Only one more day left 'til this year reaches an end and I, like many, find
myself contemplating the coming year.
I vacillate between feelings of utter excitement and sheer panic: There’s so much to do, where do I
start? There are so many
possibilities, isn’t life AMAZING!
How might I better myself, and the lives of those around me? Will I be able to effectively manage
being a wife, mother, and businesswoman?
Although the myriad of thoughts causes me simultaneous joy and fear, I
do believe that the process of deciding on long-term goals a necessary and
fulfilling one. I also believe
that it presents us ideas about smaller changes that might act as the stepping-stones
to the bigger stuff.
One of my goals for this coming year is to spend a little
more time each day ‘living in joy’.
I think I already sincerely enjoy moments in my day, but I think I could
spend more time ‘there’. Between
one child in kindergarten, one in Grade 1, their extra-curricular activities,
playdates, groceries, housecleaning, friends, family, marriage, working out, Bella
Faccia, and my own yearning to learn more about my art and myself…geesh, the
days fill up and, it seemed, there wasn’t much time to quietly be present in
the moment...or maybe there was and is (this is a revelation I seem to have
often but haven’t been able to fully integrate into my everyday!)
Over this past year I’ve been aware of (and inspired by) a
number of people doing 365 projects…the projects I know about involve
photography, whereby the person commits to taking and posting an image
everyday. Ian McKenzie, whom I met
on a photography workshop, was the first person that I actively followed (he’s
one helluva photog who posted pics from urban and rural settings, landscapes,
architectural shots and portraits on his quest for a daily shot). I follow another photographer’s blog,
Richard Radstone (an instructor over at PPSOP), who took the idea up a notch (or
three!) and has set out to photograph AND interview one STRANGER everyday –
WOW! Darwin Wiggett and Samantha
Chrysanthou embarked on a year long project entitled “Fabulous Film Fridays”
that I’ve really enjoyed (if you don’t already own a Holga you’ll want to after
viewing their work!) Another
photographer, acclaimed artist Dewitt Jones, posts an image everyday with his
tag line “Celebrate what’s right with the world!” I don’t believe Dewitt has any set resolution; rather he
simply enjoys sharing beauty, and a majority of the images he posts on Facebook
were captured with his iPhone 4S.
I was recently gifted an iPhone 4S and I have been LOVING
having a camera along all the time (I don’t typically walk around with my full
frame 5D Mark II but I almost always have my phone with me!) In addition, there are a bunch of fun
apps made specifically for taking, editing, and sharing the imagery captured
with the phone’s camera. I found
myself playing around and posting photos as I went (mostly in an effort to
understand how this new technology works!). A friend sent me a note a week or two back saying that she
wouldn’t object to me posting an image everyday and it occurred to me that a
365 project might be kind of fun!
But then I started to worry, “what if I can’t fit in a picture everyday?” And then I thought, “who cares!”
Over these past few weeks I’ve used my iPhone to create portraits of my kids and dogs, I’ve captured spectacular Alberta skies, I’ve snapped a few while making dinner (thank goodness for a patient husband and good-natured friends!), and even took one while at a red light one day! Each time I created an image I felt inspired, renewed, and even, yes, joyful…joyful because I love making pictures! When I’m working I feel a lot of joy; however it is, necessarily, tinged with the pressure of producing a portrait that, hopefully, captures my client’s true self – and, during my work, there is often an expensive full frame camera, studio lights, modifiers, wireless triggers, and people waiting for spectacular results. When I’m taking pictures on my own time, and with any ol’ camera I choose, with no rules about what, who, or where, it is a totally freeing experience – I would say that, for me, it’s quasi meditative.
I am excited about this small step I am taking toward a
larger vision of increasing the joy in my life. I hope that you too might find a little project that brings
you daily joy – a new recipe a day if you love to cook, perhaps a ‘12 project’
where you read the top 12 books you’ve always wanted to read but never got
around to, or anything that will have you joyfully looking forward to your daily ‘meditative moment’ in this chaotic lifestyle we lead.
I wish you a new year filled with JOY and the awareness that
we sometimes (perhaps often) need to schedule it in!
Happy New Year!
Life is great!
Lori
* All photos included in this post were taken by me with the iPhone 4S using Instagram, Camera+, Snapseed, and sometimes both Camera+ and Snapseed!
~You may view Ian McKenzie’s work at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tubaism/
~Richard Radtsone’s blog is over at http://richardradstoneblog.com/
~Darwin Wiggett and Samantha Chrysanthou just wrapped up
their Fabulous Film Fridays and are now embarking on their new project…you can see
their work, purchase their e-books, find out about their photography workshops,
AND be inspired to live a life that’s a little lighter on our planet, over at http://oopoomoo.com/
~Dewitt Jones website is http://www.dewittjones.com/
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