Sharon Spall Photography

Each month I participate in a photography personal project entitled Songs of Life with a group of photographer friends of mine. We capture images of our personal lives in a lifestyle or documentary style of photography, inspired by a different song each month. For these photos, our goal is to capture our real lives as we are living it, attempting to create images that capture life as it unfolds, rather than more posed portraits.

This month’s inspiration was the song “Jungle Gym” by Jack Johnson. When I listened to this song, I knew that I wanted to document Bella downtown in the city. Bella loves exploring downtown, and she especially loves riding the street car. The song describes how the bustle of the city provides a fun and exciting backdrop for children’s imaginations to soar. The city is the jungle gym, with so much to explore and so much fun and excitement to be had. Our trip downtown suited this song perfectly.

This dress was made for twirling. Doesn’t everyone dance on the street car?

She makes friends wherever she goes!

“Look at this big great world that we’re living in
There’s lots of fun to be had on these streets
We can take a ride just you and me
It’s a jungle gym.”

Please continue on in our blog circle to see how Chrissy Mazer interpreted this month’s song!

Every month I participate in a blog circle with a group of other photographers entitled Songs of Life, where we use a song as inspiration in shooting lifestyle and documentary style photography within our own personal lives. This month’s inspiration for our Songs of Life blog circle was the song “Feels Like Home” by Randy Newman. If you would like to listen to the song as you read along, click here.

This song makes me think of the love and security we feel at home with those we love most, where even the most simple aspects of our lives at home often make us the happiest. It is being surrounded by those we love that makes us feel at home. There are many things that I love about being a mother, and many things that I love doing with my daughter. However, sometimes the most simple moments at home, such as watching her play and create something independently, are the moments that I cherish the most. It’s these simple moments that I don’t always think to document. They happen daily, and it seems as though there is always another day to capture it. Until I look up and realize that she’s grown a little more, and those moments may never come again. This song was a reminder to cherish those little moments, the simple moments of childhood playtime, fleeting time that I want to be able to remember forever.

My daughter loves to build and create. She loves to draw pictures and create art. She loves building things out of Legos or constructing with her Goldieblox sets. I wanted to capture one of these simple moments at home, of my daughter lost in her own little world, creating.

Please be sure to continue on in our blog circle to see how Chrissy Mazer interpreted this song!