Pinch Me, I'm Dreaming

A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to attend Camp Shutter Sisters, a gathering of 70+ women all bonded by a passion for photography. Most had formed previous relationships through the website of Shutter Sisters, and participation in online photography classes led by the talented Tracey Clark...and were now finally meeting in person for a photography inspired extravaganza. Women from different corners of the world, from every part of the US, Canada, England, and beyond, everyone of different ages, with different hairstyles, accents, camera gear all united in one place. To say it felt surreal is an understatement!

Spanning over 3 days, it was hard to believe I wasn't dreaming. Starting with recognizing familiar faces and names of women who I had formed special online friendships with over the past few years. Moving on to admiring the homey little details so carefully placed around us from candles to blankets to vintage cameras, homemade banners and signs, welcome gifts and surprises. And every moment during those 3 days there was a story to be shared, a conversation to be had, a new friend to meet, a camera technique to learn, a bond of sisterhood to be formed. 

It sounds a little cheesy but being the youngest camper in attendance, I felt like a baby bird being nudged from the nest. I often need a little encouragement and this experience, these women, were just the push I needed. The level of acceptance and encouragement I felt was through the roof with everyone making me feel like the sky is the limit for both my photography and my life. You see, although I feel very mature for my age given my life experiences, I often lack a certain confidence. After too many occurrences of being stopped dead in my tracks when I am on a roll due to some type of health complication, I often face a bit of trepidation to step outside my comfort zone. But since I have been home I feel something changed within me...for good.

After being dragged home against my will, I wrote down every last detail that I never want to forget, as well as all the dreams and ideas that were sparked. It has taken me this long to share my experiences because every time I tried, nothing I said or wrote seemed to accurately depict the feeling of sisterhood we all shared. The feeling of lifelong friendships being formed. The feeling that we were all meant to be there at that time. The feeling that we were all a part of something bigger than us. The feeling that anything was possible, that we could go out and follow our dreams and give ourselves permission to do so. The feeling that we could wish for anything, and leave behind our fears. It was like we were in a little bubble of love and support, filled with women all so different yet so the same. 

That being said, let me give you a little glimpse into those few days...

Lindsey and I made the best of the 7 hour drive, filled with camp excitement, life stories, and photography talk.

We finally arrived at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove... "A Refuge by the Sea."

We were welcomed in style with a beautiful care package...

...and with fun, colorful decorations.

We roamed the grounds in the early mornings...

...and explored late at night.

We had late night visitors...

...and beautiful early morning light.

Warm cups, full plates, and plenty of treats were enjoyed in the upscale camp style 'mess hall'.

We were surrounded by inspirational words and sayings...

...and heard wonderful quotes and poems.

We printed our photos and inspired each other...

...and acted silly and shared laughs together.

With rustic lodging, campfires and s'mores,

...it sure did have that cozy camp vibe.

We explored the beach...

...even with the heavy fog.

We played with the enchanting Lens Baby...

and admired it's dreamy feel.

We took workshops with the masters about light, self portraits, polaroids, editing software...

 ...finding your niche, iphoneography, composition, macro, & more.

 I could fill an entire post just with photos of my new friends!

Can't wait for next year!

Liberate Your Art!!

I recently participated in an incredible project called the Liberate your Art Postcard Swap organized by Kat Sloma. In exchange for 5 postcards that I created, I would receive 5 in return from participants all over the world! There were no rules for the postcards, it could be a collage, drawing, photograph...anything! You can read more about the actual sending process here.

When all was said and done, there were 175 participants, from 13 countries and 37 U.S. states - how cool is that? I had a very hard time choosing which photos to send & unfortunately I did not take a picture of which I sent. But I am hoping I will find out who received mine! They came one by one, and it was so exciting to check the mail everyday. Let me show you what I got:

::Postcard #1 - Marji in Seattle, Washington::

What a beauty, and it looks like something I might take doesn't it? She is going to school to study encaustic art & photography, and her Flickr name is RainCityGirl. Does this sound like someone I would be friends with or what? We even follow a lot of the same blogs so I am surprised we have never crossed paths. P.S. Marji - I LOVE Seattle, almost went to UW, love the rain and art & photography are kinda my passion. Yep! ♥ Thanks for the beautiful postcard I love it! Please visit her blog Sun Breaks in the Forecast and say hello, I know I will!

