Reflections on photography, my soul, & the life that found me

Monday, June 24, 2017

I am sitting on my couch, in Christmas pyjamas, watching my precious cat asleep on the window ledge atop the pink blanket from her kittenhood. And I am smiling.

Today, I am taking a day off from work after a incredible weekend of two weddings and two back to back sessions (which involved lots of glorious hiking, but BOY my feet are tired haha). Even in a time where I had planned to force myself away from my emails, tasks, and editing just for one little day, my brain is still rumbling a mile a minute- reflecting on my career and its impact on my life.

See, I try with my social pages, website, and in speech to express myself- but all the words never seem enough to explain everything swirling around in my soul that is just dying to spill out all over the floor!! So, I wanted to sit down and write a blog post/ journal / mushy thought conglomeration to let some of it out. If you read this whole thing, I applaud you. Don't know what direction it will take from here on out, officially ;) 

Let me start by saying that I am super emotional in all the best ways. Being a photographer is such a wild, beautiful ride.

A few years ago when I began photography, it was pretty simple. I loved taking photos of people and that was that. Over time, this has become a passion that runs so deeply in me that it hurts to even think of my life without it.  As the beloved character Micheal Scott from "The Office" says, "business is about people." Truer words have never been spoken. Taking photos is such a small part overall of what this career is to me.

To try and make some sense of that, my camera is merely a tool I use to connect with people on levels much deeper than looking pretty for pictures.

 Each and every client I meet becomes a long, personal, wonderfully emotional investment that ends with me handing over a piece of my heart to them in the form of photographs. I try to get to know people, forge meaningful, lasting bonds, and then turn their memories into something tangible they can cherish- therefore making them happy.

Making people happy is completely and utterly my life's calling. 

 I truly truly believe this life found me so I could use it to try to uplift, inspire, and nurture the souls of other human beings through photography. 

My head still spins when I take a step back to be grateful for my career. I have just been feeling so thankful that there's people out there who see what I do, connect with me, and invite me into their lives to celebrate their happiness. You all have no idea how much it means to me.  Because of you, I am lucky and blessed enough to be able to live the life I dreamed of ever since I was 13 years old. Thank you so much for your endless support.

WHEW! You made it to the end. I'm seriously impressed, because I know that this was lengthy, and I definitely sound like a hippie, but let's be real... I am a hippie. ;)