Riley has been running me ragged today. He decided yesterday that he is a one nap kind of baby. He didn't seem to factor in the fact that one nap is clearly not enough sleep for a growing boy, and that a couple hours after a missed nap he'd be very tired and grumpy. But not tired enough to sleep of course.
This time last year I was probably sitting on the couch, cuddled up with a little human that somehow (and I still couldn't wrap my mind around this)- I created. He was probably sleeping, his tiny body taking up barely any space on my chest. Or he might have been trying to breastfeed, something that we were both learning and struggling with. But one thing I know for sure I was doing at this time last year- staring at him in complete awe.
I'm going to get a little personal today.
I've been watching a lot of creative live while I edit and I recently stumbled upon a course that caught my attention. It's taught by a portrait photographer named Sue Bryce who shares her success stories and the path that got her there. The class is called "Empower Yourself."
Now "Empower Yourself" is not something I would normally click on. It sounds cheesy as heck! But it came on after another class I had been watching and I was hooked pretty quickly.
She talked about a lot of different ways to achieve a fulfilling life, but one thing that was memorable to me was this question- What are your top five values? She wanted us all to consider what 5 things mean the most to us; what we spend our days doing and talking about? Her idea is that once we have a good handle on those things we can work through them to achieve our goals instead of working against them. For instance, since family is a top priority for me, I can achieve my goal of getting in shape by working out with my son rather than trying to leave him to do so. That way he helps motivate me instead of being a reason not to work out.
It makes sense, so I decided to give it a go and figure out what my top 5 are.
1. Family- My husband and son are my top priority. Regardless of my future goals, that won't change. I'm sure many of you parents can relate to that. Everything I do is for my son's happiness and the betterment of his life. But in order to keep him happy and fulfilled I need to remember to achieve both for myself as well.
2. Creation- Whatever the form, I'm an artist and I have a need to create. Whether it's making a beautiful photograph, writing a poem, or just coming up with a new recipe for dinner, I won't feel fulfilled unless I have some sort of creative outlet.
3. Connecting With People- I consider myself to be an introvert. I'm uncomfortable in large social situations and I genuinely enjoy my alone time. But leave me alone too long and I will go crazy. I am fascinated by people. I love listening to other people's stories and seeing where their passions lie. It's what inspires my art.
4. Relaxation- My ideal house would be full of quiet corners with comfy seating and books to read (don't forget the purring cat!). It is very important to me to have a couple hours of downtime each day to gather my thoughts and reset my mind.
5. Change- This may seem like a strange one for some people. Change can be terrifying. But I am a restless soul and I thrive on it. That's why I make such a good army wife. Every few years I get to do a total reset of my life. But this need for change can make it hard to accomplish long term goals. I get really fired up about something, only to lose interest and get excited about something else 6 months later. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about this before, but It's something I still struggle with. How am I supposed to focus on just one thing for the rest of my life? The answer is I can't. I need to learn how to work with my need for change to constantly create new interesting work. At least I know my creativity will never go stagnant.
Although I've spent lots of time thinking about what's important in my life, it was an eye opener to survey my surroundings and day to day activities and actually write down how things stack up. This is just the first step of figuring out how to achieve what one wants in life, but it's a pretty good place to start. I'd encourage everyone to try it.
So let's hear it, what are your top five values in life?
I want to take a second to share a poem today. I'm having a bit of an off day and therefore I've been curled up in an oversized sweatshirt watching American Horror Story all day, so it seemed like a good day to share "Lazy Poem." Here goes:
This week my hubby was out in the field (still) so I had a lot of down time. This meant that I actually got out and did some stuff this weekend, and I think as a result got some fun pictures.
3-29-14: I spent my Saturday evening wandering Savannah and taking pictures of One Love's Paws for a Cause event. They had dancers performing and, seeing that I minored in dance and have a strong interest in the subject, I really enjoyed photographing it.
3-30-14: Sunday I went with some friends and some dogs out to the beach at Hilton head. This dog (sassy) had the time of her life chasing water droplets. I'm pretty sure she can fly!
3-31-14: I got my exercise this week with some tennis. I attempted to use my phone's camera as an experiment to how well it works. Not very well, it turns out. If this had a proper exposure it wouldn't have been half bad though. Does any know any manual camera apps for android?
