Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

For those of you familiar with The Shadow Project this concept may sound familiar.  I was looking into other photographic solutions for capturing the shadow in a different form.  I do believe I have found what I’m looking for.  This is the beginning of a new series that is untitled and unbound… enjoy!

I was inspired to create this through images I was studying by Andre Brito.

Edges

This is another image I captured at the Lehigh Parkway in Allentown, PA.  The tree was growing on an slight hill which made setting the tripod a little nerving for me.  There’s a little history with that.  Some years ago, I had my tripod on a higher position, not knowing it was unbalanced, and watched it tumble to the ground when I stepped away – camera and all.

Trunk

I captured this image at the Lehigh Parkway in Allentown, PA.  What I enjoy most about this image is the contrast:

-the smooth water and the textured bark; the flowing river and the static tree; the straight branch and the arched

Contrast

Blessings,

Gregory

I find that it’s important for me to allow myself whatever feelings are coming my way. I have experienced enough growth to know that whatever is going on for me is part of the life experience; that I can learn from it. Since I have expressed my feelings of sadness and fear ( Self-Discovery ), I have come to the other side and into the joy and love.

I am joyful that I have a community of people who are willing to listen to me. I am joyful that I have a strong and loving wife that embraces all of who I am.  I am joyful that they don’t try to fix things and allow me to be in whatever space it is I am in. I am joyful that they push me and challenge me into finding new ways of looking at old stories. I want to say that it’s unconditional love and my belief is that if it’s love, it’s unconditional by default – isn’t all true love unconditional?

I walk this journey of life with my experiences. There is nothing that I can do, outside of finding a parallel universe, to change what I have been through. I have so much joy in knowing that I have come to a place in my life where I can embrace all of who I am (and was).

With the birth of my son, I have been offered the opportunity to view life differently; from the perspective of a teacher. He will watch me. He will learn from me. If I get my way, I’ll share with him that life is full and worth living that way. I will teach him to embrace all of who he is. I will teach him to love everyone and everything for they all have something to share with us. If I get my way, I’ll love him each and every single day, hour, and minute of my life.

Father and son

Blessings,
Gregory

This afternoon I was hit with a type of sadness/fearful feeling and it caught me off guard. I started questioning what I was doing with my photography. I was questioning who I was and where I was going. I didn’t really have an answer. Typically when I experience these things, I tell myself to be in the moment, to live fully right now. For some reason though, these feelings wanted to take me for a ride.

I remember listening to an interview with Sally Mann and she was describing some of what she went through when she was photographing, when she was creating. I see her images and I get it. I get what she’s saying, I get what she’s about. I wasn’t so sure one could say that about me. As a matter of fact, I doubted it.

That afternoon, I went for a walk (as typical when faced with such a deep wondering) and started to breathe the nice warm air (a gift from Mother Nature this February). I was going over the last decade of photographs in my head. I was wondering if I were to print a collection of images that defined me, what would they be. I still have no answer for that. I did, however, remember a time in my life when those feelings of sadness and fear were familiar.

Right before I got sober (January, 1993), I was living in fear. I was afraid of living. I was afraid of dying. I was afraid of everything in between. I fought to keep a job. I tried tirelessly to make something of my life and each time I was faced with too much fear around my situation, I would turn to drugs and alcohol. The sadness came about when I continued to tell myself I was never going to succeed at anything. That I would never amount to anything. That all the crap that I’ve been through in my life finally got the best of me – that it was better, bigger, and stronger than me.

As much as I want that part of me to be gone, it still exists. I still have doubt. I still have old voices that tell me that I am making no difference in the world and I don’t matter. It’s hard as hell some days to break through those lies. Today, I found it comforting to know that most of them, not all, but most of them are gone.

I went to the studio this evening to create a self-portrait of some of what I was going through emotionally. I’m not sure, as with Sally Mann’s images, that you’ll get it just by looking at the image. I know for sure though………that I do.

Tired

Blessings,
Gregory

In an effort to help the victims of the tragedy that occurred in Allentown PA on February 9th, I worked in collaboration with Stan Stewart to create a narrated photo essay with a message of community and hope. Please visit the Rebuilding Allentown page to learn more.

Gregory

Ahhhhh – Taking a breath.

And so it begins. I am celebrating my new website with a post showcasing my new love, my son. As newness enters my life, I welcome it with the fear and joy that it brings (sometimes I push back a bit :)). This year, I intend to put more energy into my photography than I ever have. I am looking to expand, looking to fine tune, looking for, well, newness.

I am excited to bring you along on my journey and hope that you continue to enjoy the emotion and beauty I showcase in my photography.

Please take some time to visit and revisit my site. I will keep you updated on new additions to the photo albums as well as new posts to the blog. The gallery is sorted so the new photographs display first to keep things fresh. Please visit both the Portrait and the Nature galleries.

OH, and please take time to visit or revisit The Shadow Project which is now included on this site. It’s a fresh look with the same intent.

Many, many blessings to you all and thank you for being part of my journey.

Greg

Whew.  Time sure is tight since I’ve become a new father.  I’m doing what I can, when I can, regarding the new site.  I have segments of the gallery online here (gallery) and I’m working on adding The Shadow Project and a method in which you could purchase some of my spectacular prints.

I appreciate your patience and will continue to update you with the progress of the site as things continue to move along.  Remember, if you want to get in touch with me regarding a shoot or prints, please call me 610.360.8662.

I am in the middle of changing my website which includes the ‘Reflect’ blog and ‘The Shadow Project’.  I will make you aware of the changes when they are complete.

If you’d like to get in touch with me, please contact me with one of the options below.

- 610.360.8662 (c)

- 610.866.5466 (o)

- gregorytapler@yahoo.com (e)

You could also visit me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/gregorytaplerphotography or visit The Shadow Project at http://www.facebook.com/theshadowproject