Author Archives: vivienne

January 25, 2013

Hiking + Photography = Space for Self-Compassion

The forest has been calling me lately and when I saw that this afternoon was the only sunny patch forecasted in the week previous and the week ahead, I knew exactly what needed to happen!

I headed to the same hiking trail I did a couple weeks ago in the beautiful Deep Cove area. This trail is amazing, challenging, beautiful and busy! Busy being very important as there are so many people on the trails it feels like it is a safe one to do some solo hiking on those days when I want to just wander with my camera. It was even busier this week but there were still enough moments of quiet that I was able to take a few self-portraits.

Speaking of the camera, I’m so loving discovering what a beautiful duo photography and hiking are…and not just in the obvious way! This trail is pretty intense compared to the average forest wander and there are tonnes of moments where I need to take breaks. I made a big discovery in these last few hikes that feels pretty empowering.

I realized that in each of those moments I need breaks, there is always something beautiful to stop and take a photo of. I know for me, sometimes in those moments where I can’t go up another stair and need to pause, I might let myself feel shame that I need a break (note: i think breaks rock, and am all good with taking them). For some of us physical activity or not feeling like you can do something can be triggering of things like shame and invite us to berate ourselves…..but not in this case. In those spaces where I might have felt shame, I have a camera in my hands to refocus and shift the energy. Once again, photography is such a dreamy tool for cultivating self-love as it fills those spaces, those breaks with beauty and leaves no room in those moments for shame to appear.

It truly was a gorgeous hike…even warmer than last time and breathtakingly beautiful and here is a visual tale of today’s adventures…

January 23, 2013

Why Take Self-Portraits of Your Feet?

And if this makes you want to dabble in self-portrait fun, ponder joining me for one the upcoming self-portrait online class: Be Your Own Beloved!

January 21, 2013

Engaged

Oh don’t get too excited…I don’t mean engaged in that way (I’m barely dating)!

But that is the word that is on the tip of my tongue for the last few days. You’d think it was even my word of the year.

Or YES. Yes is what this year feels like so far. Open. Hopeful.

I feel like I’m falling deeper in love with my work right now. You know that stage where you’ve been together for a while and you know you love each other but then you get to a place where you shift to a deeper, less fearful kind of love? Thats what right now feels like.

Neither YES nor ENGAGED are my words of the year (I’m writing a post coming this week that will share what it is) but this years word of the year came to me totally from intuition and I feel like it was the right choice.

One of the things that is helping me feel so beautifully engaged with my work right now is the wonderful Jennifer Lee‘s workshop this past weekend on CreativeLIVE. It was a 3 day Right Brain Business Plan workshop and though I’ve done lots of RBBP activities with Jenn before, revisiting them always brings things out big new revelations and lets me dive even deeper.

An incredible thing that happened too which was I was invited to join in for a skype call live with Jennifer during the workshop. I shared some of what I had done in the activities and then what unfolded was a beautiful conversation with Jenn and the online audience. They asked some wonderful questions and I felt comfortable just being me and sharing a bit about my business and the vulnerabilities and adventures that happened along the way. I felt so seen, heard and that what I had to say was helpful to other creative entrepreneurs. Thank you so much to Jennifer and CreativeLIVE for having me.

I’m actually kind of head over heels for CreativeLIVE now. Their format for workshops is that it is free as you watch it live (and then you can purchase a download of the course which you very much might want to to)! What I found extra special was the way they have moderators who help bring forward the online audience’s questions so you really feel like you are a part of the workshop, even if you are sitting at home in your p.j’s!

I’m crossing my fingers this deeply engaged feeling sticks around as it doesn’t leave a lot of room for the self-doubt gremlins to get ahold of me and I think last year contained a bit too much of that for my liking. I’m mighty happy for the respite from it and this newfound space to just create, write, photograph and dream in a deeply engaged, YES provoking, heart-filled kind of way.

I always try to make my days productive, but the last few days have had me taking leaps and bounds into projects I had a lot of fear around getting started (the resisting a big dream kind of fear) and I’m excited to keep this momentum going.