4-1-14: I've been really enjoying how differently I'm able to grocery shop with my hubby not around. If I want salami and brie for dinner I can do it, and nobody is here to complain!
4-2-14: I got a remote shutter release for my camera and spent some time messing around with it. I was going for a model-like photo, but I guess I'm better off behind the camera, because I do NOT know how to pose myself. I accidentally got this shot of myself and Jerry playing though.
4-3-14: Another cell phone pic! This is one of the Petsmart cats being all belly's up and cuddly, which, after my day at work, I really needed.
4-4-14: I bought a new 35mm lens and took it downtown to do some street photography. This was one of the first shots I took with it. I love this lens!
And that's it for this weeks photos. Next week will kick off with Jerry at the beach and some sharkless shark fishing. Stay tuned!
This week has been a bit different than usual for me. It's been all about me time. My hubby has been in the field since Wednesday which means that my week can be summed up in just a few words- dogs, cats, bubble baths, books, and wine. And work, but I try to ignore that part.
3-22-14- I met these two cuties at the adoption event with One Love at Tailspin on Saturday. I was soo close to taking them home. If I was a single woman, I would have a house full.
3-23-14 Just some pretty flowers because spring has sprung.
3-24-14: Over the weekend I broke my phone (it was my first time ever breaking a phone). But I was able to use it as an excuse to upgrade back to an android. It was kind of disappointing because I really like the idea of the windows 8 operating system, but it just didn't run well enough.
3-25-14: Saturday was my husband and my anniversary. We've been keeping this charm bracelet since we were dating and the idea was to add a charm every year. We were a bit behind so he ordered some to catch up. Each charm represents a year in our marriage except the first two which are for when we were dating, and our wedding.
3-26-14: This was the first day of the field for my hubby. I took this as an opportunity for my kindle, a glass of wine, and a nice long bubble bath.
3-27-14: I'm excited because the plant that I thought I had killed just sprouted some new leaves.
3-28-14: Jerry and I have been getting a lot of quality time together with the hubster away. I think he even listens when I have conversations with him (uh oh am I crazy?). This is his interested face.
So that's it for this week's photos. Next week will be jumping off with Sassy, the amazing flying dog. Curious? Check back to find out what I'm talking about.
Here we are facing another Monday. I'm still sick. In fact today I am call in from work amounts of sick, so I've spent the whole morning on the couch reading Divergent, cuddling with my pets, and feeling all around crappy.
But, I'm taking a break from all of that to share this week's photos.
3-15-14: We start off in the heart of Savannah's St. Patty's day celebrations. This holiday is kind of a big deal here, for some odd reason, so the party lasted all weekend long. We went out on Saturday with some friends and I did some drinking and street photography. I wrote a quick post about it and shared some pictures here.
3-16-14: Sunday I revisited some old music that I used to love as a teenager and realized I've not developed an attachment to music in the same way since then. There is something about hiding out in the orange and yellow bedroom of my teenage years reading Ray Bradbury and listening to A Ghost is Born that in some ways, I'll never beat.
3-17-14: Monday was shopping day 'cause I was in desperate need of a new pair of running/work shoes. I made a first attempt at product photography, which, although it's a bit dark, I think I did pretty decent on (especially since I was working with natural light).
3-18-14: On Tuesday Sam took in this absolutely adorable foster puppy who we both got instantly attached to (for me, all it took were some puppy kisses).
3-19-14: Wednesday I decided to revisit my writing after coming to the realization that I never write anymore, so I busted out this old tattered journal.
3-20-14: More writing on Thursday, but this time in the form of poetry. Inspiration hits at such random times for me (I wrote most of this in my head while counting jewelry at work), but it's such a great feeling when it happens.
3-21-14: Friday I did an impromptu photo shoot with Sam, her jeep, and the setting sun. I'm so excited with how this shot turned out!
That's it for this week. Next week's photo dump will be kicked off with the cutest puppies in the world, so stay tuned!
When did I become a watered down version of myself? I used to spend my evenings in concerts and coffee shops, my days filled with music and poetry. My ringing phone played Wilco from the pocket of my thrift store dress. I sat in the sunshine at fountains filling notebooks with words and wisdom. I flaunted my red hair, my strangeness.
These days I'm all about working. Eight hour days followed by eight hour sleep. I clean house and watch TV and ignore myself. Forget the makeup, forget the fashion- I live in my yoga pants on my trips to the grocery store, and where else do I go? Never far, and never anywhere exciting.
