A few weeks ago, I received a copy of Shooting with Soul, 44 Photography Exercises Exploring Life, Beauty, and Self-Expression by fellow Shutter Sister, Alessandra Cave. My daughter Fiona (12) and I have been searching for a photography project that we can work on collaboratively, and this beautiful book has tempted us into moving forward using it as our guide. The first chapter is inspiring as well as informative and provides a great launching off point for what will be close to a year long project for us. We’ll follow the exercises and shoot on topic during the week and weekend, and then we’ll post our photos on Mondays and start shooting for the next week’s exercise. If everything goes as planned, we’ll have our first photos up next Monday. Like at the outset of any new project, we’re both really anxious to get started and excited to see what will unfold.
Recently, I had the privilege of spending the morning at the park with this sweet family. This is my absolute favorite way to capture a family with my camera….when they are at ease, doing their normal thing. It’s then that the awkwardness of a ‘photo shoot’ melts away a bit, and the warmth and love that exists within the family comes shining through. The care, love and patience that each one of these sweet people offers to one another is such a lovely thing to observe. Thanks so much y’all for letting me tag along with my camera. xoxo
Around this time last year I attended a photography retreat/workshop out in California with a group of Shutter Sisters. While I thought I just was going to ‘refill my cup’ so to speak, and to learn some nifty new tricks with my camera, what actually occurred was much deeper and as it turns out…transformational. The shared space, with so many creative, like-minded women and the encouragement to go deep with our craft was liberating. The presenters inspired me in a way that unexpectedly shifted something profound within me. I found myself, miles from home, in a tailspin. It was some kind of ‘bumping up against’ 40, what in the world am I doing with my life, can’t I just make art all day, wah, wah, wah, first-world, first class whine fest. It sounds silly now, looking back at it. Crying on the phone to my husband and my dear friend back in Texas….”Something has to change. I can’t do this anymore.” This statement seemed terribly self-indulgent, considering that I had a good job with benefits , a happy home life and a wonderful community of friends and family. But there was no denying that I needed to acknowledge that something was withering on the vine inside of me. Recognizing that, while painful, was incredibly cathartic and was the first step towards action. Identifying needs came next; more travel, more experiences outside of our urban bubble; more family time; more photographs of it all. This year has been full of change….new house, new job, new schools, more travel, more connections, and more photographs of it all! All of these changes have allowed me to shoot more professionally, which is how we end up here, at this shiny, brand new website. Bella at Highwire Creative used her creative vision and style to design my logo and business cards. Jenny over at Websy Daisy, brought it all together and created this amazing website with Bella’s work and my photographs. Jenny is pure magic! So….I hope you’ll hang out for a bit and take a look around. I’m feeling incredibly proud of what we’ve created, and a wee bit vulnerable putting it out there…but I’m happy you’re here and so excited to keep moving forward.
