{Day 1} Project 365

Today is the start of my 365 day challenge I am dropping on myself inspired by Tasra Mar. We'll see how this photo + inspiration behind it every day challenge goes. I vow to do my best not to slack. I may not get the post up THAT day, especially when it comes to the weekends, but I MUST have a picture at the end of every day! I know I can at least accomplish that though it might be tough for me considering the fact I find it hard sometimes not to get bored with what I have to take pictures of being a stay-at-home mom with at the moment no car most of the time! It forces on great creativity which I think will be very good for me as well. At the end of the year I want to be a 300% better photographer than I am now just by playing with my camera and learning new things EVERY day!

Sometimes I wish I could remember what it was like to be a toddler again. To be learning everything anew; from the start. Your brain working at a million mph. Processing. Remembering. Trying to understand. To be innocent and not knowing what the world was really like yet. No problems or life decisions pressing down on your shoulders. No worries or responsibilities. Stopping at every leaf and rock, every flower and stalk of grass, to examine it with contemplation.

As I watched my twin 14 month old boys discovering today on their outdoor adventures, all caught up in their only lil' "baby world" I couldn't help but smile and want to give em' kisses. We could be more like a child as adults. Less brought down by the weight of our lives and the world and stopping more often to marvel of what is good in life. To "examine" and "contemplate" what we have to be thankful for and how blessed we are. The beauty of God's creation all around us! :)

Women Photographers Unleashed

WHEW man did I need to hear this! :P This article is SOOO me in so many ways! I hate it that people give me looks when I pull out my camera sometimes! ESPECIALLY when it is the family! I just put it back away and want to give up! This is a great article for all budding female photographers to read! We need it!

Post by Tasra Dawson @ Photo Focus

At my first photography convention, I hid my camera in my bag and absolutely refused to take it out in front of any professional photographers, which I assumed everyone was. I also assumed everyone I met was better, smarter, and more experienced. The number of opportunities I missed because of that faulty assumption are staggering, especially since I would repeat that behavior for many more conferences. In truth, many were better, smarter, and more experienced, but that didn’t mean I had to hide my passion and desire to learn.

It all boils down to one overriding emotion: FEAR. Fear has been a nemesis in many areas of my life, but perhaps none greater than my passion for photography. Fear kept me from taking a risk at my first photography conference to even claim the name “photographer” for myself, which meant missed opportunities for learning, mentoring, connection, and growth. Fear of failure and rejection made me put my camera down for over a year after a harsh and uninvited critique.

In my work with women and teen girls, as an author, coach, and teacher, I see this all the time. More recently, I saw it at the Pictage PartnerCon Conference in a For Women Only seminar I moderated. I started the meeting by asking each photographer to share her number one fear… the responses were heartbreakingly similar.

This pervasive fear of failure, rejection, and loss keeps some women from even claiming to be professional photographers. If they don’t make a certain amount of money or have the “right” amount of Twitter followers and Facebook friends, they minimize not only what they create with their camera, but their very selves. I believe many women photographers are bound by a fear that keeps them from ever truly reaching their potential.

That has to stop. It’s time for women photographers to step into the frame. The most recent photography conventions I’ve participated in are attended by at least 50% women. This is a dramatic shift from just ten and certainly twenty years ago. Women are gravitating to the profession of photography at a rapid pace, but when I look at the speaking rosters at many conferences, the reviews and articles in industry magazines, and interviews on photo podcasts, I don’t see an equal representation. Why is that? Are women photographers being held back or holding themselves back?

The answer is probably both. But the one that is most easily impacted and changed is the latter. If we are holding ourselves back, then it’s time to work together and stop it. The first step is awareness and I’m working on that every day through my site at tasra mar | transform, speaking engagements for amazing companies like Pictage, and guest blogs on industry leading blogs like PhotoFocus. To really make a difference, you must get involved too!

Here are my top tips for becoming a fearless woman photographer…
(tips might work for men too!)

• Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses: Women see the world differently, that’s a good thing. Have the courage to take and share images that others aren’t taking. Different is good. Just be you behind the lens.
• Celebrate your successes, learn from your mistakes: Redefine what mistakes mean. They don’t equal failure. If you only compare your progress to where you were the day before, you’ll release yourself from pressure of competition.

• Find a community that encourages your development: You can go it alone, but the journey will be longer than it needs to be. Open yourself up to a community of fellow photographers who can encourage and provide valuable feedback.
• Clarify your purpose in photography: If your goal is fame and fortune, you will take a distinct path from the photographer who wants to express their personality through the art they create. Get clear on who you are.

Bottom line is that it’s time for women photographers to step into the frame. One small step at a time is all it takes.

I Heart Faces {Jump for Joy!}

So we have a "jump for joy" photo challenge this week at I Heart Faces...

I pulled a picture out from a couple years back that I taken of my lil' sis out on my families farm one afternoon after a rainstorm. Playing in the mud puddles is fun, what can you say! :)

Ryan & Jamie + 1-to-be!

I enjoyed getting to do a maternity session for a wonderful and fun couple this last Saturday. Their little girl is due in just a week and a half now! I can't wait to get to meet the beautiful angel when she arrives! :)

Amy Wenzel Workshop Giveaway! {I Heart Faces}

So, the amazing and inspirational Amy Wenzel is doing the most extraordinary giveaway at I Heart Faces this week and my heart is soring with excitement and .... hope?! :) To be able to tell my "photography story" and have a chance to have the privilege of possibly getting to attend her upcoming workshop is completely out of this world to me and would absolutely land me in paradise! It is something I would always want to do...have a fantasy of doing...and not at all be able to afford!!!!

I am a young 21 year old mom with an incredible husband and twin 1 year old boys that keep me constantly busy and, of course, constantly snapping pictures!Photography is something I LOVE doing on the side of being a stay-at-home mom! There is so much in life just waiting...begging....to be captured forever!

Growing up through my teen years, photography was a crazy passion of mine that I played around with and dreamed over. My family never could afford a "well-to-do" camera for me so I lived with my faithful, lil', VERY well used, Cannon point and shoot that I would use to do "photo sessions" of anyone or anything that would "let" me! :) For my 17th birthday, my boyfriend (who is now my husband! ...and no it didn't have anything to do with the fact he took a dip out of his savings to make MY dream come true!!! :D lol) surprised and shocked the livin' daylights out of me with a Cannon Rebel XTI and that is when my photography began to blossom and get very excitedly "real" for me.

I do sometimes wish I could say that I had photography classes to list, degrees and big accomplishments to claim, but I don't. I have learned from reading, experimenting, getting my own experience, failing and trying again until I have gotten where I am today. I learn new things every photo shoot, every article I read, every inspirational photographer I meet and that is what I want to continue to do! To stay a constant learner. To constantly better myself at photography AND at being a photographer!

To get to capture other people's lives is a privilege, honor and a responsibility, in my eyes, that should not be taken lightly! To capture for them the best pictures to your ability that you are possibly capable of is very important to me. Who knows how or where your pictures will or may go and what impact they might make! The desire to learn more, know more, is always flaming inside of me and getting to attend this workshop would better me, challenge me, and give me a confidence booster that I know is what I really need! I wanna shoot to the stars!!! :D

I do want to spend the rest of my life capturing creative, always changing life around me and my kids' every move as they grow. I want to be able to look back on beautifully captured memories and moments that I would have else wise forgotten and I want to be able to do the same for everyone else I meet!