"While all bodies share/ the same fate, all voices do not."
This is one of my favorite quotes from a poem by Li-Young Lee and I often wonder, what would remain of my voice if I were to die tomorrow? Some pretty pictures? The memory of a "nice" girl? A few poems that no one ever read?
Who knows me as the introverted book nerd, passionate about music and language, with a strange style and a sense of adventure? I'm still that girl when I'm wandering the streets of Savannah with my camera, watching strangers and soaking up the sunshine. I'm still that girl when I'm cuddling on the couch with my doberman and my kindle.
But how often does that happen?
It's time to take back my time. It's time to leave the house a mess and read more books instead, to spend my afternoons in bookstores and sample all the coffee shops in Savannah. It's time to write more poetry and and wear more dresses.
It's time to find myself again.
Who's with me?
What part of yourself have you neglected recently and how can you bring it back? I'd love to hear your experiences and advice.
Last Saturday I got up bright and early to meet up with SJ, a gorgeous local model, to do some portraits at sunrise.
Let me just say that it pains me to get up early on the weekends. I wake up at 3:30 five days a week, so I really appreciate my Saturday sleep ins. Even if that's only until 7:00.
But waking up early to work with SJ was definitely worth it. We found a field and a lake to shoot at with golden morning light and steam rolling off of the lake. Beautiful.
SJ was a fabulous model, and we spent equal parts of our time laughing and shooting. What I love most about SJ is her sense of adventure. Some models might think it's weird when I ask them to climb a tree, for instance, but not her. She just wanted to know which tree.
This was a quick little shoot due to the limited time frame that the lighting allowed, but it was a lot of fun. I can't wait to work with SJ again.
If you want to see the whole shoot you can find it at my website here.
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time for another Weekly Photo Dump!
This week was rainy and awful, but the weekend was gorgeous. I spent the weekend outside (yet didn't bring my camera, what was I thinking?) and then spent the rest of the week playing with dogs and eating (hey, my two favorite things.
So without further ado:
3-1-14: Okay so technically this was taken the night before, but since I had to work early Saturday morning, and this is what we were doing the night before, I think this gives you a good idea of how my Saturday felt- sleep deprived.
3-2-14: Sunday was also spent outside, somehow without my camera. Although I wasn't able to get any pictures of my adventures, my hubby did let me take this quick portrait of him and my dobe, Jerry. I can't believe how big that dog has gotten!
3-3-14: My Monday consisted of work and then hours spent at the car dealership while they figured out that they needed to replace my transmission. This is how I felt about things.
3-4-14: And then came the rain. A five minute storm flooded my yard, and then we were stuck in the cold, wet, gross weather for the rest of the week.
3-5-14: I used to be totally scared of raw chicken. It freaked me out. But this chicken is about to be delicious!
3-6-14: Thursday I decided to embrace the rain and play with my friend Sam's dog Sassy. She was not phased by the nasty weather. She just wanted to play!
3-7-14: I spent Friday playing with the dogs too. Magnum was so kind as to pose for me. He looks so dignified here!
After my missed photo opportunities this weekend I decided to take my camera with me more places, and I am much happier with this week's photos because of it. Sticking to this idea, I already have some great photos for next week including a day at the shooting range. I'm excited to bring some new life into this project and see where we can go with it. Stay tuned!
Last week, some good friends of mine Chad and Erika invited me into their home to do a lifestyle photoshoot of them. Erika is expecting, but not showing yet, so this will be some of their last photos as just the two of them (plus dogs). We really focused on the two of them in their natural surroundings, and I love the way this shoot turned out.
These two were a blast to work with, but I already knew that. Chad and Erika are always great to hang out with. But watching the interactions between these two was even better.
Chad is straight up goofy and constantly making faces or striking a Captain Morgan pose for the camera, despite Erika trying her hardest to get him to be serious. We were starting to think he may not be capable.
We weren't sure what the photos would look like in the end, but as I look at the results all I can see is love between this little family. Look at Chad's face in that ultrasound shot. He is absolutely beaming! And he has good reason. What a gorgeous family!
I'm so excited to come back and do this shoot again, but next time the family will be just a bit bigger.
