Anything is possible, while driving

So my husband and I have this thing. Every time we go on vacation, or drive fairly far away (and I find we actually do this quite often...) we find ourselves talking about "crazy" things we hope to one day accomplish or ideas we would love to live out. I say "crazy" bc, really, are they so crazy? Or are they just crazy because we've been taught to live safely, to not take unneeded risk, to be happy with what we have. And while I AM happy with what I have, and I don't really consider myself risky, and I am one to worry about everything, I am, by far, probably more than anything, 

a very big dreamer.

The "problem" with this? So is my husband. This causes my dreams to, at times, get even further out of control! That's why I think we have gotten this far in our relationship without killing each other though, especially during times of actually living out some of our "crazy" dreams- like finish the construction of a house (that contained only plywood and studs) by ourselves at the age of 20, both start our own business by the age of 25, and the countless DIY projects we have taken on,bc we secretly love it. 

With that being said, my latest road trip talk was taking my business to the next level this year. It consumed several hours of our trip to Savannah from Michigan. This talk was different though. This talk felt really in my grasp, and I was EXCITED, so so so excited about it.

I keep saying I'm really looking forward to this year, but it's here! We're living it! 2013 has begun and I feel like in a few short weeks I've kicked it into high gear. 

I'm READY!

Are you..........?

So,when do you dream? What's your "crazy" talk?

Make it not so crazy. Make it not just your dream.

Live your dream.

Today. 

90 and counting.

2012 was a beautiful year.

I turned my love and passion for photography into an official company-  A.J.B.C. Photography

My husband built me my own inspiration get away- what most call my studio.

And I learned MORE than I ever could have imagined about myself.

I also had the support of so many wonderful people- my family and my friends and my dedicated clients, who most now fall under 1 of those 2 categories :) I've had the pleasure of working with SO many great people! And I can honestly say I've had fun on every single one of them!

All 90 of them. 

Yep, that's right. 90.

In 2012 alone I had 90 sessions- which blows my mind.

I know it may not be a lot to some companies but knowing I started this business MYSELF and knowing I did the work alone, well, 90 seems like 2,000 (and believe me, some days it DID feel like that, rushing to meet deadlines, completing last minute orders, driving hours away to return hours later- yeah, I know, I know, I secretly love every minute of it!)

I wanted to post an image with this entry and I thought there was nothing more fitting than, literally, the last couple I photographed in 2012.

Do they know I photographed them on the beach, arm in arm, walking into the sun? No.

And I think that's what makes it even more beautiful for me- how ironic that fact is. 

Thank You, from the bottom of my heart, for an amazing year!

I couldn't be MORE excited about 2013!!

Here's to 180!

Take a part of this with you

   For the first time in, I cant even remember when, I set aside 2 weeks and labeled them as "vacation" on my calendar.

   The first week got away from me. We were supposed to take 16 long days and travel all the way out west, exploring mountains, indulging in artistic towns, and seeing new sites. Instead, my work load was too heavy and I spent that week trapped in my office playing catch up.  Really think about that. I sacrificed time with my husband, amongst gorgeous scenery to sit in a dark room and stare at a computer screen....

   That's not right. Plain and simple.

  Yes, it felt good to get caught up, work on some new things, and tie up those lose ends before vacation, but I never, ever wanted to turn into that person- where work was more important than LIFE. I love my job, it's my obsession, it's my addiction, it's what helps me express myself, and it pays the bills, but... it's still my job.

   Many people think working for yourself or out of your home is awesome, and most days it is, but also remember exactly that- my work is in my home, therefore, how can you ever get away from it!? There's no door to lock up and walk away from for the night, there's no answering machine that will keep people satisfied until I have time to get back with them and there is no one else to pick up my slack when I am sick, gone, or need a day to myself!

   So, with that being said, the 2nd week of vacation we decided on the good ole Smoky Mountains in Gatlinburg, Tennessee (again, for the 6th year in a row.) I can't even say I don't know what draws us there, bc I know EXACTLY what it is. It's not the mountains, even though those are exciting to explore, it's not the art, even though that always leaves me with a sense of inspiration, and it's not the southern cooking, even though that leaves us very happy at night. It's the fact that everything, and everyone there moves through life at a peaceful and slow pace that I envy and while we are there, we can pretend to live the same way for a few days.

   We can wake up in the morning and not rush out the door. We can drive through town, stop calmly at the red lights, and inch our way down the road as we look at the scenery. We can do what needs to be done during the day and get back to our room where we can lay in bed before sleeping and talk about the day, read a book, or watch t.v. Please, again, really think about that. Am I saying my life is SO busy that I can't even find the time to read a book at night before I go to sleep? Yep. That's what I said.

   Again, that's not right. What is there to life if you don't have enough time to slow down and do the things you love, even if it's for 30 mins? Ok, I know it's not the end of the world, but it was really starting to alter me. The number one reason why I fell in love with my husband is because he made me feel like it was ok to dream, to live, to explore, and to not worry so much about the "right way to live." Somewhere, in my busy life, I had lost that and I felt like this vacation was 9 days for me to get it back.

  Did you know that in Tennessee if it snows a foot, no one INSISTS that you still HAVE to come into work or the world will end, like in Michigan? That they obviously value life more than money.

   Did you know in the south it isn't uncommon for someone to leave a note on the door that reads "Closed for the day for my daughter's birthday" during regular business hours? They obviously cherish life's precious moments more than everyday hustle and bustle.