I so truly wish the same for you on your creative journey too…

January 17, 2013

Sometimes I see Her

Sometimes its not about taking a photos that makes me look skinnier, or is the perfect angle to disguise the fact that I’ve got meat on my bones.

Sometimes its not about masking it, but rather, showing it in a way that makes me feel empowered.

Sometimes I can create a space that feels sacred and safe both in the taking of the photos and the viewing them, where no critics are allowed.

Sometimes I forget that other people might see this photo and have their own judgements about my body.

Sometimes I see in her someone she is becoming rather than who she has been.

Sometimes I see without the stories of how her life, her identity, her gender, her body should be.

I just see her.

Clearly.

With no judgements.

Just love.

And sometimes I don’t. Because I’m hurt. Because I’m healing. Because I’m tenderhearted. Because unlearning patterns is hard work and not linear. Because this is a process and part of the process is losing our way in order to find our way back again.

Resilience.

So I just show up in front of the camera, again and again.

Hoping to see the her this time. In Me. The one I’ve been looking for.

I’ve gathered up a whole bunch of tools and exercises for using self-portraiture as a tool to cultivate self-love and I’ll be sharing them with you in the upcoming sessions of Beloved Beginnings & Be Your Own Beloved

January 17, 2013

How to take Amazing Jumping Photos {in 9 Playful Steps}

Step One: Find a spot to prop your camera! Then decide if you are going to shoot your feet or your whole body and compose your shot. Use your tripod if you have one. If you shoot your whole body, remember that you can always crop it later so don’t delete photos where you’re making a silly face (cause its kind of natural to do when you’re jumping)!

Step Two: When you’re ready to get started, press the timer on your camera or your remote. You definitely don’t need a remote to do a jumping shot, but it does make it easier! If you are using an iPhone to get a jumping shot, try GorillaCam or Camera+ which both have self-timers!

Step Three: If you don’t have a remote you may need to tell your camera where to focus. Try setting the focus on something nearby where you plan to stand!

Step Four: Experiment and get playful! Be silly! Try different ways of jumping. Jump off of something. Jump forward. Jump sideways. Jump on one foot! Jump lots of times in hope one of them will be captured in air. You don’t even need to get a lot of air, just a small jump can look big. Just go for it!

Step Five: As you are jumping, you’ll discover that one of the biggest things that helps is to get to know the timing of your timer. If you’re using the timer on your camera, get to know when the shutter actually clicks in relation to the countdown (for me it is a few seconds after the last red light goes off). It may not be exactly when you expect it to be, so its great to just slow down and notice when that shutter clicks and try to aim to jump at that time!

Step Six: Don’t get discouraged if you don’t get the perfect jumping shot right away! Be prepared to take lots and lots of outtakes until you get one that you love.

Step Seven: Be ready to change things up! Change the setting or where you are aiming the photo. Sometimes a change in scene or perspective makes all the difference!

Step Eight: Keep playing until you get your amazing jumping shot! You’ll get it. The more you experiment with jumping, the easier it will be to get that shot where you are in the air (and know what style of jump works for you) but don’t get discouraged if you don’t! Even if you’ve taken lots of jumping shots, it still takes us all many tries to get the one that works!

Step Nine: Don’t delete your outtakes before you upload them to your computer! You might see something different once you see them on a bigger screen! Remember that you can crop out a part if you’d like! Sometimes I might crop a photo down to just the feet or legs if I am making a funny face or feel vulnerable about the top of it. Often we get so focused on our feet in these photos that we might not think about our hands or face (thats always the case for me). Don’t get hard on yourself if there are some you don’t like, just seek out the one that you do and let it be the one that tells the story of this photo adventure! Share your photo!

Let’s get jumping! If you have a jumping shot or take a few minutes to try one today, please share a link to it in the comments section or use the hashtag #beyourownbeloved on social media. I would SO love to see your jumping shots and cheer you on!

If you are craving a playful yet powerful self-portrait journey…come join me for the upcoming session of Be Your Own Beloved!