Their connection, attitude and overall awesomeness truly shine through in these photos.

Check back later this week for more rockin' sessions!

-Jess

October Fall Adventure!

2010-10-27T19:54:00.000-07:00

Today my friend (and fellow photographer) Aimee and I went on a little photo excursion! We ended up going to a beach in Gloucester and then wandered around a farm in North Andover. Here are some of my favorites from the day!

Can you tell we had a great time? There were some pretty rockin' crab shells and seagulls all over the place! Check out this purple guy!!!

After we had our fun at the beach, we had a little road trip to North Andover... And the farm fun begins! The farm had a petting zoo area and there were about 10 super super super cute fawns. They are just the cutest!

And they were hungry too! It was pretty amazing, there was this white pipe next to a food dispenser where you could give the deer food - when you put quarters into the dispenser, all the deer jumped up and came over ready to eat! That little guy couldn't wait and was just chewing on the fence in anticipation!

^^ A personal favorite ^^

This guy was especially unique. This was a beautiful white swan that was pretty upset about being in an enclosure full with mud, and was pretty occupied with taking his drinking water and cleaning his dirty chest feathers when we first walked by. But, come our second passing, he kept (might I add quite aggressively) biting and pulling the fence with his beak. Although a bit alarming at first, it made for some pretty cool photo opportunities. I love that decorative lump of skin hes got on his forehead!

Of course, we ended our adventure with a trip to the farm stand area and although most of the pumpkins, apples and corn was gone, we had some photo fun with these beautiful gourds! Happy fall everyone! Thanks for checking out my blog! Many more great photo sessions to come - weddings, families, engagement shoots, pet sessions, and more!

-Jess

Wildlife Portfolio Link

2010-10-22T18:31:00.000-07:00

To all the fellow animal lovers out there, check 'em out!

http://jclementsphotography.com/Wildlife/

All photos are available for printing please contact Jessie via email (Jessica.anne.Clements@gmail.com) for all pricing inquiries, questions or comments.

There is also a much earlier blog post that showcases a lot of my wildlife work shown in the slideshow as well as some of the thought process behind my frequent visits of zoos and farms in the New England area.

Enjoy!

-Jess

37th Annual North Easton Harvest Fair!

2010-10-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of having a table to promote my photography business at the 37th Annual NRT of North Easton Harvest Fair! This was my first time at the Sheep Pasture, and it was just as beautiful and friendly as I had imagined it to be. It was a special feeling arriving to the farm and setting up my work alongside the 100s of other local businesses, artists and crafters. I was told this fair averages 5,000-10,000 people coming each year! While the majority of tables were set up outside in the fields, I shared a lovely little barn with three painters, a bluegrass band and another photography studio. I had a blast meeting tons of new people, showing my wildlife work to kids, and promoting my portrait business!

I had art prints as well as framed works from my wildlife collection for sale. I got such a great reaction from my work and it was such a pleasure meeting so many fellow wildlife enthusiasts! (What better place to bring my animal work than a farm!) As fun as it was to show my personal work, I had a great time meeting all the families that stopped by my table and talking to them about how fun outdoor family photoshoots are in the fall! I had some cute little information packets for people to take with my business card, a special fair-goer's coupon and some information about how JClements Photography does portraits. I had such a great Sunday at the Harvest Fair, and hope to work further with the lovely families I got the pleasure of meeting! Enjoy the photos and I will be posting a link to my wildlife collection very soon!

To check out more events hosted by the NRT of Easton, check out their website!

http://www.nrtofeaston.org/events.html

Thanks to everyone who made this day super friendly and fun! I will definitely be planning to set up a table at the Harvest Fair again next year! Hope to see you there!

-Jess

It's A Girl!

2010-06-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

The other day I had the most fun with Sarah and Will shooting their maternity session! I'm still finishing up editing the session, but love the photos so much I had to share some quick favorites! Enjoy!

Check back later this week for more lovely maternity shots! Thanks again Sarah and Will - you guys are the best! Only a couple more weeks and we'll get to meet their beautiful baby girl!

