Another Pretty Place

Pretty.

Maine is a pretty place to live. But I love finding new places with nice views, and luckily as a photographer I get chances to do that. I spent the past weekend in Pawley's Island, South Carolina. Unplugged from technology, my weekend consisted of my camera, a wedding, watching the shoreline, and talking for hours with good friends and strangers.


Not only was there no internet, but no keys for the doors. Many of the showers were outdoors. A hammock on one of the decks took turns calling out our names. The crazy rush I went through in the airports to make all my connections was erased by sitting in a rocking chair on the porch and listening to the surf with a cup of coffee in my hand. More than once I thought how similar this coast looked to Maine, and yet I felt like I was a world away. And with my camera I often feel like everywhere I photograph is just an extension of my own back yard. Another place to find pretty stuff.

Another gem to add to the 'Go Back There Someday' list.

South Carolina or Southern Maine?

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Time to Walk Away

Life as a photographer is not always glamorous, though it's ok if many of you out there want to think it is. But behind closed doors and after big shooting days, many of us photographers sit agonizing over how to get the next job and how to edit these images into things of beauty. Hours spent in front of computer monitors wrestling with the occasional lighting mishap, the technical glitch that halts all production, the endless stabs at our psyche when things don't go our way.


At times, these are the moments I get up and maybe flip laundry, take my vegie scraps out to the compost pile, or even get out of my pj's and into some real people clothes. Sometimes I turn to the internet for a distraction (not always the best choice). Other times, my camera and I head out to find pretty stuff (a very good choice). And lately I have added a new method of dealing. I simply walk away.



I walk away and grab a hula hoop. I walk away and get on the elliptical. I walk away and stretch, then go for a run. This breaks up my day and often helps my mind get out of the fog of frustration it has fallen into. Then I can either return fresh and keep going, or find a way to fix what wasn't working before the much needed break. I spend the rest of day feeling good and like I accomplished something.





This new method of coping has happened almost accidentally. It is my hope to participate in the TRI for a Cure in the summer of 2010 with some of my gal pals. Too many years of sitting in front of computer, combined with not being active enough have taken their toll. Meaning, I'm kind of out of shape. And honestly, this work requires a certain level of strength and endurance. A 10 hour wedding or a day in the desert on a film set is exhausting, but would be easier to handle with a little more muscle on the body. The TRI is the perfect motivator to make me find time to exercise, and a great way to manage some of the not so glamorous bumps in the land of photography.






Film Stills from a recent shoot I was on. More info coming soon....

Visit this guy's site for more info on his work
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The California I Saw

The blog has been sitting silent for a little while. This seems to be a common theme on many photo blogs, followed by apologies and often promises to do a better job updating. I'm not sure any apologies are needed. Sometimes life just happens and things get busy. I had hoped to update roughly once a week, but that doesn't always happen. And for the most part, that's ok.







What I have been doing is lots of photographing and some travel and general life busyness, all in the name of photo goodness. Not to mention it's FALL! The best time to be living in Northern New England. But I decided to leave my favorite place during my favorite time of year and spend a few days out west. Los Angeles, to be exact. While I was there I took a few photos...








I love that feeling of being in a new place. Seeing things for the first time makes my creative energies come alive and my photographic eye go into overdrive. I had been down some of these streets earlier this year, but still had that excitement of being in a new place. Several of these were taken on my morning walk to find coffee. Sitting and watching, while consuming the necessary caffeine doses, gave me a chance to take in what was going on around me and make some images of the California I saw.

I'm starting to believe that 4 days away is the answer to any lack of inspiration or motivation. We all hit those points, no matter what we do for work or with our lives. Disappearing for even a small amount of time is often just what we needed to get back on track /recharged / ready to start anew.

What happens to you when you go to new places?


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