It's about Love.
It's about Community.
It's about Healing.
The heart-lifting effort to collect 10,000 photographs of the affectionately-inclined from around the world.
Today I will be photographing at The Walker Art Center, the most prestigious setting for The Smooch! Project ever. With me will be my two most trusted Smooch! shoot veterans: Barb Collette & Vanessa Wilson. All the details have been finalized and the preparations are complete. We need only get the equipment over there, setup, do our thing and leave. So why do I feel a bit like little Olivia below?
This photo, taken during a December 2008 Smooch! shoot during a holiday event at Target corporation has got to be one of my all time favorite Smooch! pics. The making of Lindsey luvs Olivia (a momentary meltdown) was memorable. Two-year-old Olivia wanted to do something other than what she happened to be doing at the moment. Things didn’t quite work out her way – hence the tears. Her mom thought the shoot was over. When I suggested that the best Smooch! pics arrive at moments like this, Lindsey turned and planted a photographically-perfect smooch on the cheek of her daughter at the peak of the little tantrum. Two seconds later, Olivia was no longer crying and the shoot peacefully ended shortly thereafter. The resulting photo is now safely tucked away in the All in the Family: Moms luv Kids category of The Smooch! Project Archive.
Back to me and my personal meltdown. I’m not as dramatic as a two-year old. Frankly, I’m not very dramatic at all! But I do experience anxiety before every shoot. The Walker Smooch! shoot is going to be a big one. It is also shoot #48. You’d think I’d be used to this by now. I can report that I am much less anxious than I used to be. Also, I’ll be well taken care of my two of my most experienced shoot managers. We know what we’re doing. I trust all will be well. But, just in case, please keep your fingers crossed for us!
Yup! We’ll be photographing as many people as we can fit in today, from 10am to 3pm. Stop by to say hello. Be warned: If you are interested in being photographed, there will likely be a line. If you don’t know where the Walker Art Center is, see the calendar at the right for more details. If you would prefer to skip the potential wait in line, consider the next Smooch! shoot scheduled for Saturday, March 14. More info below.
This wonderful NE café is celebrating it’s fifth year anniversary. They invited the Smooch! Project to be part of their weeklong celebration. Check them out at www.wilderoastcafe.com. You’ll find the Smooch! shoot details in the calendar at the right. The best news of all for you smoochers: Well-behaved pets are welcome! If you decide to show up with your mutt, or kitty, or whatever, please be sure to enter the cafe through the back door.
The photographer could use some Smooch! shoot management help during the March event at the Wilde Roast. Do you like to smile? Enjoy people? Then you qualify. Please contact the photographer at photogirl@thesmoochproject.com to discuss the details. Thank you very much!
Yay! The website is now done and the task of preparing and uploading all the nearly 700 archive images so far collected has begun in earnest. At the moment, there are more than 170 images up on the website (www.thesmoochproject.com). The goal is to stay current with new photos collected and, as time allows, work backward through the past shoots until all images have been uploaded. The process is expected to take months. Expect to hear when more photos are available for viewing.
I love and support The Smooch! Project because it is simply art opening up communication — one photo at a time — to bring healing, compassion and community connecting to the world.
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