-Jess

"Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same." - Emily Bronte

2010-05-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

Up until June of last year I had the majority of my photographic experience in animal and pet portraits, children, families, events, dancers, etc. In the beginning, I was a bit hesitant to get into the wedding business. I had shot portraits and events before, but weddings seemed to pose lots of high pressure situations that I wasn't sure I was ready for. But, man oh man, was I wrong! I got the chance to assist my friend, Caroline Alden (www.carolinealdenphoto.com) at my first wedding in the summer of 2009, and ever since then I've been hooked! Wedding photography is like combining the best parts of portrait photography and event photography with the chance to be a part of the happiest, most exciting day of two peoples lives.

The wedding that Caroline and I shot together was absolutely beautiful! Aparna and Thomas had been dating long distance between Denmark and Boston for five years, and this big day was the celebration of their wedding, but also marked the day before Aparna would join Thomas to live in Denmark. The ceremony was intimate and held in Aparna's own backyard. It followed traditional Indian customs, with some traditional Danish traditions mixed in. The entire wedding party was dressed in Saris, there was exquisite henna tattoo work, and vibrant colors everywhere. It was truly a beautiful experience seeing two different cultures come together and everyone being able to celebrate love together so harmoniously. Here are some of my favorites from this wonderful day...

It all began at the bright and early 9am hair and make-up party !

Getting ready photos play a really special role in the wedding photographs. At first this seems silly, who wants to see me before I have all my make-up on and frantically getting ready? But once you see all the photos together, you realize how organic a wedding album can be when you have the getting ready shots in the beginning and the party at the end framing the wonderful ceremony in the middle. Also, we get to catch wonderful little moments of anticipation, joy and how the whole family is involved in the process.

Is that not the most beautiful henna work you've ever seen? This is just the beginning of the wonderful colors, textures and designs of the day!

One of many advantages of having two photographers at a wedding, is that you can have coverage of two different activities/locations that are happening at the same time. As the bride and her mother were getting ready at the house, the groom-to-be, his family, and most of the wedding party was waiting patiently ontop of a hill about 4 blocks down the street. Since we had two photographers, Caroline was able to stay with the bride while I went up the hill to document (and thoroughly enjoy) this exciting tradition. The large wedding party was accompanied by a drummer who played the entire four-block walk back to the house. Although it took us a mere 8 minutes to walk to the top of the hill, it was about a 30-45 minute trek down the hill of continuous dancing that was led by the groom fully clothed in the traditional Indian sari carrying a beautiful white umbrella. It was such an amazingly happy, celebratory "dance parade" of sorts, I couldn't help but have a huge smile on my face as I was photographing (I may have taken moments to dance a bit as well).

As we reached the house, the groom was greeted by the bride's family and more wonderfully traditional Indian customs followed.

I absolutely love the photo of Thomas and Aparna's parents walking together. Such a genuine, wonderfully happy and peaceful moment of a family coming together.

And now time for some dancing!

Nothin' Like Playing In The Fall Leaves!

2010-05-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

Don't let those chilly autumn months fool you! September through November are wonderful times for outdoor photo shoots! This is especially true in our wonderful New England area where we are spoiled with our fall leaves. Last fall, I got lucky enough to play in the leaves near the Charles River with an old school-mate of mine, Nancy, and her adorable daughter, Alexia! She was even so cute as we were getting ready in the car, I couldn't resist taking a photo :)

Who says you need tshirts and shorts for great photos? Throw on those cute little sweaters or coats and matching knit hats, and you get snuggly, super cute autumn photos! I absolutely love hats, not only does it help keep everyone warm, but they add wonderful texture to the photo, and serve as cute props for the little ones to play with (i.e. peek-a-boo).

And of course, we save my absolute favorite for last... :)

I hope you all enjoyed looking at these photos as much as I had taking them! And, don't forget, each season (even the chillier ones!) have they're own unique natural elements that allow outdoor photoshoots to be breathtaking any time of the year!

-Jess

Ashley

2010-03-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Being a competitive swimmer for a good 12 years or so, I had many jobs in the lifeguarding, swim lesson teaching and coaching areas. At my most recent lifeguarding job at The Cambridge Family YMCA, Ashley was one of my fellow guards. I learned she was a dancer and was lucky enough to get a chance to photograph her! Ash is crazy talented, didn't get mad at me when I had to ask her to do the same jump six times to get the timing perfect, and was so so fun to work with! Here are some of my personal favorites from the shoot...