::Postcard #2 - Rosa in Scotland::

Isn't this postcard wonderful? Rosa grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and has also lived in Toronto, Canada, Hong Kong, & vacations in Scottland/UK. Wow! I think it is so amazing to connect through art to someone half-way around the world! On her postcard was written:

"Don't compromise yourself. You are all you've got." - Janis Joplin

What a powerful and inspiring quote, especially from one artist to another. And this is just how her website, Simple Mansion is...nothing but inspiration, encouragement, and positive thinking. Her one of a kind work of art is so unique and her creativity just shines through. Thank you for sharing your art with me Rosa!♥

::Postcard #3 - Ann in Kent, England::

Her blog, Poetic Mapping: Walking into Art combines her 4 passions of writing, art, walking and music. This beautiful postcard has a fascinating story behind it, you must read about it here! Not only is she an incredible artist but she is striving to save to the world. That is lofty & trite expression, yes, but visit her blog and see what I mean. This quote she posted says it all:

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single

moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank

Ann you are an inspiration and I am so happy have been introduced to you and your blog! Thank you for the postcard.♥

::Postcard #4 - Clara in Pennsylvania::

The 4th is a treasure from the opposite side of the country. Like me, her blog started as a place to document her life (she has 2 boys) to share with family, then it turned into a place to share her passion for photography. This photo is of the Statue of Chief Justice John Marhsall she took during a World Wide photo walk. That sounds amazing - sign me up! She said although it was 99 degrees, it was a blast. She included this powerful quote on the postcard:

"To listen well is as powerful a means of communication

and influence as to talk well." - John Marshall

Visit her blog: I Miei Due Bambini. Thanks Clara!♥

::Postcard #5 - Colorado Springs, Colorado::

Unfortunately, the location is all I know! She has a website but it says she has retired. Written on the back is "The Mysterious Series" - pretty fitting yes? I believe her name is Angela but I am not positive. Whoever you are, thank you for the beautiful postcard! ♥

::Postcard #6 - Bonus from Kat in Oregon

Look at that blue - so beautiful!! You can check out all her photos at her blog: The Kat Eye View of the World. Thanks for all the hard work Kat! ♥

This was such a joyous project to be a part of. I love to see how different everyone's style of art is, how every postcard was from a different part of the world, the different styles of handwriting, and what message they chose to impart. It was such a wonderful way to connect with other people who I otherwise would have never met! There will be a 2012 edition that I will most definitely not miss!

Sweet Escape

There is nothing quite like a quick getaway to clear your mind, and make room for new inspiration, new ideas, new paths. A spring cleaning of sorts. Sometimes I feel bogged down in the day to day, and need a little refresh.

While in the desert visiting my grandma, I had the opportunity to meet up with friends I met through the blogging and photography world. Incredibly inspirational and talented, I felt I had known these women forever.

Sharing a passion can spark a lifelong friendship in an instant, and I feel like a passion shared is a passion that grows. I get excited when I meet others who love photography as much as I do, share my desire to seek beauty through my lens, and go to great lengths to get that perfect photo. It deepens my love for all things photography.

Great food, great friends, great conversation, great photo ops, great time. This mini overnight vacation was just what I needed to clear out the dust and get back into the swing of things. Have you had any sweet escapes lately?

Coffee Date-1.11.11

This photo is from yesterday's 10 on 10. If you aren't familiar with this, the concept is to take 10 photos on the 10th of the month...1 photo every hour for 10 consecutive hours. You can see the rest of my pictures on the previous post. It is so fun to find beauty in the everyday. Today is 1/11/11! Kind of cool. I am joining Amy for a coffee date today. If we were really meeting for coffee today, I would have a lot to tell you!!

On Saturday, I had a reunion with two of my college roommates. After the dorms I moved into an apartment with 3 other girlfriends, Kasey, April, and Kelly. We had a great time living together, and hadn't seen them in almost 2 years at another friend's wedding. Kelly is still living in Long Beach, but Kasey and April are local and we met up for dinner and a long needed catch up.

{Kasey, me, April - 2010}

{2007}

Last year I started something called Project 365...posting 1 photo every day for 365 days. I started it in July and was successful in posting every day, but at the end of 2010 I decided I wanted to start a new one for 2011, just to have it run from Jan 1 - Dec 31. You can see both projects on the tab above called "Project 365."

Sunday was a special day as well. I went to a volunteer orientation for a nonprofit organization called Art 4 Healing. They do art as a form of therapy with kids and adults suffering from trauma such as loss, disease, stress, etc. I hope to work with the cancer patients at the Children's Hospital...something very close to my heart. When I was in the hospital, I had a wonderful Child Life Specialist who provided endless projects, arts & crafts, and other activities that kept my mind off the current situation I was in. I am starting to realize more and more that maybe working with pediatric cancer patients is something I want to do, whether as a career or being involved in volunteer work. I went through that experience, may as well use it toward helping others in the same situation. At the orientation we did a mini painting workshop, this was mine:

So far this year has been great. Staying optimistic. Attempting to get the ball rolling on my next steps in life. I have already seen long lost friends, been participating in Tracey Clark's Picture Winter class (see my photos here), and taken lots of photos with my new camera. It always feels good to have a new fresh start. So...what's new with you?

