October - Personal 10

Its October and wedding season is coming to an end, and while it has been one of the most rewarding, tiring, emotional, whirlwind there will be one thing I don't miss; the comparison game.  Every Sunday as I uploaded my images onto Instagram, dozens of other photographers did the same, and honestly it has been exhausting.  At first I thought it would be inspiring, seeing everyones perfectly crafted couples, but it all started to feel similar.  Everyone just racing for the most likes out of their square.  

Then I took The Art of the Unexpected through The Define School and it was exactly what I needed.  Studying historically influential artists and truly moving art, I was reminded to quit creating for others, wrestle up against tough and challenging artistic concepts, and create something that moves my heart.  

And the mood of the fall season has completely enveloped me; moody color palettes, wind blown leaves, and cozy evenings spent sipping warm drinks.  Creating impressions of fall has been a breath of fresh air.   My grainy picture of coffee cups and house plants may not generate as much attention as a perfectly crafted latte, and maybe these abstract leaf images don't cause you to pause and spend time with them as they do for me.  But it doesn't matter, because these images were created from a place where I was free.    

My June

My June was the perfect cup of coffee;

A spontaneous mug, the more character the better!   

A dark and standard brew, forget the fussy stuff.  I will add a scoop of hot chocolate mix and call it a mocha.  

Then add water; a lake to dip my feet in and the sun on my skin. 

Toss in some light conversation and moments of silence shared together while sipping away. 

My May

There is something about spring that always brings a fresh perspective.  As the trees bloom, I can't help but reflect what is blooming in my own life.  Kicking off the wedding season, dreaming up what 2016 might hold, discovering a personal project that is filling my cup to the very brim and taking a course called Family Tapestry, which dives into what it looks like to bring family into the creative process.  Learning to hold that space where I let go of control and just embrace the process, even if the result isn't what you imagined.  The result this month is the most lovely of fragments to hold and keep, and I am just gushing over these spring treasures!

Detail from my first wedding of the year, early this month.  

I have had a small obsession with the breathtakingly beautiful and short-lived floral of spring in MN.  Nothing like a change of color to spark new inspiration.

No Words.  This is my favorite picture of all time. 

The lake.  Maybe it is a Minnesota thing, but every home, every sacred place, every deeply embedded sense of belonging is marked by a body of water.  

The lake, and some playing around with nighttime photography. 

Getting myself in images more and more.  Not because I just love posting pictures of myself.  It is actually the opposite, it is hard.  But how can I ask someone else to strip down to the heart of themselves in front of my lens if I don't know how that vulnerability feels.