Learn to See Yourself with Compassion

November 19, 2012

Rainy Day Light Hunters E-Book Sale!

We are in full on rainy winter mode here in Vancouver, exactly the season I need to remind myself to pick up my camera, to take photos rain or shine.

I had a great reminder of that on Saturday when in the midst of a rainy afternoon. The rain paused. My friend and I had been talking about how good it feels to retain a sense of wonder, to be able to see the little bits of beauty around us. We turned the corner and with the end of the rain, there was not just a gigantic rainbow covering our neighbourhood but it was also exactly the time for golden light and the cloud parted for long enough to let that golden light in.

Full on rainbow, pure golden light on an otherwise grey day. It felt almost miraculous.

Our jaws were dropped, totally breathtaken at this unexpected light and beauty.

It was a beautiful reminder that you never know what a day is going to bring. I also love teaching Light Hunters and sharing the E-Book as it isn’t just about the epic beautiful moments (though they are great aren’t they) but also about celebrating and learning the strengths of more subtle light, like the light on a typical rainy day!

So you don’t need to be in the midst of sunshine to join in on the Light Hunting, or if you live somewhere where summer is near (or the sunshine stays all winter) light hunting is for you too!

Making the November Session of Light Hunters a Pay-What-You-Can session made me so happy. I’ve gotten such kind emails from some participants sharing that it really made all the difference for them to be able to pay what they can afford.

So I wanted to do one more Pay-What-You-Can offering for those folks who might have wanted to take the E-Course but didn’t have the time to take on an E-Course at this time.

But this isn’t a month long offer, nope! Just today ~ November 2oth!

And right here is where you can get in on the offer!

The E-Book is a the E-Course in a self-directed form, for you to explore at your own pace. Like the E-Course, you are also welcome to join the Light Hunters Private Flickr Group!

So here, today, the suggested price is $39 but you are welcome to pay whatever price feels right for you!

{The Sale is now Over}

But you can still get the E-Book here!

November 18, 2012

Culture Crawling

I had such a lovely weekend adventuring out in the rain to see lots of art studios as part of the Eastside Culture Crawl. It is a pretty incredible event where 400+ artists open up their studios for folks to come visit.

A piano concert, pottery, puppet shows, bluegrass, photography, installations and on and on. Every kind of art you could imagine.

It was especially lovely to get to see the spaces where people create. Paint splatters on the floor, works in progress, drawers of their supplies, the smell of woodworking studios (love that).

Its also a pretty incredible opportunity to chat with folks about art and I love the ‘open door’ energy of it. Both as a participant in it last year and someone exploring it this year, I had some really amazing chats with people about art and photography. Something I experienced last year was that almost everyone who came over to see my work had their own creative story to tell. Everyone had something creative in their life that drew them to this studio tour be it knitting, painting or a love of their iphone camera. Everyone was an artist (whether they showed their work or called themselves one). It was a beautiful chance to hear people’s stories of creativity.

Usually I find these kinds of events wildly overhwelming as there are crowds of people, but I’m so thrilled this year to have gone ‘crawling’ each of the 3 days of the event and seem to have found a way to experience it that was energizing rather than draining. It was a mighty social weekend too as I went ‘crawling’ with different friends each day. So good!

Plus, I got to try out my new ‘brelli. I’ve been coveting one of these umbrellas for 4 years now but oh my…they are an investment. So when I came across a super good deal on one during my last trip to Portland I absolutely squealed with joy to finally have one in my hands. Its beautiful to see the trees above through my umbrella and it makes an almost drum like sound when really big rain drops fall on it. Art exploring and a purdy new umbrella are definitely helping me get through the grey this November!

November 6, 2012

Comfort Zones

There is a small path behind my house running the length of my block.

Mostly it houses peoples compost bins and overgrown plants spill from backyards into the alley.

Where I used to live there was a ravine a block away and old unused train tracks across the street. I loved the natural space I could so easily wander through and take photos, without going far from home.