It's Coffee, It's Coffee Time!!

It's Tuesday, so that means, it's time for our weekly coffee date. I'm Joining Amy over at Lucky Number 13 for coffee as well. For some reason when I was thinking the topics I would like to chat about today, I starting singing "It's coffee, it's coffee time!" to the sound of the Flight of the Conchord's Business Time song. You can hear it here, I think it is so hilarious!

So..."It's coffee, it's coffee time!!" Or in my case, it's TEA time, but singing that sounds ultra lame. I am drinking apricot tea and enjoying toast with cranberry-apple butter. Both were gifts from my dear friend Georgia as a part of the "Autumn Blog Swap" package I received from her the week before. It was so much fun to take part in, if you want to read about what I sent to my partner, go here. From Georgia I received Apricot and Passion Fruit tea, a mini pumpkin, baking cups & sprinkles, a milky way, a pumpkin-spice candle and the delicious cranberry-apple butter. I have only tried it on wheat toast, but I am anxious to try it in other ways...mixed into oatmeal, on vanilla ice cream, spread on a cookie...any other ideas?

So how are you this week? How was your weekend? The weather has been really nice the last few days...very warm, in the 80's, but the mornings are still crisp and cool. Kind of a fall-summer hybrid. Let's sit outside. It's already 72 in the backyard, and while we wrap our fingers around our warm drinks we could watch the cute little birds flitting about in the grass and eating the figs, and Smokey, the next door neighbor cat is up on the rafters above us. She may look sweet but be careful, she is kind of an evil cat.

If we were having coffee this morning I would tell you about my weekend. My crazy busy, fun, special weekend. Friday was my birthday. A beautiful day, I woke up to this moon outside my window.

The day was filled with lunch at the pier with Emily, Andrea, and aunt Lori (not pictured)...

...I painted a cupcake-shaped dessert plate at Fired Up, the local paint-your-own ceramics studio, came home to a box of 12 assorted chocolate-covered strawberries sent by my wonderful boyfriend...

...and dinner with Brent and friends at the Cellar, a wine bar in downtown San Clemente. Fabulous food, wine, and company.

Saturday we had plans to go the USC homecoming game. Brent goes every year, but I have never been to the USC campus or the stadium.

It was such a cool experience, going to SFSU I never got the chance to go to big sports events like that. I felt like I actually belonged. I was wearing a cute USC t-shirt and red hoodie, and no one could tell I am a newbie to the team. The school spirit is incredible, even the little kids were rockin' it! USC lost unfortunately, but it was a fun day, just long, long, long! I loved that the USC colors are sort of fall-ish :) (I would)

Sunday, Halloween, we drove down to my dad's house. He barbecued ribs and chicken and baked a cake for my birthday. It was fun to spend time with him and the food of course was great! The cake on the left is one aunt Lori baked for me...a Jack O'Lantern cake, and on the right is my dad's traditional chocolate with buttercream frosting. Notice how they did the 23 differently?

I just completed a photo scavenger hunt for the month of October. I posted the photos I submitted here, and it was tough and a lot more work than I expected! But a fun challenge. Some of the photos I have posted before, but not all. One of the hardest was the self-portrait, I do NOT like photos of just me. I almost chose a different one, but last minute changed my mind. For the Fall tradition photo, I almost went with a pumpkin carving one, but switched it to my birthday. The tilt-shift photography is a way of putting only a portion of the photo in focus and blurring out the rest, to make it look like a miniature model.

If we were sitting outside, commenting on the weather, I would remember to tell you...you know the benefit I attended last weekend for PCRF (Pediatric Research Foundation)? We found out that the total amount raised for research was $198,00o. Isn't that amazing!! It was so great to be a part of, and Brent and I both plan to get more involved with the organization.

I cannot believe how fast October went, and to tell you the truth, it is a little bittersweet. October is my favorite month...the beginning of fall, my birthday, pumpkin-related festivities, Halloween and all things related...but November is great too. Today is a big day. November 2. My wonderful & amazing mom's birthday, Dia de los Muertos (I don't celebrate, just note it), and election day!

Thanks again for joining me today, happy November 2nd to you!