Art Slam

Here is another vintage camera I received for Christmas. This one is in excellent condition. I have wanted one of these for a while.  I am on the hunt old film camera and lenses. This is one collection I am enjoying growing. Photography thrills me to pieces.

My mom gave me two vintage cameras for Christmas this year. She saw that I had started collecting last year and added two nice ones to my collection. I think my mom was more excited about getting the cameras at bargain prices or bidding on them. Either way, I am glad to have them.

This is my third year participating in Capture Cincinnati and this proved to be a good year indeed. Five of my images were published and I could not be more thrilled about that.

I downloaded Photoshop Mobile to my iPhone a few months ago. Well, since I decided to do the daily portrait thing, I did not exactly prepare by bringing my camera with me…but, I have a camera phone and mobile Photoshop. Ha!!

It will be interesting to see what I shoot over the course of the next few weeks.

In the past week, I have been asked to shoot photographs for a family, a wedding and a church group. I do not see this sudden interest in my shooting skills as a coincidence. I don’t believe in coincidences.

I love photography. For as much as I love it, I have gotten away from doing it daily. Each year, many photogs join one of the many 365 day groups on Flickr and shoot a daily portrait. I have started this process twice and have not managed to make it past day 33. It is one heck of a commitment to shoot yourself every single day.

But…I am going to do it. Make the commitment and find a way to do it. Instead of going for the whole 365 days, I am going to do it a month at a time. Just like I did this daily blog posting for a month. And, I am not going to start it in January. I am thinking of starting December 1st. Reason being, it is my birth month, one of the holiest times of the year and I love the festiveness of the month. That is three positives I can go back to if I find myself struggling to shoot a daily. So, here is to my new monthly creative commitment. Wish me luck and do let me know if you will be joining along.

As far as reordering my steps, I am in prayer about that. And, I am wondering and listening (God tends to speak to me in whispers) for signs that these photography requests are part of that reordering process.

Patience is something I always thought I had a pretty good handle on, but lately, I am beginning to wonder if this has changed for me. I feel like I am having to learn all over again how and what it really means to be patient. Ultimately, having patience means you trust that forces outside of yourself are at work and everything does not happen on your specific timeline. Being patient, in essence is trusting what you can not see. At least for me, this is what I am learning about patience.

I am also learning to let go of self-induced anxiety and mental fear scenerios. I have said before that fear is simple false experiences appearing real. Fear is feeding ground for an out of control ego. My ego has been very cooperative lately, almost protective. I am noticing myself residing in Witness and Nothingness. In these places, I am learning the lesson of patience and there is comfort in that. There is comfort in letting go and letting God.

Busy living and doing with the family this weekend. Loving this quote lately, “Reach high, for stars lie hidden in your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.”

It is my hope you all are having a great day and spending it with friends and family in thanks for all of your blessings. Today, I am thankful for prayers being answered, my faith being strengthened, my husband and my children and all of my extended family and friends. Truly, I am blessed.

A fight is not won by one punch or kick. Either learn to endure or hire a bodyguard. ~Bruce Lee

This week, I will share some of my favorite self-portraits. This one I have not seen in a while and it was not initially one I would have selected because it is not perfectly sharp where I wanted it to be. Looking at it now, I love it. Softly focused is my new friend.

This picture speaks volumes without a single word.