My photography is inspired by the duality of light and shadows within us. The joy tinged with tears; the exhilaration after the fight.
Moody.
I've tipped my toes into artificial light to be able to tell these stories better. I do love natural light but I don't want to be a slave to the weather or time of day. I took a few images of Abena in a studio last week using strobes. I am falling in love with being able to mold light.
Taking volunteers to model while I test lighting set ups. 😉
Last year I ran a session giveaway and awarded 2 sessions to persons I thought could benefit from new photos. One of the winners was Natalie Dean who runs a female empowerment non-profit group called Whine & Cheese. It is a safe space for women "whine about the stresses of life and cheese (smile) in acknowledgement of their blessings".
Natalie is an inspiring young woman and it was an honor to capture portraits that she can use in blog posts, on her website or personally.
My friend Jen took some behind the scenes photos of my capturing Natalie. Its always hard seeing pictures of myself but I resolve this year to get in more pictures and become more comfortable in front of the camera as well.
“You let time pass. That’s the cure. You survive the days. You float like a rabid ghost through the weeks. You cry and wallow and lament and scratch your way back up through the months. And then one day you find yourself alone on a bench in the sun and you close your eyes and lean your head back and you realize you’re okay.”
- Cheryl Strayed
Holiday Blues
As the holidays festivities intensifies and winter's cold and darkness sets into the bones, if you are feeling blue, missing someone or disappointed in missing your 2017 goals, take comfort: this season will pass. Hang on, do as much self care as you need to, focus on the slivers of beauty around you.
-- Taken from my December 10th Newsletter. You can view the entire newsletter here and past newsletters here.