   Did you know in the mountains the weather doesn't always go as planned, the sun doesn't always shine when you need it to, and the animals don't come out so you can get a picture of them exactly when you pass by... There's a true sense that the world is much grander then you could every imagine there, definitely grander than you or I and our lives. I was glad to find that again.

   In short, we took a few days to shop, to hike, to sit by the river, to explore, to relax, to view art, and to appreciate the land the animals.

   The image to the right was from the aquarium, one of our rainy day trips. It's me with the jellyfish. I have never, ever seen a more beautiful site, almost to the point that they were hypnotic. To walk away from them was difficult. Animals that we viewed there were amazing and truly made me question what is real and make believe- they were unbelievable!

   The thing that I was most excited about though was to be able to sit, and stay sitting, long enough to create... It's something I do every day for my job, but with digital tools. It's so different when that creation comes out of you, made by your hands, as a true reflection of what you and only you are capable of, without any helpful tools.

   Amongst all this I made a pack with myself, to not lose this sense of life again, to take a little of the south with me when I returned back home. Promise myself, at 7:00, work is done! Those images that I was so close to finishing will have to wait until the next day, those people who text you at 10:00 at night on a Sunday will have to remember that I have scheduled weekends too. And I mean this all in the kindest way. Most people DO understand, and that's what I have to work on. It's ok to take a break, it's ok to have a life, and it's ok to treat my job, like a job! I need to bring that balance back! 

   So with that, I leave you with a peaceful view of the mountains, early in the morning, wrapped up in fog, with the sun dancing on the trees hoping you have balance in your life or will find it soon, that your love for life will never leave, and that we all take the time to take a deep breath and remember why we are here. Not to work all the time, not to play all the time, but to live, happily, progressively, truthfully... in a way that allows us to smile when we lay our head down onto our pillow every night. 

All Work and No Play

   So, finally, finally, finally I got a chance to sit down and edit some of the shots from my first free art study session.

   In order to help me learn and grow as an artist, I am in the process of randomly offering free sessions to the public, and the public in return giving up their own time, to help me experiment with different photo techniques that I have been wanting to try out, all based off a lighting book I purchased a few months ago.

   My first experiment was solely about light, that is where these shots stemmed from, and before I knew it, I had learned a lot more than what I had expected and my assignment for lessons learned had went in a whole new direction. As far as I am concerned, the outcome- success. 

The first goal with this session was to really just take my time. A lot of session people book with me they are worried about getting the "biggest bang for their buck." They move quickly. They want to get their child in as many different poses and outfits in 1 hour as they can. It was nice to actually take a good amount of time to just stop and say, "Ok, let's try this, let's try this again, try it one more time until you nail it," and focus on getting a few solid, solid shots vs a whole slew of ones that I feel like are good, great, but not a true reflection of how far we could have REALLY pushed the bar had we taken control of our nerves and used the proper amount of time.

   When I say we took took our time, I mean it. The models (who were beyond perfect for this task- thank you Hannah Mae and Alexx, and their mom of course too- Amy) spent a few weeks chatting back and forth about pose ideas, wardrobe, location options, makeup and hair. There was then the prep time to get it all together, and then once the actual day came around the morning consisted of a lot of time crammed in my bathroom carefully painting on their face makeup and styling their hair as big as possible. The concept grew from my love for fashion.

After we were physically ready it was time to go in and start shooting. The girls did some stretching, some warm up poses, and then we started. This is where we took even more time. We didn't change our wardrobe after about 20 some shots, we didn't move our location, we didn't change our backdrop. We merely kept shooting bc I didn't feel like we had truly NAILED it yet. So we kept going. We took a few 20 more. At the end of the day, in fashion or advertisement or even family portraits, you only need one strong image to help you say what you need to say. Why not make sure that one image is exactly what you want and it speaks not only loudly but aggressively, bc no one else is ever going to see those 100 other outtakes, 20 other good enough shots, or even the other 2 that made up the top 3. It's the one shot.

      After a good hour or longer of shooting we broke down, the girls changed, and then we went out for ice cream, which, I can't be sure, but I'm almost certain was necessary for the creative process! ;) Then I waited for a gap in my work schedule before I even started touching the images. This is where goals and lessons changed, and even more time was spent, which people don't realize.

   Once I began sifting through the photos what I learned the most was if you want different results, you need to try out different methods, even if they make you uncomfortable. During this shoot, I wanted good light, but I wanted different light- that was the second goal. Good, different, moody light. At the end of everything I noticed- I was so worried about keeping the situation controlled, I forgot to move things around and play with the light, things were...typical of my usual work. Did that mean the whole experiment was a waste? I hadn't achieved my MAIN goal... so.... what was I going to get out of it?

   That's when I decided to push the bar on my editing.

   Usually I am fairly realistic when it comes to post. Why? I have no idea. It just feels right, and safe. I never liked taking photography to a level of graphics. Art is art. Graphics is graphics. And Photography is photography. But.... bc the main goal of this session had went out the window anyhow, what did I have to loose? The session was free, I wasn't meeting any expectations for clients. So... I played. And as the old saying goes, and I have learned the hard way, "All work and no play makes AJBC's portraits dull." Ha! 

   And due to that, I can say my first attempt at these free sessions, although priorities shifted, was what many would call a beautiful mistake.