We rounded out the shoot by letting Chad play with their gorgeous husky, Cyan. She was very playful and wouldn't sit still, but I like the action shots anyway. Look at those eyes!
I loved this photo shoot, and am excited to try more of these indoor lifestyle shoots. This just a little peak into the shoot, but you can find the rest on my website, here.
Phew! It's been a crazy week. I got stuck working two night shifts next week with not a whole lot of break between that and my day shift. I may have worked less hours, but I am still recovering from the lack of sleep.
I don't do well without sleep.
And then yesterday, when I was supposed to be posting last week's photos, I spent three and a half hours at the car dealership for them to tell me that I wouldn't have my car for a week while they replace the transmission. At least it's warranty work.
Anyway, this is going somewhere, I promise. Basically I'm giving you all my excuses for why I'm a) a day late, and b) using cell phone pictures this week.
I had originally planned to do every picture for my 365 with my DLSR, but quite frankly that wasn't doable this week. My week happened at work, and I can't exactly carry my DSLR around at Sam's and stop work to shoot some pictures. So, although the quality makes me cringe, I'm using some cell phone pictures.
Whew, I'm a bit long winded today, aren't I? Let's get to the pictures.
1-22-14: Before all the craziness, I spent my Saturday afternoon at an adoption event at Tails Spin in Pooler hanging out with this cool guy and a few other sweet adoptables. Fulton (the guy in the picture) is a complete lover, and he was posing for pictures left and right. He also licked my lens at one point. Nothing like a little dog slobber to make your pictures sharp, huh?
1-23-14: Sunday I went over to some friends' house to do a lifestyle photo shoot with them. I've wanted to do this silhouette shot for some time, I just hadn't found the right subjects and situation. I love the way this turned out.
1-24-14: Yes, it's supposed to be upside down. My hubby convinced me to go for a jog with him Monday. Let me just say, I don't jog. I was so sore/tired/defeated by the end of this jog that I pretty much collapsed on the floor afterwards. Once I recovered, I decided to do some yoga for my poor, poor muscles. Jerry seemed to think it was a game and was running around all over the place, so I took this shot: my view from downward facing dog.
1-25-14: Que the night shift. This was my "rockin' the night shift" selfie for instagram that I took on the first night when I was consuming way too much caffeine and driving a forklift around 'cause I was bored.
1-26-14: After work I thought I'd go home and crash. I curled up on the couch and Jerry joined me. I was exhausted! But I was so amped up on caffeine still that I couldn't sleep. And Jerry's nose was constantly in my face, so that didn't help much. I ended up watching I Love Lucy all day instead.
1-27-14: My last nightshift was dragging on by the end. I was still full of caffeine and spent most of the night jamming out to The Fratelli's, but as the last hour came I was losing steam. I tried to entertain myself by doodling one a post-it note.
1-28-14: This was my recovery day, also spent on the couch watching I Love Lucy (I've decided I'm in love with Ricky Ricardo). This time Gizmo kept me company.
Like I said, it's was a crazy week. This one is off to a rough start, but I'm hoping for smooth sailing from here on out. We will see. Until then I've got some serious house cleaning to do, so that's all for today!
I know I was a bit absent this weekend, but I wasn't able to do my shelter work this week (and may not for a while) so there was no weekly adoptable post to share. I also spent Saturday celebrating my hubby's birthday which is Tuesday, so I decided to take the weekend off.
That said, I'm a little behind on this whole blog thing. Instead of my usual planning ahead, I have been rushing through in the past half hour or so to edit these weekly photos.
Anyway, let's get right to it, huh?
2-8-14: This was a Saturday workday, cranking out blog posts and working on business cards, among other things. A photo of my keyboard seemed fitting, since I spent so much time with it.
2-9-14: I followed that up with a Sunday of rest, and a lot of playing with my goofy doberman. He's got crazy eyes!
2-10-14: Let me just warn you right now that this week was all about the food photography. Judging by the pictures I must have spent this week just eating. Sounds like the perfect week!
2-11-14: As I pulled into the driveway from work, I did this. Now I get to replace this $300 tire, because I was too lazy to move a jack that was in my way. I'm a smart cookie! Needless to say, I was a bit angry for the rest of the evening.
2-12-14: Thank goodness I was able to turn that flat-tire attitude around with a day with Sam. She took me to the Asian market where I tried this Basil Seed Drink. It looks creepy as hell, but it is seriously delicious.
