The Redwoods
This past weekend I drove up to San Jose to spend the weekend with family. I had a fantastic time, it was so nice to be away from Los Angeles for a bit. My favorite day was the day we went to Big Basin State Park. I've always dreamed of going to the redwoods, I was so excited to be surrounded by nature. It was a very crowded weekend, unfortunately, so my picture taking was not solitary. Which was nerve wracking, but most people just complimented me in my dress as I hiked through the woods. I think the camera gave them a clue as to what was happening, but it really helped me not feel like a fool. Thank you kind strangers.
I was so inspired by the area around me, I hope my pictures showed how much magic I felt existed in that forest.
An introduction to a return to creativity (with pictures)
Hello everyone!
I wanted to write a blog post on here to explain to everyone why there is a new website, where I've been for the past year and my plans for the future.
Why is there a new website?
I'm creating a new site simply because: I have too many. I had a blog site, photography site, design site, social media for these: deviantart, flickr, tumblr, facebook, etc. It was getting to be too much. (It was too much, no getting to be). I decided around Christmas that I wanted to create a new site, one that is organized and has everything in one place. Moving blog sites is always hard for me but I am going to love being able to have a portfolio site and a blog space all in one. (I will not be deleting my old blog, so if you wish to see some old posts you can check them out here).
Where have I been for the past year?
If you guys have been keeping track with me, you'll have noticed there was no photography done in 2016. I ended up taking an unofficial (and I thought could be permanent at the time) hiatus. I had just started an amazing new job as an art director, working and creating beautiful pieces of art all day and it made doing anything creative in my off time very difficult. (Pieces that have been published are found in my design page). I was trying to balance a creative work life with a creative downtime. It didn't happen. It didn't help that I had no will to do photography. My last photograph I took was of my service dog the day she got sick. She passed away twenty-four hours later. (A beautiful blog post written about her by my lovely friend can be found here). My will for doing anything creative was shot down after Nox passed and it didn't help to pick up my camera and see her face. It would make me sick to my stomach and I would put it back. I had all but resigned to having photography being something in my past.
The end of the year started to roll around and an old shoot idea I'd been toying with had suddenly sounded appealing. I was no longer as drained after work and could do my own creative things and picking up my camera didn't heart as much. The new shoot I'm revealing at the end of this post is what was forming in my head. Come the new year, the first time I went shooting was hard but it became progressively easier and enjoyable again.
What are your future plans?
Oh! I'm so glad you asked, other self! I plan on creating! I have done a shoot nearly every weekend this year and I've loved it. I want to continue to have a weekend photo session. It's been getting my creative juices firing and taking me to some amazing places in and around LA that I wouldn't have found without these ideas.
All of that being said, here is the kick off to 2017 and my new website:
My Elemental Series: inspired by the Magisterium series cowritten by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black.
Fire wants to burn.
Water wants to flow.
Air wants to rise.
Earth wants to bind.
Chaos wants to devour.