Can't thank you enough Ashley! We are hoping to do an awesome summer-time outdoor dance shoot with Miss Ashley, and hope to have those up soon! Can't Wait!!

-Jess

Cass & Kell

2010-03-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

I've had the pleasure of knowing Cassie and her brother Kell since 2004. Cass and I went to Clark University together, and were both members of the Clark U Swimming & Diving Team. She is definitely one my absolute best friends and I was more than excited when she asked if I would photograph her and her brother as a present for her mother's birthday! Cass and Kell came into the shoot super super open minded, were totally happy to put up with my silly ideas, and we had an absolute blast! It's shoots like this that make me realize I have the best job in the world! At the end of the day, I get to hang out with friends, play with kids, and creatively document fun. I can't thank Cass and Kell enough for being awesome models, and even better friends!

As an only child, it's super fun for me to deal with siblings. I love the contrast between the typical sister-brother bickering, and the deep deep connection that is only shared between two siblings (especially when they are so close in age). It allows for real fun, silly, but realistic photos like the ones above. :) But, of course, we make sure we get those special lovely moments too...

This photo was one of their requests. Cass told me their mother has a photo of them as little kids where they're faces are really close and they're giggling at eachother. They wanted to recreate this pose as adults and frame it for her. I think recreating poses from childhood memories or actual photographs is always a wonderful gift for a parent or grandparent. It can definitely be a bit of a challenge, especially when you haven't seen the original, but from what I've heard we did a pretty great job matching poses, and look how sweet this is!

And of course, there is nothing better to end a perfect shoot with than a rockin' sibling jump! Thanks again Cass and Kell, you guys are the best and hope to take more photos of you all soon! Someday soon, you will get to see our shoot with Cass and her favorite cat, Midnight. Until then, enjoy!

-Jess

Heels in The Aboredom...

2010-03-22T07:52:00.000-07:00

As I continue to slowly work my way through hundreds of photos to clean out my harddrive and update my website, not only is my computer happier, but I get to find older shoots that are such gems, I have to share! This shoot was at the Arboredom in Jamaica Plain, MA sometime in the chilly Autumn of 2008 (I think!). Angie is a good friend of mine - a very talented dancer, and even better model! Angie is always up for a photoshoot and open to helping me try out new poses, ideas, projects, etc.

Thanks for all your help and continuing support Angie!!

I just love the warm morning light streaming through the branches in this one. Now "warm" is meant more specifically in coloring terms, than say, that of temperature, haha, poor Angie - It was quite a chilly early morning, but she's tough, and it was clearly worth it :)

Don't worry, you'll be seeing more of Angie! Enjoy!

-Jess

Schmidt Anniversary 2008

2009-09-24T16:53:00.000-07:00

Last summer I had the honor of photographing my best friend, Annika Schmidt (www.annikaschmidt.com)'s parents 40th wedding anniversary party! She used the photographs as her present to her parents. It was a while ago, but it was a great, relaxed and fun afternoon with great family friends and my own family as well. Wanted to put up some of my favorites from the day...

The beautiful wedding photo

Gunnel's friends' swedish toast - so cute!

The sparklers leading up to the cake!

Andd of course we had to have a kiss :)

And now, the new and improved...

2009-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Man, have I been a bad blogger or what! It's been nearly a year since I last posted and the things I have to show ! Now the only problem is where to begin...

Unfortunately I didn't end up receiving any grant money from the MCC http://www.massculturalcouncil.org/applications/fellowsapp.html, but with the growing numbers of amazing artists that apply each year, its not super heartbreaking. I found out that I was even going up against my two amazingly talented photography teachers, Stephen DiRado (http://www.stephendirado.com/index.html) and Frank Armstrong (http://pitchertaker.blogspot.com/)! But I have no doubt that I'll be applying each year I can! Hopefully someday I'll get that 10,000 dollar prize, and be able to do my big US east->west roadtrip photo project!

