Healing takes courage, and we all have courage, even if we have to dig a little to find it. — Tori Amos

The beginning of the journey.
The first step is always the hardest…
to be continued…

Where am I going with this? Well, the other day I was having a conversation with Brad about not trying something because of fear of failure or criticism. Cue nerdy movie reference from me…
Me: It’s the McFly syndrome.
Brad: What?
Me: You know, how Marty and George were afraid to go after their dreams because of fear. Like Marty with his music and George with his si-fi stories.
Brad: Nerd.

Ok, so Brad is right. I am a total nerd. But I definitely think I was on to something with this. In fact, I think it was pretty gosh darn clever. Recently, I have been reminded how competitive this business is. What makes it even harder is putting your heart, soul, body and mind into something, and hearing it critiqued. I wish I was tough enough to turn to that person and say, “Oh yea, well what did you create?” And if it’s the Mona Lisa, ok, I’ll hear you out. If it’s nothing… well then for lack of a better term: suck it. No matter what, critique is tough, but no matter what we have to keep creating.

What we do as photographers is done with intent and purpose. The beauty of this, is that when you know what you are doing, you can change what you’re doing. You can grow, learn, evolve and most of all improve. I have to remind myself daily that what I have isn’t luck. My amazing clients and my photos are all products of me taking action. First you have to try. So, no matter what your passion in life, go after it. It could be your density!

oh and that reminds me….

Fellow Photographers of All Skill Level!
The Micro Gallery and Shutter Clique are hosting a Critique Night. All the details can be found here and it will be held in the most constructive spirits. I personally never get tired of hearing how my work connects with people, and if it is being perceived with the intent it was created. Join us! We’d love to have you.

Thursday, Sept. 23 at 6pm!

Last fall I met Sarah and Jason for the first time. Sarah looked oh so cool in her Shins T-shirt and I looked like I was about to perform as an extra in Mary Poppins to the song “Step in Time.” Sarah and Jason were awesome enough to meet me out at the Market Place because I was participating in the street painting festival. I was covered in chalk, and it was a super unconventional meeting for a wedding consult. Yet, I think unconventional was a great start. Sarah and Jason have been so awesome to work with. Two engagement sessions and numerous tweets later, I feel like I am photographing the wedding of long time friends. I told Sarah that first day that we would go from strangers to friends. I’m sure I came off totally weird at the time, but luckily it didn’t scare her away. Now it’s true. Their wedding day is finally here! And I am so excited!

We were in the car listening to the ipod and the Jack Johnson song “Better Together” that you used to make our video collage with came on. After the song ended, Natalie said “I want to hear my song again”. I asked her what “her song” was and she replied “the one where I’m wearing my dress in the movie”. Lets you know just how many times I watched that video and have looked at the pictures! Can’t thank you enough! -Amy

Thank you Amy for taking the time to share this with me and brighten my day. And Natalie, I’m glad this is your song because Jack Johnson is so right, things really are better together.

Photo taken on the way to Mount Whitney last year.

“Hearts will never be practical until they can be made unbreakable” and the Tinwoodsman replies, “But I still want one.”

So I shared that as my Facebook status and little did I know that later that week I would learn how true this quote is. Sometimes I get “quiet” because I find it hard for my internet persona to be genuine while still being positive. I hate using this as a forum for venting, complaining, gathering sympathy or anything that doesn’t bring a smile to your face and inspiration to your day. So… when life makes my heart feel heavy I find it best to fight off the negative by deciding to spread love and positivity.

This then reminded me of a time 3 years ago when Brad and I first started dating. I had to log into my ancient Myspace account to find this, but there it was. I don’t have Brad’s original bulletin, but he had thought it would be funny to post a list of things and people he hated. So, I replied with my response, thinking of a positive to every one of his negatives. I still nag him about being too negative for the sake of being funny, but now I look back at this with such fondness for who we were and still are. I’ll admit, even though this was early on in our relationship (before we probably even called it a relationship) I think it made him love me a little bit. So, while I sometimes hate this face space world we have created, when I get annoyed at the town criers, over sharers or self promoters (yes, I’m guilty of that one) … I find treasures like this and realize we are now creating a virtual time capsule of our lives. Years from now, we may look back and be so so glad we have these memories to share.

happy thoughts…

If you want to see candlepin bowling in action, Brad took his Flip and you can see a few clips of it in his vacation video.

I also uploaded some photos of my walk along the freedom trail to my facebook page. Up next for the blog will be photos of my absolute favorite thing I did in Boston.

peace, love, and photography.
jen