It all started about six and a half years ago. I was in the midst of changing my lifestyle. I went from being a burger and pizza girl to being a crazy runner and health fanatic (I miss her!). I was confident and in charge. I knew what I was doing and where I was going. Then I met Chris. It. All. Changed.
He was fun, silly, humorous and made me laugh. We started spending a lot of time together very quickly. He loved taking photos at his old high school and used *gasp* a camera that actually held a floppy disk! He was on the cutting edge of photography when he got that camera. I always liked playing with cameras and taking photos, but I never had the money to pay to get film developed. The throw-away cameras I brought to college still sat there begging to be developed. A girl in college, working three jobs, did not have the time nor the extra dollars to pay for some silly photos she took for fun! Come on, Shoprite charged a lot, y'all.
So, I silently observed and enjoyed having my photo taken. I was losing weight, feeling awesome and buying new clothes. Who doesn't love clothes? I think I'm even more obsessed with shoes that look cute, but are horribly uncomfortable. We enjoyed taking silly photos and having fun with his camera. A year later, he bought me something special. A Sony DSCP-200. Point, shoot, perfect! I took that baby everywhere with me. I used it liked crazy and my hard-drive is full of proof. I barely deleted a photo and shot to my hearts content. I could take pictures, look at them instantly, upload them, share, print, and no film developing! Freakin' ah-maze-ing!
When we finally got married (because we knew that was coming when we met!) I took that Sony with me on our honeymoon. I took so many awesome photos. Chris no longer was the photographer in our budding family, he sat back and let me do all the shooting. He had his own camera, but I don't think, even to this day, it's seen much action. Since our honeymoon, I was fascinating with photography. It was inexpensive, I could play and not worry about those over-under-exposed shots. I absolutely hated picking up pictures from the store to find half of them were all black with a spec of color!
When we came home, I decided to upgrade to a DSLR at the encouragement of my new husband. The idea of changing lenses became a fascination with me. Then.... I started... the 365 day project. In short, you take a self-portrait of yourself every day for a year. You, and only you, can be in the picture and take the picture at the same time. When I started, sure I could hold the camera out and snap my face or hand, but I wanted something more.
I joined some flickr groups to get started with creative ideas and see what other "365-ers" were up to. The challenges they create are so awesome, I just can't explain. Through this project I pushed my limits and explored buttons, knobs and parts of my camera I was fearful of. Yes, I was absolutely fearful of those letters, Tv/Av/M... ahh... MANUAL?! No way, not me, no how!
Some challenges they wanted me in a tree, under a house, driving a car, in the dark, in the sun, bokeh all around, dumping eggs on my head, hiding from the boogey man and getting Bambi to growl! Okay, that last one I chose for fun, because she is soooo scary! She is, chewed up two of my fingers, but I adopted her and I love her. Spent some time in training boot camp together and we're pals for life. (She's my chihuahua).
Through this project I explored my creative side. Family and friends were supportive, if not freaked out by such images like this and this. I only made it 156 days, tried two times to start again with no success. What I learned though was amazing and I was encouraged by many to start my own business. Little did I know what I was in for (fascinating people and busy weekends)!
I'm still learning to this day and have been shooting less for myself and more for others. I've got a lot of big ideas in store for the new year, but I'm impatient. I've been working to re-design my website a little to make my clients experience easier and visually appealing. The top of this blog is a sample of what is to come, but I'm most looking forward to launching my new logo, designed by that sly husband of mine! Okay, I'm sneaking it in very lightly on the photo below... don't tell him!
So, in the end, I blame Chris. I blame Chris for getting me out of the box I started to put myself in and for helping me realize true happiness in this life. When we met, I was out of the box, enjoying life and exploring. Slowly, I returned to my old shy, nervous, scared self and started to hide in the corner while life kept on going. Through photography, I've been able to get out there, meet people, learn new things and be creative. Being a librarian is wonderful, especially working with teens, but I am creative at my core and this is how I can express that need, desire, wish... psychosis.
He also got me started in blogging... but that's a post for another day!
Every post is naked without a photo...this is my man :) He probably will tell me he hates this photo :P
Blame Chris!
