Making The Jump... Here Comes 2014

Scaling Tiffany Falls

This will be my final post till 2014. And today's images (which you can view full screen if you click on one), taken at Hamilton's Tiffany Falls, just got me thinking about whether I'm ready for the new challenges ahead. And the new adventures that always wind up in your lap when you least expect them.

The Descent Begins

Not knowing what lies ahead for another new year, makes me realize I should accept now that everything continues to be a learning experience. And that lessons I learned this year should not be forgotten. They're the foundation for how I approach the next challenge, the next failure, the next part of the journey God chooses to take me on.That's the difference between placing value on your past, or wallowing in it.

Smooth Ride Down

 So, ready to make the jump to 2014? I am! Let's see where it takes us! 
And not to race ahead too much, I'm ready for Christmas to arrive next week. To gather with a ton of family and friends, to eat some serious food until the thought makes me sick, to shower my kids and hubby with tokens of how much I cherish them through the year, around the tree, carols on the stereo, never leaving our pj's until absolutely necessary!

Successful Arrival

So, to all my friends, my wonderful clients, my family, and talented photogs... I wish you the very best of the season, and may blessing and adventure find you in 2014!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Makin' Plans

Leaving Cottrells Cove...

Newfoundland, Canada

With some of my free time last week, I worked on this image from my first trip to Newfoundland. It was in the "possibilities" folder. Meaning I had some significant work to do on it before I'd be happy posting it anywhere but the vantage point was interesting to me, and I loved the golden shoreline against the blue. It had definite possibilities.

Then I got to thinking about other possibilities I now have time for. 2014 is steadily approaching, and I'm thinking about travel again. Do I go back to the east coast? Do I head out west? I have a road trip stuck in my head now that revolves around the Muskoka area and the ol' Nikon in summer or fall... so many possibilities abound. All require money of course, and some planning but what I want to include in whatever trip I may take this year will be the opportunity to meet up with some of my photography buddies... you're all such wonderful people, I need to start meeting more of you!

Anyway... that's what this photo got me thinking about... traveling and visiting, and coming back home with great memories and photographs to share. 
Does it get any better than that?

Don't Need A Do Over: The Benefit of Moving On.

In a Land Far Away... Central Newfoundland

Ever make a really hard choice, then realize after you do, that it was the most fantastic thing you've done for yourself in a long time?
And it wasn't a matter of being a quitter, or a failure, or a lazy good-for-nothing. But more like the blinders came off, and for the first time you could see all the chaos, all the unwanted clutter and stress, and how it all really wasn't a good fit from the start?

I've decided to, (brace yourselves), move on from the business of photography. This does not mean I'm stepping away from photography itself, because I love working with a camera, I love exploring, I love producing prints... it means I am no longer going to exhaust myself trying to maintain it as a business. You'll notice I didn't say I was "giving up"... because if my 5 years of determined struggling is any indication, I do not fall into the "quitter" category! Rather, I am aiming for something better, for me personally. Something stripped down, creatively productive, and less intense. 

And it feels right. I'm no longer fighting insomnia. I have time to be a wife again. I have time to invest in others. I'm exercising. It's time to invest in the other parts of me that the insanity of a business blocked me from. And I was trying all the things experts said would succeed, believe me. But sometimes it's just not meant to be. When I look back, even in the last year, I spent too much time thinking I had to be the next Jasmine Star/David DuChemin/Ansel Adams combined. It was what everyone around me was doing, and it was what well meaning fans and friends assumed I could easily pull off just cause I can take a good photo. I tried, and tried, and tried some more! Instead I was resenting the camera, which before brought me joy, and I was avoiding clients, ironic since I'm truly a "people person." And the more I thought about it, the more I realized, "I don't need a do-over! What I need is to move on." 

I've been spending the last while quietly phasing it all out, down to where it's just myself, my images, and a few online communities where I can simply grow as an artist, including getting back to blogging. Will I still do the odd shoot for friends?... if they ask. Will I be opposed to selling the odd print? Never... it'd be a thrill. I still have a few clients to finish the odd project for, I'm not bailing on them either. And I will continue to ramble, gosh darn it! It's just not going to be the giant desperate shadow following me around, threatening to overpower me if I don't look productive, feel competitive, or try to beat the trends before they happen. I'm going to do photography for me.

What will you see on the blog?... real life. Big images and simple snap shots. I do have a personal project or two under wraps. And we'll see what happens. With the pressure off, the joy has returned, new experiences await, and I'm free to expand into new territory that was once just a day dream... that's the benefit of moving on.

I'm done with do-overs. Let's move forward.

Would love to hear your stories of when the decision to move forward was the right one and how you felt... let's get some replies up here!

Have a good one gang, and thanks for the ramble...

Photographs of Christmas Past

So, I thought my blog was gone forever! Did you know that? I did. A little while ago I terminated my original website as I was figuring out what direction I'm personally going in with my photography. Needless to say, I couldn't find my blog when that happened.
When I realized all it took was going into blogger and switching back to the blogger hosted domain, I gave myself a smack upside the ol' noggin and promptly adjusted the blog to be my main online presence for the moment along with flickr and Facebook.

To celebrate my recovery of my own blog (I know, you're all shaking your heads right now) I thought I'd post something cheery and Christmas-like! 
Click on the first image to view them at full size! Enjoy!

To all my readers and friends, no matter what you celebrate at this time of the year, I wish you love, and joy, and peace!

It's good to be back!