Back to things that are of the more recent present... About a month ago, I reached my one year anniversary working with the super great Portrait Simple family, and am loving it more than ever! (www.PortraitSimple.com) But as the busy christmas season begins (yes, we start our holiday season on August 31st! haha!), I'm busy with my own freelance work tying up loose ends and finishing projects/jobs before fireplaces, ornaments and photo cards take up most of my time.

To catch you all up to date, the next couple posts are going to be highlight shots from my shoots from the last year! And eventually we will get to the two beautiful weddings I shot the weekend of August 14th and 15th! Hope you're excited!

Now, enough talking, lets see some photos. These first ones are from a sampling of dance performances and competitions that I was either watching or a part of. (I have a couple years of experience competing and performing in the latin ballroom and salsa world)

Riccardo Cocchi & Yulia Zagorouitchenko @ BU, Boston, MA

Leon Turetsky & Ania Lukas @ Springstep Medford, MA

Leon Turetsky & Erin Kaya @ Springstep Medford, MA

Yulia Zagorouitchenko @ BU, Boston, MA

FitzGerald & partner @ Eastern Championships Cambridge, MA

Helle Rusholt Yi & Steve Yi @ Eastern Championships Cambridge, MA

Hope you enjoyed them! The Ballroom world is a unique, firey one and is extremely challenging and fun to photograph! Before I go, here's one that I dad (Stewart Clements, also a photographer www.clementshowcroft.com) took of me during one of my own performances!

okay, so I said one and I end up with four, but hey, theyre fun! Enjoy!

-jess

Night Drive...

2008-11-01T17:15:00.000-07:00

Only at night can the beauty of mystery, fear, and truth be fully captured. The snow falling on this tree shows how loud the quietest moment can be.

Seemingly stagnant & unoccupied scenes are quickly transformed into a mystery of curiosity and wonder exploring all that surrounds us.

Abandoned and shut down might be boring to the untrained eye, until given life once again by showing its unique, textural beauty.

It is the essence of truth when water and sky meet man-made invention. Organic stillness is joined with structural harmony in this powerful moment.

For once it is not darkness that brings fear; rather the streaming intensity of light provokes the anxiety that most shadows bring.

For a little explanation... My dad talked me into entering photos to the Massachusetts Cultural Council to apply for the 2009 Artist Fellowships. Each year they give out artist grants 1,000 - 10,000 dollars in different art genres, and luckily this year they photography was one of the catagories ! It won't be until June that we find out, but hey, either way! Feels good to be in the race!

Keep those fingers and toes crossed! Until later!

-Jess

Instinctual Inspiration... Uncovering the Familiar Thesis Show 2007

2008-10-31T10:34:00.000-07:00

Senior year of college, I took the thesis course for art majors which allowed me to be a part of the most fun and inspiring group of artists. Along with coming up with and executing our own concept for a final project, our other challenge was to plan, design, and curate our own thesis gallery show. Having little experience in the gallery setting, this was an amazing and terrifying job. The photos below are the results of many tears, allnighters and coffee/ciggarette breaks at 4am...

Instinctual Inspiration

My photographs are intimate insights into the personalities of the individuals pictured. Through countless visits to local zoos, farms, and animal shelters, I began to grasp a new understanding and appreciation of the animals I came in contact with. While photographing, it was very important that I concentrated on one animal at a time, allowing for the most intimate and intense interaction possible. Each photograph is unique to its subject, and how they react to their environment and as well as to me.
I began photographing animals with the intent of capturing a moment that expressed the individuality of each animal. Over time, I began to get so involved in this process that my drive quickly changed from documentation to awe. I began to follow individuals for hours as they went about their daily routines, trying to get as close as I could to entering their world. The animal world is one of vitality, intensity and passion. To live as intensely in each moment, as these individuals do, a human can hardly begin to understand. It is this innate gap between humans and animals that draws me to photographing these amazing individuals. This series of photographs is an attempt to fulfill my own primal need to gain a deeper understanding of the way in which these individuals live.

Mirror Through Lens

2008-04-20T19:21:00.000-07:00

Coming from a psychology background, portraiture has always fascinated me... The funny thing is that it's so far beyond the intricate lighting set-ups and soft boxes (those clearly are important and fun to experiment with), rather, it is the unique way each individual reacts to being in front of a camera.

