Share Six Blog Circle – July 2019 | This Is Me

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I’m not going to lie, this month’s Share Six theme puts me waaaaay outside my comfort zone. And what do I do when I’m forced outside my comfort zone? I hide. In life and in photography, whether that is through avoidance, behind people or behind the lens, I hide and I find a mask. When I’m confronted with the option of fight or flight, I choose flight so you’ll find me cowering in the corner with a pile of excuses. I am non-confrontational, I hate being centre-stage and I am almost as introverted as they come.

All photographs are self-portraits
~ Minor White

Every image I take, every single one that I share, is part of me. They come from such a deeply personal place that they are surely a reflection of my ‘self’. So if my soul is already out there for everyone to see and to judge, why is it so hard to put myself in front of the camera in the more traditional sense? I’ve given this some thought and come to the honest conclusion that it is because I’m shallow. I might be too much of a thinker for my own good, but I’m also vain and I know it. The images I create and share for all the world to see, they are my mask and frankly that mask is more appealing than my face.

How am I comfortable sharing these images with you now? Well for one, I’m not, but also because I’m hiding still. My safety net is creative techniques and experimentation so that is how I am hiding today. Maybe this wouldn’t be {This is Me} however, without my signature in-camera moves.

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Ok, so this last one isn’t me hiding per se, but I still can’t look right at you!

Life begins where fear ends
~ Osho

Thank you for joining me for another month at Share Six.

Post your {this is me} image on our Facebook page SHARE SIX or to our Instagram gallery by using #sharesix_thisisme. A new theme will be posted on 6th August.

Up next is my friend and talented photographer, Sharleen of Sharleen Stuart Photography. Click here to see her images and be sure to leave her some love!

Share Six Contributor

Share Six Blog Circle – May 2019 | Green – Lyme Disease Awareness Month

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** May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month **

Lyme disease is a devastating illness that has directly impacted on of our Share Six team; Katherine will be sharing her experiences as part of this circle so please be sure to follow all the way around (see the link below). Thankfully my family hasn’t directly experienced the disease, but during our time living in MA it was a constant threat that gave me terrible anxiety. The Lyme Disease Awareness ribbon and our theme for this month is {green}.

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Lyme disease is a spirochete bacterium that is transmitted by ticks. It is the fastest growing infectious disease, and is 1-1/2 times more common than breast cancer and 6 times more common than HIV. If treated with antibiotic therapy soon after transmission, the probability of successful treatment is much higher. If it goes untreated, it can infiltrate a person’s body and wreak great havoc.

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Untreated Lyme disease is known to attack the heart and central nervous symptom. The numerous symptoms mimic other chronic illnesses such as ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), MS (Multiple Sclerosis), ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), Rheumatoid Arthritis Parkinson’s Disease, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, as well as many others. Because of this, many patients with Lyme get misdiagnosed and go years not being properly treated, therefore furthering the progression of Lyme disease.

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Awareness of this disease is imperative, as there are over 300,000 estimated new cases of Lyme disease each year in the United States alone (according to Johns Hopkins Medicine).

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It was once believed that you always got a bullseye rash if you contracted the disease from a tick bite, but we now know that is not the case. Not everyone presents with a bullseye rash. Without a bullseye rash (and even with one), many people don’t connect their symptoms to the tick bite.

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The more awareness we can bring, the better people can understand and know what to look for when searching for answers to their health problems that were unknowingly caused by a fateful tick bite. Please join us this month in spreading awareness.

Lyme Disease Awareness Ribbon

Thank you for joining me for another month at Share Six.

Post your {Green} images on our Facebook page SHARE SIX or to our Instagram gallery by using #sharesix_green. A new theme will be posted on 6th June.

Up next is the incredibly talented Janet Douglas. Please Click Here to see her images and be sure to leave her some love!

Share Six Contributor

Share Six Blog Circle – March 2019 | Food

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March is Nutrition Month so Share Six is celebrating all things {food}!

National Nutrition Month is an educational campaign focusing on the significance of physical fitness as well as eating nourishing meals. Taking charge of your health contributes to overall well-being; as well as losing weight or staying at your ideal weight, which reduces risks of chronic illness such as heart disease and diabetes.

The great thing about this theme is that you can interpret it in so many different ways: still life and layflat, lifestyle or documentary. Oh I would love to have an image of a farmer ploughing his fields at sunset…but I don’t, haha!

I have to admit I hoped we would be settled into our new house by now so I’d have a chance to experiment with layflat set ups for the very first time, but alas it was not to be. The time for that will come soon enough (fingers crossed *knocks on wood*) so instead I’m sharing some images from last year that haven’t previously seen the light of day (and one that has because I love it/him/the memories and the taste of the cider doughnuts that come with seeing it).

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Thank you for joining me into the new year and for another month at Share Six! You can share your images for Nutrition Month using #NationalNutritionMonth.

For shares specific to Share Six and for your chance to be featured, use #sharesix_food on Instagram or post on our Facebook page, SHARE SIX. A new theme will be posted on 6th April.

Up next is the fabulous Michèle of Michèle Tremblay Photo. Please Click Here to see her images and be sure to leave her some love!

Share Six Contributor

Share Six Blog Circle – February 2019 | Paper Heart & Red

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** February is Heart Month **

This month Share Six has joined forces with The Paper Heart Project to spread awareness for congenital heart defects, and we’re incorporating two themes for you to interpret as you wish: {red} and {heart}.

One out of a hundred children are born with a CHD. There are many different types of CHDs and children can suffer from one defect or multiple defects. The severity of the defect can range from mild, meaning a child will need no treatment, to terminal, the defects will ultimately take the child’s life. Congenital Heart Defects are severely under researched and underfunded. Therefore, the more awareness individuals can spread the more funding the heart community hopes to gain.

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Thank you for joining me into the new year and for another month at Share Six! You can share your paper heart images to join the campaign using #paperheartproject #chdawareness

For shares specific to Share Six and for your chance to be featured, use #sharesix_red_heart on Instagram or post on our Facebook page SHARE SIX. A new theme will be posted on 6th March.

Up next is the fabulous Liz Willson of It’s Still Life Photography. Please Click Here to see her images and be sure to leave her some love!

Share Six Contributor

 

Share Six Blog Circle – December 2018 | Bokeh

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The end of the year is almost here and Share Six is rounding it off in the most perfect way: {Bokeh}.

As I looked through my archives for images for this month’s theme, I realised just how removed I have become from my camera and my images during the last two months. It is not just the images that need processing, it is the memories also. I am disconnected. As I sit down to write this post I realise we have been back in the UK for one month, and the three weeks prior to that was crazy (to say the least), so maybe it’s not that surprising that these images feel like a different life. I’m looking forward to the time when I can catch myself up, but for now, here is a progression through the New England fall:

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Thank you for joining me for another month at Share Six!

Post your {Bokeh} images on our Facebook page SHARE SIX or to our Instagram gallery by using #sharesix_bokeh. It’s a perfect theme for Christmas trees and Christmas lights so get out there and make the most of it! A new theme will be posted on 6th January 2019.

Up next is the hugely talented Liz of It’s Still Life Photography. Please Click Here to see her images and be sure to leave her some love!

Share Six Contributor