Hello Friday! A few weeks ago we launched a new series called “Friday Features,” where every other Friday we feature a member of our online Instagram community and the inspiration behind their gorgeous photos! I’m hoping this series will not only help inspire you to get outdoors more with your kids, but to also pick up that camera and document your adventures!
Next up is Christine Ekeroth – @christineekeroth. Christine is a family photographer in San Diego, CA, mom of four and one of our amazing Instagram moderators. She’s a humanitarian, writer, traveler and incredible family photographer that captures so much love and emotion in her images. I’m excited for you all to get to know her a little better! She’s truly a gem of a human!
Favorite outdoor experience from this past year?
Earlier this year, we took our kids to a little town in the mountains called Idyllwild. It’s not a huge tourist destination (more of a little hippie town) and it doesn’t usually get a lot of snow, but this year was magical, with inches and inches pouring down on us each day, but with enough breaks to be able to walk into town and spend hours sledding down the hills of our Airbnb.
All six of our family members were born or raised along the coast in Southern California (two by way of Ethiopia), so snow is a pretty big deal. I think the only time we spent indoors was to warm up enough so we could go back outside. There are few things better in life than launching yourself into untouched snow, cheeks made rosy by cold and the exhilaration of flying down a hill on a disc or warming your feet in front of a fire while sipping hot chocolate. It was absolute heaven on earth for all of us.
Favorite place to photograph your kids?
Well, as much as we love playing in the snow, I can’t resist photographing my kids at the beach. The colors of the sand, ocean and sky comprise my favorite color palette, and there is just so much joy and movement at the beach, whether we’re playing soccer on the sand or boogie boarding in the waves. It’s also so much fun to play around with different techniques and viewpoints.
This past year, I started to use my GoPro Hero7 a lot more and, although there was a bit of a learning curve, the images feel really fresh and immediate (I’m a lot more willing to get into the water when I don’t have my big camera in hand!). I’m also trying to follow the lead of my fellow RWMC moderator, @Kristcx, and incorporate more video into my work. Making short films of our adventures has opened up a whole new avenue for creativity and storytelling, which makes each outing even more fun.
Have you made any “real life” connections through social media?
Yes! In fact, I’m meeting another local photographer for the first time tomorrow! One of the most beautiful things about this platform is the opportunity to support—and feel supported by—other photographers and moms who are living out some of the very same challenges and joys.
I’ve also made a great friendship with a fellow adoptive mom who originally hired me to take her family’s portraits while they were visiting here on vacation. They have since moved to the area and we are embarking on a project that we hope will reveal some of the incredible adoption-related stories—in words and images—that we have encountered over the past several years. We share a belief that we are more connected to one another than many of us might realize, and stories of adoption reveal our humanity and interconnectedness in a way that feels particularly important right now.
What’s in your camera bag and what do you use most often?
I gave myself an early birthday present (it’s a big one this year) and upgraded to a Nikon D850. I worked the heck out of my last camera, to the point where it was starting to fall apart, so it was definitely time. The resolution on this thing is ridiculous, but it allows me to take images that can be enlarged on a really big scale, which is something I’m pretty excited about for the coming year.
I have a vision of photographing people in their element, whether that’s on a golf course or on a gorgeous hiking trail. I have a little army of prime lenses that I keep in high rotation, a 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, and an 85mm. As much as I love them all, it’s tough to beat the 50mm for versatility (and portability!). It’s the one I use most often to photograph my kids, and, depending on the location, I can shoot an entire family session with that one lens, especially if time is short. I also frequently rent a 70-200 for my kids’ soccer games (we have two in club soccer now, so I may have to add that one to my wishlist).
How do you educate yourself to take better pictures?
When I first started, I purchased a ton of online courses, but rarely had the time to complete them. Now, I’m much more selective about the education I pursue. Of course, it’s tough to beat daily practice. I did a 365 project two years in a row and I think it did more for my photography skills than anything else I’ve done. But it’s amazing how one small technique or adjustment can completely transform your photography.
I had always been a little intimidated by Photoshop, but I made a commitment to learn it this past year or two and it has been revolutionary in terms of giving my photographs a polish that I think they were lacking. I’ve always had a pretty good “eye” and have been able to create connections among the subjects in my photographs, but editing can really make the difference between a good photo and a great one.
For more of Christine Ekeroth’s beautiful images, find her online in the following locations:
Instagram: @christineekeroth
Website: http://www.christineekeroth.com
For more features on our online Instagram community, check out our Favorite Outdoorsy Instagramers, Part 1 and Favorite Outdoorsy Instagramers, Part 2.
