The Power Of One

September 17, 2024October 20, 2024 Dorothy PerryLeave a comment

One of the most read posts I sent out on my WooWay personal newsletter mailing, called The Internet is Forever (Asterix) involved dealing with loss of the photographs I took for the Chicago Reader when the newspaper issues were digitized.

In this, I wrote about my discovery that examples of my early photography career with the Chicago Reader were no longer visible in their online archives…anywhere.

Due to size or intellectual property issues, they imported the articles, but did not include the photographs from earlier editions of the paper.

The email started with dealing with the reality of the situation – but at the end* celebrated the various soft and hard skills learned with the experience.

Fast forward nine months, and through the wonders of Instagram, I get a ‘ping’ from an artist group I photographed in 1992, updated in a Gossip Wolf column. (the article here.)

After I did a quiet appreciative happy dance, I decided to update the story. In addition to the pleasant surprise in being led to one of my photos, it was also a little reminder to me to give life’s irritations or obsessions up to the body’s wisdom, and let things happen as they will.

*Looking with the attitude that there is nothing to panic about or ‘fix’ is a mindset that allows for quiet personal wonder, delight, and awe, even within an ordinary day.

I found that by not fighting and resisting and replaying the memories accompanied by emotions that would suddenly float in and make themselves felt, they changed or would leave by themselves. No examining or selecting anything for further review, I stayed present with no judgement as to what came up, and it would just evaporate.

Practice presence in all different types of situations to have the grounded feeling of being inside your body. Feel the heat through your fingers, feel your toes against the floor, use your senses. Even if at times you conduct your day on autopilot, make time to connect with yourself through the day.

I invite you to subscribe to my ‘Woo Way’ newsletter for intuitive counterintuitive strategies to help sense the world around you at your best. The sign up link is here. I look forward to meeting you there.

Dorothy Perry is a Chicago photographer of peoples’ personal lives and celebrations. Contact her at perryportraitart@gmail.com or here. Thank you.

Energy · Photography · Vision

Make YOUR Art

July 19, 2024December 27, 2024 Dorothy PerryLeave a comment

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. ✨

Dorothy Perry · Perry Portrait Art · Photography · Practice

See Here Now

July 5, 2024December 27, 2024 Dorothy PerryLeave a comment

Like Vincent Van Gogh, Vivian Maier’s fame

came after her death.

That decision to bring her camera,

to record her life in photographs

and practice and misstheshot and have agooddaybutbadlight

and haveabadday andgetstubborn andcryandkeepcomingback

and hoping the light is good when she can get some time.

The seeing, taking the photo all one can do,

becomes the art. The making it that counted.

Even in normal days,

there are times of beauty

and opportunities for awed appreciation.

Pay attention. And have your camera with you.

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

Questions and inquiries through my Contact page here.

Family Portrait · Perry Portrait Art · Photography

Timeless

May 26, 2024May 20, 2024 Dorothy PerryLeave a comment

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.

Photography · Practice · Vision

Grit And Pearl

May 24, 2024May 20, 2024 Dorothy PerryLeave a comment

I go online and Google myself sometimes, and saw an 2006 post from a fellow photographer, riffing on the theme of being a psychic photographer based on an ad I had written for my services. (To read the original post, click here.)

It was good-natured, but it stung a little that I had tried so carefully to describe what I did, only to have it be the butt of someone’s joke. And it apparently had still been smouldering, since it had caught my attention during a moment I had not expected.

I think to practice ones’ gift is to know that many times, it will be misunderstood.

The difference is that now I am choosing to see these kinds of situations with a mindset of appreciation for what it teaches – (even though I could not see it while it was happening.)

Some memories arise to a neutral, dispassionate view that acknowledges that yes, something happened, and despite potential for a cautionary tale, yes, it is done.

Others create laughter: I can take a deep breath and smile at challenges to my ego or my vanity. And others can be seen with compassion for a young person’s mis-reading of emotion and information.

When this comes up again in the Slideshow of my Mind,

I will choose to see and feel it differently.

I’ll bring a gentle, open, and curious self to those formative incidents,

especially ones that ‘ring up’ old memories or create unexpected charges of emotion.

I see it in the light of day,

the drama of the story dissolving.

I see it now for the best for everyone involved.

The energy of releasing old stories affects people differently.

Sometimes the act of getting it out happens quickly,

and other times, I have to let it work its way and have its say quietly,

as there is more under the surface that takes time to unfold.

The years since have created someone new:

Someone with a dream, even when another cannot see it (or see it yet.)

With that vision, even the irritations of life are welcomed for the ‘pearl’ created.

Dorothy Perry is a Chicago portrait photographer specializing in custom family portraits, modern headshots, & personal branding for women and executives. Contact her studio for commissioned work here.