I have found that portrait shoots are not about directing, but creating the right atmosphere that allows the specific individual involved to feel as comfortable as possible. It is only then that the "model" will show something truly special and personal. And what makes portraits continually a challenge and a learning experience is the vast difference in what each unique individual needs for this "opening up" to happen...

Portraits were in the beginning, and still are, some of the most difficult shoots for me to do... I began shooting portraits by getting friends to pose for me with hardly adequate light kits to having a number of freelance portrait jobs for families and couples, and even a shoot with hired actors... And I used to think that sports action shots and wildlife photography were difficult - but trying to capture something as personal as I hope to seek in my portraits, is a continual challenge...

Who Would Have Guessed A Trip To The Zoo Would Be So Intense...

2008-04-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

After my short summer of working on magnified eye shots and trying to figure out the world of digital photo, I had to quickly figure out what my thesis project was going to be... Feeling pretty strongly that if I continued with my sports photography, that it would be a cop-out, and wanting to be respected as more than just a jock photographer, I decided a trip to the zoo would give a refreshing change of subjects...

Turns out, this trip to Southwick's Zoo in Mendon, MA, would not only be a necessary escape from the stresses of senior year, but the home of the individuals that I would spend the next year shooting for my photography senior thesis...

Athletes to Irises

2008-04-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Blogs make me super uncomfortable, for the record... haha I never know what to write... But I figured I'll give some sort of background on my photo journey, and it may give some structure/basis to my more recent work once it is up... Hmm... Wonder if that made any sense...

Anyway, the majority of my college career was spent in a darkroom and sleep deprived with tiny brushes trying to keep my hand steady while spot toning...

I began by shooting athletes - first mainly action shots, and later moved onto portraits as well... Below are a few scans of some of the best ones.. I believe these were taken in the winter/spring of 2005...

As you can see, swimmers were the most available subjects for me to shoot, since I was on the swim team throughout college... I also shot the boy's lacrosse team during their home games, but I am yet to finish developing all my rolls (ha! yes, from 5 years ago), and haven't had the chance to scan the ones that have been finished... So, for sports this is all you get for now...

It wasn't until the summer of '06 that I finally made the switch to digital and began trying to embrace the world of color... Trying to branch away from my jock photographer status, my first digital project was, for lack of a better title, an eye study...

Jessica Clements

Stewart Clements

Brett Baker

Cassandra Crawford

Kelley Crawford

I pulled off this photo experiment in a pretty awesomely make-shift way... Using my lovely new Canon 5D, I had to TAPE two "close-up" filters on top of each other onto my 50mm lens, in order to get the zoom that I invisioned without a macro lens... I sat my subjects on a couch with a large soft box, and shot at a high speed to catch the eye inbetween blinks... My very patient and now half blind subjects did a great job humoring me with different expressions and many shots. It was a real cool experience of constructing a photo shoot with seemingly inadequate equipment... Each final photo has been pretty closely cropped and enlarged to keep the focus on the eye rather than the face, and the high resolution of my awesome 5D made this possible.

Interestingly enough, the project turned into a very different study of the eye than I had expected going into it... I began just trying to find a way to photograph the unique and intricate patterns of multiple people's irises, eye lashes, and pupils... It was just a coincidence that I shot a brother and sister, and my two parents along with myself... It was especially interesting to see the strange similarities between the people sharing bloodlines, and yet see how each one held onto their own unique characteristics...

In the future, I would like to expand this project and shoot families in a much more extensive manner... I think it would be amazing to be able to show a full family tree of iris patterns and eyebrow shapes from babies to parents, aunts and uncles to grandparents and great grandparents... I can only imagine the subtle, intricate patterns a grandchild might share with their great grandparent... Whenever I do find the time to continue with this project, I imagine them being printed on a very large scale as well... not sure how big, but big.

And So It Begins....

2008-04-14T11:07:00.001-07:00

And I have finally joined the rest of the art community in the lovely world of blogs...

I hate to say I'm pretty seriously lacking inspiration and creativity at the moment... so this is going to be all you're gonna get for now... haha but I wanted to post some of my older work and then try and find ways to update this blog as much as possible to keep my most recent jobs and projects up to date...