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I’m sending off another magazine article today that will be out this fall and the print copy of Amulet arrived yesterday (and it is SO breathtaking). I’m realizing how much this has been the year of the magazine for me.  Its been really exciting and so many firsts. The first time doing a shoot specifically for a magazine, the first time with a photo on the cover and one coming out in the fall actually has my name and article info on the cover, another first.  Something about holding a print magazine in your hands is really really magical.

Its been beautiful and each time these opportunities have come forward they have been a big YES to me.  But today I suddenly remembered the part of me who when I’d read about people being in magazines like Artful Blogging or Somerset Life would fill me with BIG jealousy. Of course, those emotions being a sign that it was something I deeply wanted in my own life.

I knew that I needed to try for this dream and contacted the folks at Stampington about submitting an article (this was a couple years back now).  Sometimes when we are putting our work out there, folks might come to us to submit but often we need to go out there ourselves and initiate that dream coming true.  A while back I wrote a blog post called ‘Turning Jealousy into Creative Action’ and shared a few of the ways I was struggling with that.

So I wanted to write this today, kind of for that girl who is me who had those feelings and maybe for you in case you’re feeling like ‘Awesome that you’re in another magazine Viv, but is there room for me to do that?  When is it my turn?’  I think those are totally valid feelings and if you happen to be having them, I wanted to share some resources with you that I’ve found recently about submitting to magazines…and yes, there is room for you, yes there is an article in you just waiting to be birthed and I hope that you’ll gift yourself with the chance to make that happen!

Print Magazines-

Stampington:  Stampington produces a whole variety of magazines including Artful Blogging, Somerset Life and other more craft specific magazines and they are so welcoming of inquiries about articles.  They have great calls and challenges to submit to and here are some submission guidelines!

Danielle Magazine: Danielle Laporte is putting out a brand new magazine and she has an amazing call for submissions.  There is so much that she is looking for and I think it is a great way to take even a small step…I know the idea of submitting to Danielle’s Magazine might feel BIG but you can do something as simple as submit one image and she makes it really easy to.  Do it!!!

Amulet Magazine:  Amulet Magazine just rocks and you’ll be in awe of their submission page!  I bet you’ll be inspired and they welcome emails about submitting to their magazine!

Online Magazine or Zines-

Sprout Magazine is an awesome online publication I’ve been honoured to be in a few issues of.  Amanda rocks and has some rockin’ themes coming up (next up…Whimsy). Here’s info about submitting!

Glitter & Grunge is a new zine being put out by Mindy Tsonas of Wishstudio.  Here is a bit of info about submitting!

Are there other print or online magazines you’ve seen or submitted to.  Lets share resources and help one another get that one step closer to manifesting our dreams of being in a magazine!

Today on my Facebook Page I felt drawn to put out the question “What is holding you back from taking self-portraits” and I’ve been so grateful that people are willing to share what are the main roadblocks that are stopping them from taking self-portraits.

In teaching Be Your Own Beloved, I hear lots of stories of things that might be blocking people (as we work in the class to get them out of our way)….things like feeling like you don’t have the right gear, fear, not wanting to look vain, your pesky inner critic or feeling like your picture won’t be good enough.

Of course, once we get working on taking our self-portraits in the class we often realize that they are stories that we can indeed re-write!

If you feel drawn to, please come on over and join the conversation or feel free to share your response to the question here in comments!

There are times when a photo becomes a landing place for something unsaid, or that we can’t quite find the words for.  Perhaps even something that we don’t want to write down but deeply crave to remember. Photos become a canvas for the stories we can tell subtly, where the viewer might see one thing but the deeper story behind it is clear as day to us, holding it safely for us for when we need to remember again.

I had one of those moments recently where I was feeling tender and needed a place to let those feelings rest in.  This became that photo.

The story behind it begins in a safe, comfortable room full of women, all cozied into the comfy living room at the lodge during the Your Story Retreat.

At these events Liz creates space for beautiful, brave, deep, vulnerable conversation.  It is really incredible.

This was one of those moments and I could tell that this was a conversation about motherhood that was incredibly powerful for the mothers in the room.  It was one of those conversations that I think must often go unspoken or might be held back, but in the safety of this space it was beautiful to see them feel safe enough to speak these truths.

But I could feel the sadness welling up in my throat.

I wanted to honour that this conversation was truly vital for these women and not try to change the subject but the not-yet-a-mother in me needed some nurturing.  So I quietly stepped out (because Liz really encourages us to do what we need to take care of ourselves at the retreats) and went for a walk out to the ocean.

I held in the tears for a few blocks and as I got to where pavement meets sand, it was as though it was the threshold and I didn’t have to hold it in anymore and they started flowing.  I felt tender that I’m not yet a mom but at the same time chock full of gratitude for where life has taken me.  I’m starting to clearly understand that I needed this time to really find my life’s work and I need to hold onto hope for the pieces of the puzzle of my life I can’t yet find.

I walked towards the ocean.  At this spot in Gearhart you wander down a long stretch of dunes before finally getting to the top of a dune and there is the epic ocean.

I looked up.

And stopped.

I saw how much of the path lay before me.

And something unexpected came into my thoughts and said:

‘You’re just a lil’ one’.

I wept some more because it was so true.  I may feel the pressures of hitting 36, one past that age we are told our fertility goes down at.  But I still have so much ahead of me, and on this day I was really conscious that this is a privilege.  Of course none of us know how long we have, but I felt clear in that moment that I still have a lot ahead of me still and I don’t know, I can’t know, exactly how it is going to unfold.

So I pulled out my iPhone and let this simple tool capture the story of that moment.

I took it because I wanted to remember this realization.

I took it because it visually reminds me that there is a path still ahead of me.

I took it because sometimes telling stories through photos feels like therapy to me and this moment felt particularly healing to capture.

I took it because I knew it would give a place for these emotions to land and let me return to the group ready to be present again to the collective energy.

I took it because I needed to, because there are just some photos we need to take.

We woke up before dawn and headed out for a big adventure to a Lake near Bellingham.  As the sun rose, the magical Jennette Neilson (prop goddess) and I set up for our picnic as the other ladies Latisha, Eileen, Marybeth and Maddie poured through Jennette’s magical props and costumes to get ready for our magical brunch.

I’d love to tell you even more about this magical day, but thats what you’ll find out about in the article!  Madelyn Mulvaney tells it so incredibly in the two articles now out in the new issues of both Mingle Magazine and Somerset Life!

On the first day back from my trip I went in search of a copy of these magazines.  I’ve been in a magazine once before, a few years ago, but this was the first time that I have ever done a shoot specifically for a magazine and I was SO eager to see it.  Its always a bit surreal to hold photos you took in your hand in the form of a magazine.

Here are some outtakes from the Mingle and Somerset Life adventures!

I so love finding a new app to experiment with and today this free app: Kaleido Lens has me mighty happy.  A big part of my love of photography is all about experimentation so this app totally sings to me.

I’m freshly home from a whole lot of travels with lots of news to share, but thought I’d start my return to blogging with something really fun….its a free app, so I totally recommend downloading it to add a little photo experimentation to your day!