Lisa E. Photography ... the blog: clear my head

Showing posts with label clear my head. Show all posts

Monday, July 18, 2011

Where is my inspiration....

So, I took a little break and tried to clear my head. I tried to reconnect with some friends and family that have slipped a little out of reach since our massive move. I cleaned, which tends to be good for my soul. I took long walks on the beach and I spent hours just sitting and playing with my daughter. And still I can't find it. Still, it feels empty.

I feel whole when I have purpose and direction and when people need me. I feel whole when i give in to the free spirited, wanderer in my soul. I feel whole after a hard, productive day at work. I feel whole while being creative. The utilitarian in me gets bent out of shape a bit when the pleasure seeker in me tries to triumph. The creative, free spirited side of me gets bent out of shape when everything becomes so utilitarian. This yin and yang, this balancing act is something I have become painfully aware of only in recent years. This seemed a much more natural process, something that worked it self out in the past. These days it is a much more conscious effort to maintain the balance of the necessary things and the things that are just plain good for the soul.

So, I have begun to list things that really make the very core of me tremble with joy and put my soul at ease
.
Here is the beginning of what is shaping up to be a long, long list:

The Ocean

Sunshine

Friends and Family, this little girl

Singing, Nature

and

.... wait for it ...

Photography.

I am so inspired daily by all of the beauty around me that I am happy as a clam behind that lens, shooting life away, capturing every moment and holding on to it dearly so as to never forget. Not one single moment. And then it hit me. All at once. Inspiration. There it is. There it has been all along. In the little daily things that make my heart sing. It is this that makes me who I am, this walking contradiction, this tigh-rope blanancing act of a practical modern day gypsy. Someone I am proud of being. I don't need to look so hard for the things that are right in front of me, always there, steady and constant and beautiful. This is my inspiration.

Monday, June 27, 2011

day fourty four....

I've skipped a few days. I have been making this such a chore and a commitment that I have already begun to see this part of it as work - already losing site of why I am here in the first place. The words have gotten less and less inspired and I have been letting the frustration of the lack of take off get to me more than I should. So, as promised in the beginning there would be changes, here they come. From now on I will not be doing daily posts. It has made this too much of a chore, versus a labor of love. Most of the posts don't really have any substance or any personality behind them. I feel very few of them really tell anything about who I am or what I am trying to do beyond the cut and dry explanation of it all. I hope to just get one post a week that is meaningful. Also, This will be taking a little more of a personal tone instead of being simply about the photo side of things. One thing that I learned from the contest (I did not win) is that anyone can sit and talk about black and white things like business success or not and stats of page visits and things but there is no human relate-ability aspect in that. The entry wanted links to your family blog and the photo you chose was to be featured on that blog with a link to the contest blog. I directed the judges to this blog, not my private family blog where it is all about us and the posts are much more heartfelt and inspired -- sorry guys but there are too many creepies out there, my family members and friends, almost all of whom are at a great distance from us, should not suffer because I can't trust the Internet at large. So, my family and friends have private viewership rights to the family blog. It isn't for the www to see. This is how I got to this place.... I couldn't put my finger on why I didn't feel good about entering the contest or why I don't like all of the "vote for me" and sponsorship messages from tons and tons of blogs out there and why my favorite blog is my favorite because the images and the words are inspired, inspiring and beautiful. It is obvious that the images and words come from the heart not a chore of a self imposed daily post in the hopes that it will help generate some happenings. Well, it is totally fine for some that is not who I am nor how I want my blog to be. This isn't about that for me and I can now say it felt wrong because it is wrong for me. It just doesn't fit. I am sure you could tell from the tone of the contest post that I wasn't exactly into the idea but I do think I need to start being more active and get out there a bit more so I tried something outside of my normal comfort zone. I chose wrong. The contest is great and wonderful and some great images came out of it and that's great. But it also is a lot about their readership, about their sponsorship, advertising, and their bid to get votes for other blog related contests. All things I really don't care about and don't intend to make this about. I am not saying it's wrong. This is obviously working for many blogs and there are plenty out there who the blog generates revenue for their families and businesses. I am not knocking that, that isn't the point. I am more so scolding myself for trying to fit into a place I knew I didn't fit all along. This blog is simply meant to be a venue, an outlet, to express my passion and creativity and to help my clients get to know me, my work, and my outlook a bit more. Thus far I am not sure I would be sending the right message on those accounts.....

So, things are changing a bit. 44 days into it I feel is long enough to know that this original direction isn't working very well. Sorry for the absence but it took a little time away to see that this needs to be something I enjoy. Starting today.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

day twenty nine....

"Serenity"
(unedited)
All rights reserved. Copyright 2011. Lisa E. Photography

Feeling the work week creeping up on me just around the corner and still feeling no better about clearing my head. Today is a day to get away a bit and try to relax. Off to Detroit Lake to do some thinking....

What a beautiful place with regenerative qualities. The only catch is it has some striking similarities to a favorite home town spot and it made me a bit home sick. Still good for the soul either way.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

day twenty eight...

What a great family fun day. Today was our first weekend trip downtown as a family and boy was it fun! There is so much going on and we had a blast!! The Saturday market, the Rose Festival, Fleet Week, Dragon Boat Races, all kinds of things going on. What a great time! And some great photo opportunities!

Friday, June 10, 2011

day twenty seven...

Another weekend approaches and not much to report. Still feeling the need to clear my head and just overall feeling a little stalled at the moment. There are a lot of large things looming in my life at the moment and I feel temporarily on hold. In many regards. The photo things feels on hold until the business cards come in and I can then launch some portfolio building specials. I have been working on building a portfolio of professional images worth selling on Etsy and that has been time consuming and the ever growing debate of to edit or not to edit and if so how much keeps coming around. It is the editing that is time consuming and the programs can be costly so it adds cost to the finished product, obviously. I think it is a debate I will most likely have for quite some time with myself and friends and family and hopefully someday with clients. In the mean time I am liking a lot of the unedited photos I have been taking lately. I think that editing make just about any image great and the goal is to understand lighting and angles etc so that little editing is required, right? Anyways, I will just keep on moving forward and keep trying and keep remembering that this is something that brings me such great joy and I need to have patience for that to turn into something successful.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

day twenty five....

Whoa, crazy day in the life of Lisa E. Think I need a little (or a lot) of self time and reflection. I find myself longing for Oak Creek and Sedona and just a place to clear my head. I am still looking for that place here, still too new to know where my safe harbour might be. It might be the coast, it might be the forest, it might be the city streets, it might be the mountains... tomorrow is a beach day I think. Just the little and I and the vast ocean. Yep... I think that sounds like a plan, tomorrow. Oh wait, it will have to be Friday because... on then Friday won't work because... maybe Saturday but then we'd miss the market... Sunday could work. Yeah, maybe Sunday. Until then....

Lisa E. Photography ... the blog