Creativity · Photography · Vision

Photos for Feelings

The image was a beautiful moment in the ceremony, deep within the photo, taken by a guest in the wedding party.

The groom is a photographer friend, and I know so well the axiom that “the shoemaker’s kids have no shoes,”

and how a photographer may sometimes never own any decent photos of their own important life events.

I saw another moment within the image – to be ‘brought out’ and brightened, so that it can be seen – and felt.

The difference between retouching and my creative ‘caress’ is that I use a quieter, more intuitive eye to see the newer photograph inside the original one, not just a cropping. I wrote another post about the technique in a June 6, 2020 post, Finding A Something More.

So happily honored to see that the bride posts this as her profile photo online. I wish Daphne and Jeff Happy Anniversary, and many dances together to come!


Dorothy Perry is a Chicago portrait photographer specializing in custom family portraits, modern headshots, & personal branding for women and executives.

 Contact her for commissioned work here. Thank you.

Creativity · Vision

Cartooned Culture

Anyone who knows me knows I love cartoons!

Some make me laugh, and some make me go “ahhh,” with tears in my eyes.

This cartoon is “Les Triplettes de Belleville,” by Sylvain Chomet. I saw this with a friend years ago in a Chicago theatre, and it remains one of the very few movies that I have viewed more than once.

It is a poetic animated story with very few spoken words. Imagine a plot that brings together cycling, a small family, and three quirky sisters who are part musicians, part muses, and, when necessary, molls familiar with the darker sides of Belleville/Parisian nightlife.

There are some picturing of rougher things of life, so it is not a movie for children, but perhaps saved for when they can appreciate it: the story, characters, and lovingly drawn details create a world that stays with you long after the cartoon is over.

The emotion of amusement also creates access to consciousness, a powerful way to allow the ‘firing of the synapses’ that lead to fresh new ideas and thought patterns.

Do you have any favorites that have this evergreen quality? I’d love to see them!

Keep laughing – watch cartoons!!


Dorothy Perry is a Chicago photographer capturing the closeness of todays’ urban families. Contact her here.ย 

Creativity · Photography · Practice · Vision

Sane Spaces

“I’m going to miss this show.”  

This student used to come to the UIC African American Art Gallery

to do her home work and study along with other students:

making art, practicing yoga, and on Finals week,

even eating breakfast there!

It occurred to me that I had made an art show

that successfully created a zone of energy.



For four months, 11 photographs in the AACC gallery

imbued the space with energy,

serving as an artistic ‘power station’ –

and creating a room that felt really nice to rest in.

This show working with vibration worked beyond my expectations,

and created an idea for future exhibitions, rich with potential.


Dorothy Perry can be contacted here.

Energy · Photography · Vision

Make YOUR Art

Today I want to send out good vibes

to the people who come up against the gatekeepers.

We have to live in your world sometimes,

but there is another world, more brightly lit.

(paraphrased from Tales From The Darkside, ha ha.)

Actual real-world people

choosing and buying things that are beautiful.

So, boys and girls, consider the source (even if they say they are ‘experts’)

and keep making your art anyway.

Keep refining – and keep making – your art

not just for the acclaim, but also to make money.

To teach yourself how to be a person who CAN:

become braver, learn new skills,

speak to strangers, get cooperation, meet deadlines.

Become a problem solver. Become a visionary for others.

Photography created these skills and this personality.

But it turned out it had to fit into my life in the right place.

Maybe you will always have it be the other job, as it is for me.

But keep art making in your life. โœจ

Family Portrait · Perry Portrait Art · Photography

Timeless

This just seemed like yesterday.

You can’t stop them from growing;

but you can stop time.

The lazy afternoons of childhood

are preserved by the warmth of sunlight,

the immediacy of memory,

and joyous moments at play.

I specialize in personal photojournalism

made into photo stories and books.

Lets’ meet throughout Chicagoland

and great parks near you.

Dorothy Perry is a mom, grandmom, and artistic photographer of childhood in the Chicagoland area. Lets talk at perryportraitart@gmail.com or through the Contact Page here.

Consciousness · Energy · Vision

Roots and Branches


“Sadness gives depth. Happiness gives height.

Sadness gives roots. Happiness gives branches.

Happiness is like a tree going into the sky,

and sadness is like the roots

going down into the womb of the earth.

Both are needed,

and the higher a tree goes,

the deeper it goes, simultaneously.

The bigger the tree,

the bigger will be its roots.

In fact, it is always in proportion.

That’s its’ balance.” – Osho


I welcome the opportunity to create thoughtful portraits for discerning clients.

Questions and inquiries through my Contact page here.

Photography · Practice

Focus

Photograph,
not just for reels,
but for real.

Enjoy your present. Contact Dorothy here.

Consciousness · Creativity · Family Portrait · Perry Portrait Art · Photography · Vision

This is Why


To witness the moment in photographs.

To record the beautiful grace of infancy.

To remember the elders, travelling to see their new young one.

To document time, place, and reality for the future.

To make good energy visible for the home.

To celebrate the two, becoming three.

To honor the spirit of family.

This is why.

If I can help record your family legacy with fine lifestyle portraits, I welcome your inquiry at http://www.dorothyperry.com/contact/.


Creativity · Energy · Perry Portrait Art · Photography · Vision

Original Face

Cease practice based

on intellectual understanding,

pursuing words and

following after speech.

Learn the backward step

that turns your light inward

to illuminate within.

Body and mind of themselves

will drop away,

and your original face

will be manifest. โ€” Dogen


This ancient poem

holds the energy

of what I choose to see

in the world around me –

and what I seek to create.

Contact Dorothy here to commission portraits

that stand the test of time.


Consciousness · Creativity · Energy · Perry Portrait Art · Practice · Vision

Elevenses

11:11 am and 11:11 pm

summons powerful energy during the minute,

a conduit for positive light and prayers

for all present and gone.

Dorothy Perry is a Chicago natural light photographer of intelligent, soulful portraiture for families and creative entrepreneurs.

Contact Dorothy here.