2-13-14: Speaking of weird foods, what better choice is there than celery root? This stuff looks evil, but it's tasty, I promise.
2-14-14: Ah Valentines day, the day of every year where my lovely hubby buys a little potted rose, and every year I kill it. Plants and I don't get along. But this year he got it right with some already dead roses (and very pretty ones at that!) along with chocolates just in time to satiate an extreme chocolate craving, shopping, and some lunch at Bonefish Grill. Yup, he definitely got it right!
So there you have it, another week of photos. I must say, this has been going much better than I originally thought when I planned this 365 project. I thought I'd really struggle, and while I do have some rough days where I have a hard time caring, I've for the most part been really enjoying this project (and all this oh-so-photographable food!)
My first full week of my photo a day project is complete and I'm here to share the results. Want to see?
January 4th, 2014: A close up shot of the Christmas decorations that I just can't bring myself to take down (more out of laziness than the fact that they are pretty, although they are.)
January 5th, 2014: This morning started out with some canadian bacon that my dad cured and my husband cooked (delicious!)
January 6th, 2014: After having company at my house for almost a month during the holidays, I needed a few days of me time. So after work I got lost in a good book. In case you are wondering, the book is Enduring Love by Ian McEwan and it is quite good.
January 7th, 2014: Just another lazy day with my pets and my books.
January 8th, 2014: It's been surprisingly cold for Georgia this week, and the weather inspired me to start a knitting project. I picked this gorgeous yarn, but the problem is that the yarn is very thin. I might be done with this scarf by summer, just when I don't need it anymore.
January 9th, 2014: With the house to myself this day, I consulted my Julia Child cookbook and made a huge mess of the kitchen, leaving not much time for anything else. I did happen to snap this shot of Blitz being cute though. He does it every once in a while.
January 10th, 2014: I wanted to play around with Bokeh today and using it as the subject of a photo, rather than a background. Technically that just means I took a blurry picture, but hey I think it looks cool. I took this using the Christmas lights since I still haven't taken down our tree. I should probably get on that before it dies, huh?
This week was a pretty slow one, but it is exactly what I needed. I spent some time in solitude, just relaxing and working on my own projects. It may have left me with photos of food, books, and cats, but that's not a life that I'll complain about. I could pull of crazy cat lady/librarian any day.
With my new 50 mm begging to be tested, I went downtown a couple days ago for some more street photography. As usual I met a lot of crazy, weird, and wonderful people. Here's a quick run-through:
As usual I started off a bit shy and kept my distance. With a 200 mm lens that works, but with a 50 mm you have to be a bit more bold. Most of my first shots were barely usable and only with extreme cropping. That said, I did manage to capture this one. Although it's not technically perfect, I do love the emotion that is captured in it. The guy was playing football or something in the park, was very close to winning, and decided to bombard his woman with a sweaty hug. I love her expression!
This one is probably my favorite shot of the day. I saw this guy sleeping (or so I thought) and thought it would make and interesting picture. I got closer and realized he wasn't sleeping, he was smoking a cigarette. It wasn't until post processing that I realized there was a prosthetic leg attached to the shoe beneath the bench.
On a bit of a happier note, meet Cabin (pronounced say-bin). He spends his days on river street making art. I had seen him before, and even taken his picture, but today I decided to stop and chat for a bit. It turns out Cabin has a bachelors in writing (that surprised me a bit) and he likes to combine visual art with words. Each of his pieces makes a strong political statement. This isn't the kind of art you hang on your wall because it is pretty- this is the stuff that makes you think. Cabin explained to me that what he really loves is carving driftwood. He said that his dad taught him and that he has friends on the boats in the canal that pick up whatever driftwood they find for him.
This man caught my eye when I saw him walking around river street in tall white socks- no shoes. The socks were clean, somebody must have just given them to him. I was trying to figure out the best approach to take a photo of him when he came up to me and asked for a cigarette. When I said no he asked if he could take my picture for me. I said no again, but asked if he'd let me take his. I explained my project and he agreed to a few shots. We chatted while I took them and he left me with a little advice, "Keep taking pictures of what you love."
I took so many photos with so many stories behind them that day that it's too much to fit in one little blog. I've created a collage to showcase a few more pictures. So here it is: The people of Savannah.
