Category Archives: Uncategorized

May 20, 2014

How to Take Self-Portraits When You Really Don’t Feel like it

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A lovely pal of mine who is taking the Beloved Camera class emailed me the other day and asked: How do you you push through and take self-portraits when you’re having a rough day or don’t feel up for it.

I thought that was such a big beautiful question and of course I emailed her back but also thought I might share a bit about what my response to that is.

I really believe that taking selfies & self-portraits isn’t meant only for days when the world is all in sync, when we’re feeling fabulous, when we are excited to. Not at all.

Thats not how it began for me and while yes…there are lots of times I’ll go out and take self-portraits when the sun is shining and I’m feeling awesome…those aren’t the photo adventures that feel the most healing or transformative to me.

Every time I take my camera and consciously go out and take self-portraits as well as other photos, I come home feeling a tiny bit (or a lot) better than when I left. Every time. Something about getting outside, taking solo self-care time, getting moving and opening up to the serendipity of what might be out there to photograph just fuels me.

You may or may not know that my photography journey began just at the tail end of a very rough patch in my life and it has been a tool for me to guide myself back to a place of feeling happy again. Had I only waited for ‘good days’ to take self-portraits it undoubtably would have never led me to where life is right now.

I should mention too that to me, a self-portrait doesn’t always mean a grand photo, it could be as simple as my toes feeling the bare grass under my feet or just an arms length photo. Sometimes it can really help us especially when we’re having a rough day to let go of any expectations of what the photo needs to be and just let it be what it is meant to. So if on these days you are feeling pressure to get creative, why not let go of that for another day and instead let yourself connect with taking self-portraits as a place to tell your story?

It feels most important to get out there with my camera when I’m having a rough time too (like earlier this year when my Grammy passed away). Its in these times that the photos I take feel like a place to be witnessed by me, whether or not I share them. I might let the tears go (or other activities that I share in Be Your own Beloved) that really feel like they let it be a place for what is going on to land.

To tell you the truth, it is really not about the outcome and the photos that we get out of the photo taking as much as it is the experience itself. Sure it always feels great to come home with a photo or two I feel happy with, but if I were to judge the value of the experience only on the ratio of how many good photos there were after compared to the outtakes it took to get them, I could easily judge every photo walk as unworthy. That’s not something that sits well with me at all…as I could have a really nourishing time on that photo walk and take no awesome photos at all. So I really prefer (and encourage you to) place more value on the experience of taking the photos than just the outcome of the photos themselves.

I really wanted to share this with you as I have a feeling there are lots of us out there who are saving going for a photo walk or taking a self-portrait (or getting back into self-portraiture) for that someday when all is good & feeling just right.

Do you need to push through and take self-portraits if you really aren’t feeling it? Not at all? But it also could be a way to let yourself be seen & heard (by you) in your photos and you might just come back having your day just be a little bit brighter.

May 19, 2014

Camellias are my Muse these Days

14149418495_646d2faac9_c The other day I spotted them.

Dozens of camellias fallen from a Camellia bush at the edge of a property, spilling into the Alley.

So many of them fallen in their gorgeous pinkness, not yet turning brown.

Oh how Camellias make my whimsical side swoon.

Later on that week I got my camera out on a gorgeously sunny day and headed out to that spot and filled up my arms with as many blossoms as I could find and headed down towards my usual photo taking zone a few blocks away. This area is amazing…there are a couple community gardens, a big park, an art studio with graffiti on the outside walls and train tracks…truly whether I’m feeling like taking natural or urban photos, there is something to meet that need there.

Walking there I realized how walking down a very busy street with camellia blossoms spilling out from your arms might not be a normal sight to see and it made me happy to see it made lots of people smile (in that way it does when you’re carrying a bouquet of flowers).

One of the many things I love about taking self-portraits is that it can make space for parts of ourselves that don’t normally get to be part of our day to day life to tell its story. For me that is my whimsical side and oh my carrying camellia blossoms down the street and inviting them into the photo definitely let that part of me come out on this day.

I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with them, but for me that isn’t that important in the adventure.