Since I moved here over a year ago, I’ve been really missing that natural space but as I go on more and more photowalks, I’m realizing that maybe I don’t need a 3 block ravine and a kilometer of abandoned train tracks. Maybe a tiny overgrown alley way is something special too.

For this months She is Three prompt (which gets posted on the 7th) I really wanted to shoot in front of a mural in my neighbourhood that I’ve never done a selfie in front of before. Mainly because it is at a corner that has oh so much foot traffic. That something I love about the area I live in, but sometimes it makes taking self-portraits be an experience that pushes me outside my comfort zone.

My comfort zone is definitely in nature, even if it is only a tiny alley way of overgrown goodness.

Are there places that you’d like to shoot that are totally outside your comfort zone, but that you’d love to shoot at someday when the time is right (or you feel like challenging yourself).

Are there places that feel like your comfort zone? Maybe inside your house or in your yard? Or maybe for some of you, your comfort zone is actually around a lot of people.

Just something I’m pondering today and if you’d like to share what locations are in and out of your photographic comfort zone, I’d love to hear!

Here’s a few shots from yesterdays photo walk, on a rare non-rainy day (the self-portraits were all taken in that little alley, my happy place)!

November 2, 2012

A Serendipitous Photoshoot with Jane Siberry

Last week I was away at a photography retreat in Palm Springs and something truly serendipitous happened.

Here’s how it began.

It was day 2 of the retreat in the evening and I was gathered at the little bar that the fabulous folks at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs had set up for us when this woman came up to me asking what the event that we were having was.

I immediately knew who she was. I’m a big fan of music, especially supporting Canadian or Indie musicians so I was totally aware that the woman that just came up to me to ask a question was Jane Siberry.

I shared that it was a photography event and that we were there for a few days.

“You look familiar” I said.

I was also totally aware that she had changed her name a few years back and not sure of which name she presently went by (and not wanting to refer to her with the wrong name, ‘You look familiar’ seemed like the way to go).

“I’m Jane Siberry” she shared and offered that if I needed someone to practise taking photos on while I was there, she’d be happy to be the subject of a photoshoot.

“I’d love that.” I said.

And off she went.

I was in shock. Did an incredible Canadian musician just come up to me, likely the one person in the crowd standing there at that moment who knew she was a musician and just offer to be a subject in a photoshoot?

Oh my.

But then the fear appeared (as it has a way of).

Yet it seemed too serendipitous to pass by out of fear so I contacted her and on my last full day there we met up for a photoshoot. She was truly as wonderful, kind and unique as I hoped she would be. It was fabulous to hear a bit about her life and travels. We then wandered around the grounds of the Ace finding some fabulous spots to take some photos.

Here are some of the images I took of Jane. It was truly an honour to photograph this fabulous artist and a day I won’t forget.

October 30, 2012

Creating a Video for Kelly Rae Roberts

Earlier this year, I spent a day in Portland in which the fabulous Kelly Rae Roberts. Armed with my video and photography gear, we set out on a mission to take some video and photo clips that would become a video for her website. It was truly one of the most fun shoots I’ve ever done. We giggled and got goofy as we shot photos and videos around the neigbourhood of her gorgeous studio. There was much dancing, silliness and hoopla and I love that I get to share some of those playful clips in the video that share what a joyful gem Kelly Rae is.

In the time after the shoot, together (with her fabulous words and artistic vision of her brand) and my merging of the clips and videos, we created this fun and quirky video for the about page of her website! She had a beautiful manifesto that she wanted brought to life in video and it was an honour to do so.

Creating videos kind of took this year by storm for me, with this fabulous opportunity, creating my own videos, and sharing the soulful techniques and technicalities for creating your own video in the Montage class. By the way, there is one more session of Montage running this year, starting next Monday! We have an incredible group of creative adventurers gathered for the class but there is still a bit of room if you’d like to join in!

I shared a sneak peek of our shoot earlier, but here are some more photos from the day.

Of course, the video! I’m so excited to share it with you!

You’ll also find Kelly Rae sharing a bit about this video creating goodness over at her blog today!