It’s about time I update something on my 101 in 1001 list! And today’s is very exciting!
I have been conversing with the Editor of Weddings in BC for a little while now and am so pleased to have part one of Heather and Richard’s First Anniversary session on in the Inspiration Room! I am so excited to have been featured on a wedding blog and I hope to have more down the road.
To check it out, click on the pic.
It kind of creeps me out but it sure tastes good.
A little while ago, I was given a bag of dough by my friend, Cindy. Not just any kind of dough but a yeast starter for something called Amish Friendship Bread. I looked at it and thought it was kind of yucky and strange at first but after a few days of mushing the bag around, thought to myself Why not just try it out and see what it tastes like?
Along with the baggie came the 10 day recipe for the dough.
Day 1 - Do nothing.
Day 2 - Mush the bag.
Day 3 - Mush the bag.
And so on.
But on Day 10, the dividing of the starter and baking begins and before you know it, you are overrun by dough. The whole point of this dough is to share it with friends. The story goes that only the Amish know how to create the starter and the recipe multiplies itself in the end to create 4 more starters that you can share with others. Hence ~ Amish Friendship Bread. And it’s not really even bread. It’s more like a yummy cake-loaf.
I decided to bake 2 and keep two, one to keep to try again and one to give to a neighbor. If you’re on a diet, I don’t suggest it, the recipe calls for lots of flour, milk, eggs, oil, a package of pudding and lots of sugar. You even douse the baking pans in sugar and cinnamon. I put some walnuts in mine.
An hour later and out of the oven, it was time for the masses to taste test. As you can see, it was a success!
Haha, this post just reminded me that I have my bag of friendship starter somewhere in a cupboard. Oops. I guess I forgot about it.
Haha, oops, better get on that! Probably throwing it out!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a number of things heading into the summer season. I have a great deal of changes coming around over the next few months, but the one that has been in my head and heart lately is photography/personal-related.
This past year has been a lot of focus on practical things like creating a business model, developing marketing strategies, learning how to social network, accounting. All things that I am not terribly gifted at and sometimes just don’t enjoy doing. But photographers starting out (and some that are even well-established) have to do a lot of things they don’t really want to or don’t have a knack for. Such is the life of an entrepreneur.
In the beginning of this year, I wanted to make a point of taking more time to focus on personal work, whether that relates to things that my family is doing or otherwise. I have been very fortunate to have done a few creative shoots just for myself this year already and met a ton of wonderful people in the wedding industry in the process ~ some starting out themselves and some well-established. But I am still feeling like there needs to be more change. That I need to try something new and different, step out of what I am doing on regular basis, photography-related. I feel like I need to stretch my creativity wings, if you will.
I follow a lot of photographers to keep up on trends and style but there are a few out there right now that are really singing to me more on a personal level. Especially last night after browsing through Perspectiveye Photography’s blog and seeing Gabe’s latest film sessions. I have been seeing more and more film lately and I believe it’s fair to say that it’s making a bit of a renaissance in photography circles. I love the tones and raw quality of it, how it makes me feel like I am watching events as they unfold in front of me.
I’ve also included some links to a few of my favourite photographers right now (and have been for quite some time)~ Perspectiveye Photography, Nordica Photography, Jonas Peterson Photography and Sean Flannigan Photography. All from around the world. I believe (but I could also be wrong) that all of these fine folks have backgrounds in journalism and somehow found themselves in the wedding industry some way or another. There is always this buzzword of “photojournalistic” when it comes to wedding photography and you will not get any truer to that than these photographers. Their work is truly indescribable. There is something so alluring, so real, so raw, unique and disarming about the work each of these photographers create that it just makes me pause and consider what I am doing, where I am going and where I would like to be in the future. Today, I feel very hopeful of things to come.
I am looking forward to taking some time over the next few months to try some new things. Film. Different editing techniques. Different shooting styles. New locations. An afternoon of shooting just for the sake of it. Random stuff. People in love.
Don’t wait until everything is just right. It will never be perfect. There will always be challenges, obstacles and less than perfect conditions. So what. Get started now. With each step you take, you will grow stronger and stronger, more and more skilled, more and more self-confident and more and more successful.
~ Mark Victor Hanson
i am with you about shooting with film. i am a ‘freak’ for not owning a digital camera. it’s getting to the point where i can’t find film up here for my amaaazing canon. not to mention the fact that no-one up here develops film properly…they just scan it into their system and print just like digital.
frusterating, but worth it!
i think this blend of photojournalism and fine art is so inspiring as well! i know my own shooting style is so different, but every time i look at nordica’s work, it forces me to look at my subjects differently! (and, cole & jakob have a background in business…) xo.
I’ve known Emily for a long time.
She photographed our wedding almost 6 years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. We’ve helped each other with our businesses, shot weddings together, share information and swap stories of what our kids are doing. She even was at my son’s birth and photographed all of it, something that I treasure to this day. Now if getting a call at 5am to drive into Vancouver from Chilliwack in traffic isn’t love, I’m not really sure what is! She’s a wonderful friend as well as a wife, mother, sister and daughter. Since having known Emily, I’ve been introduced to her family over time and it’s no wonder she’s so great. Her family oozes life and love ~ the sort that just makes you feel comfy all over like eating a grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup (that’s for you Liv, the grilled cheese part anyways!) or a big chunky sweater on a chilly day. It helps having a busy 3-year-old that everyone adores to pave that path, it is clear that he is so loved!
Thanks Em and family for spending a torrential morning at Granville Island with me! Despite the weather, I think we did rather well, especially the Indian lunch afterwards!
To see the slideshow, press play!
i just had the honour of spending the weekend on hornby with emily & a group of friends. SO glad i met her & it’s wonderful to have this glimpse into her family life. Beautiful work.
Thanks, Jennifer, it sounds like everyone had a lovely time from what I’ve gathered! Emily is a pretty wonderful person, I’m glad that I know her =)
Love them, Rose. All the colors and textures are beautiful… That was a great day. Thanks for being there to capture it for us. 
And I especially appreciate your part about the “grilled cheese”!
Thanks, Liv! Glad you like them!
Here is a small preview of an extended family session I did on Sunday at Granville Island. I don’t normally do these kinds of things, but since it was for my good friend, Emily Hoskins of Liberty Tree Photography, of course I would do it! Full posting to come….
Mikaela - aw yes, I saw your photos on there! looove this shoot! so cute and creative.
Simply Rose - Thanks Mikaela!