Folks often ask if I plan out my self-portraits and to be honest I really don’t. I love the experience of just seeing where the day, the landscape, the light and the setting (and how many people are around) leads me. It rarely leads me where I expected it to, which is fun. If I plan to go to one spot, it will always be that someone is standing right there and I’ll need to get outside that comfort zone and find somewhere new.

I also love finding things that could be ‘props’ for taking selfies, like these camellia blossoms. Though camellias have been a regular self-portrait taking prop for me. Years ago when I lived in a different part of town we had a Camellia bush in the front yard and as they’d fall I’d gather them up and take them to a nearby ravine for photo adventuring that led to these photos:

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I wanted to mention this in case you’re out ‘n about these days and see something that could be a part of your selfie taking! There just might be a gorgeous bloom or other cool props awaiting you. Or of course bringing something as a prop from home is oh so fun too!

Here are a few images from that day (both with iPhone and DSLR) of the camellia adventures and other garden explorations that happened after!

May 15, 2014

10 Reasons to Join us for the Practice Class!

We’d LOVE to have you join us for this powerful class! We get started in only a few more days so come on over to the Curvy Yoga site and get registered before its to late!

May 13, 2014

Where Yoga & Self-Portraiture Meet

I’m so excited that Anna & I are bringing back Practice: Embodying Your Curvy & Beloved Body for one more session. I love teaching this class with Anna & admire her work with Curvy Yoga so much!

When we created Practice, it was really powerful to see it come together and I was amazed at how many overlaps there are between Yoga & Self-Portraiture…you might not think so, but as you’ll see in the class, indeed there are.

I took Yoga in my 20’s but it was only a few years ago that I really started to see the way it could help me listen in to my body and what it needed. It began when I actually got a running injury, a stress fracture, and was dealing with a lot of pain. It so happened that my awesome Mom was doing her yoga teacher training at the time and we started to do weekly Skype Yoga sessions.

It was since that injury and recovery that I really started digging into listening more to my body, since that was exactly why my bone ended up cracking, because I was pushing too hard and not listening to my body even though it was saying STOP.

Yoga felt like an invitation to slow down and listen.

And doing it in the comfort of my own home, with my Mom as my teacher, allowed me to listen in deeper and to not compare myself to others. It felt like a way to quiet the outside noise of “more” “push yourself” and just slow down and listen.

Which if you’ve explored self-portraiture with me, you’ll know that is a part of the work of Be Your Own Beloved too. While it seems like it might be a place to compare ourselves to others, it doesn’t have to be. It can be an invitation to slow down, to make space for yourself, to listen in and find your own voice about how it feels to be in your skin, to move your way. I know…you’d think that last sentence was about Yoga but this is where they overlap.

Which is exactly what we are digging into in Practice!

I’m oh so excited that we’re bringing this class back (and this will definitely be the only time we are offering it in 2014) so if you are interested in exploring more of the places where Yoga & Self-Portriature overlap and deepen your relationship to your Curvy & Beloved Body, come join us!

Class starts Monday May 19th and registration closes the night before.

Oh and have I mentioned Anna & I wanted to keep it at a super accessible price of $49 (which is truly a steal of a deal…as you’ve got two teachers ready to support you in the process)!

I hope to hang out with you in Practice!

May 6, 2014

Practice: Embodying Your Curvy & Beloved Body!

I am SO excited to share that Anna of Curvy Yoga & I have brought back our collaborative class called Practice: Embodying Your Curvy & Beloved Body! Its a beautiful 4 week exploration into using both Yoga & Self-Portraiture as tools for connecting with your body & yourself.

Now, if either Yoga or Self-Portraiture is outside of your comfort zone, you’ll be happy to know that you need not be a yogi or a photographer to take part. Each week in the class we explore a different pose and there is such a beautiful mix of activities in the class. You can be an absolute beginner to take part and don’t need to have any sort of fancy camera for class either (iPhones are most welcome as your tool for the class)!

Registration is Open & class starts in 2 weeks on May 19th!!

You can find out more info & grab your spot in this affordable class over at the Practice Page!