Wednesday Woolgathering | Swoon by Katie

It’s so tempting for me to only do blog posts that have pictures/events involved. I’m not sure why I always assume it needs to be that way, but I always seem to put off random musings, daydreams, obsessions and things I’m loving this moment instead of writing them down. So, I thought I’d just put up a little post about things I’ve found inspiring or made me stop for a moment and think. Oh, and there aren’t many “W” words that have to do with musings, daydreaming, or thoughts. So, in thesaurus.com, it had Woolgathering as another word for “daydreaming.” Maybe it’s just so weird it’ll stick and I’ll keep my dorky title.

1) First off, I loved the post that Chenin Boutwell did with this attached to it:

I’m going to type it up and display this quote EVERYWHERE! It gets so easy to move into this robotic thought process when it comes to photography. Couple + aperture + shutter speed + iso + compensation + pretty light = perfect photo. But, what about the imperfect? So many things that inspire me are imperfect, broken, rusted or discarded. Why not shoot photos that are inspiring? I want to shoot photos because they struck a chord with me. I want to shoot photos that are beautiful even if it’s just a picture of a leaf, or an old rusty truck. I think the more I enjoy my creative process internally, and in my every day life, the better product I in turn provide my clients! Of course I love my fashion magazines, but I want to look deeper into my inspiration “tank” and figure out what other things have awakened feelings such as joy, peace, pain, frustration etc. The more I get in touch with that, the more authentic I will be! This is a good reminder that reading other wedding photographers blogs (while fun), is not where our inspiration should come from all the time. That leaves us wanting to be someone else, or do our job like someone else. And in turn, we lose ourselves!

2) The book by Julia Cameron called “The Artist’s Way.” I just started going through this 12 week book/journal, and already feel illuminated (wow, I sound totally new age-y). I’m going to go through this book with one of my best friends in the whole world (love you Kat), and I’m excited to see where we go in our creative process. Julia really gets down to the heart of our artform, and makes you delve into places that you probably haven’t explored before in regards to your subconscious and psyche (yep, now I’m sounding even more like I’m visiting from the twilight zone). Her whole point is that often times we live inbalanced lives and we aren’t reaching our creative potential because of people in our lives that have stifled it, or experiences where we didn’t feel like we measured up. We also get so caught up in people’s opinions of our work that we stop doing work and art just for ourselves. So, it’s a lot of journaling, doing “artist dates” by yourself that are out of the ordinary from your normal routine, and picking a few tasks a week that help you process what that week’s lesson is about. I’m really excited about it, especially because she encourages all of this in order to get closer to God, as he is the ultimate artist!

3) This amazing blog: Oh, Hello Friend. Danni finds the most amazing inspiration all over the web. She also creates some amazing products that she sells on her etsy store. I love the cool crafty things she finds all over etsy and flickr and in turn shares with us. She also is a designer, and when I rebrand, I think I’ll be hiring her to do my designing!

4) These shoes via the amazing photographer Stephanie Williams. Aren’t they simply DIVINE? I want them. I think they are Nina. I will find them. And, buy them.

5) Two words: Irene Suchocki. She sells her amazing vintage inspired photographs on etsy, and also has a blog (Eye Poetry). I want to buy every print she sells. Especially this one:

6) I’ve decided I want to start reading more “personal” books. Not just business books. I’d love suggestions! On my list right now is: “Love is a Mix Tape” by Rob Sheffield and “Neither Here Nor There: Travels in Europe” by Bill Bryson. Especially because Ryan and I will be taking a pretty epic trip to Europe in the fall. Complete with Bavarian castles, yodeling in the Swiss Alps, exploring cobblestone paths, and taking a dip into Lake Como. Cmon people, give me some other suggestions for reading! I want to read a book every two weeks!

7) Lastly, I’ve been pondering what it’ll be like when Ry and I have a baby. I don’t feel ready yet, although we are edging towards having been married FOUR YEARS as of March 11, but when I think about having a little mini-me of us, it gets my heart aflutter. I feel so overwhelmed in my business right now, and want to get some of that stuff figured out before having a kid, but I also know that I’ll never feel 100% ready. I know at some point we’ll just have to jump in and go for it! And really, I am ready if it means I get a child like this to look forward to:

Hope you enjoyed my “woolgathering!!” I think I seem to woolgather a little too much, but I’m glad to get it out there and finally in writing!

Add a comment

Jackie VanHatten: February 4, 2010 3:31 pm
It sounds like you are doing some soul searching to find a balance in your life. I hear you on starting a family. It will be four years for us this June, so you are not the only one. Good thing we can have babies at older ages these days!
Danielle Liska: February 4, 2010 11:08 pm
KT!
So about the shoes – love them…. They are selling a pair at Nordstroms that look shockingly similar and they are about $50. They have them in Red and Black!

And you have plenty of time to have a baby! Don’t rush – live your dreams. Then you will get to relive them again when you tell them to your babies!

You are amazing!
xoxo
Danielle
shannon leith: February 5, 2010 10:27 pm
say yes to the artists way! wooohooo!!!!!!!!!! you are going to be rocked. body, soul, spirit. its an amazing journey. enjoy enjoy :)
Mindy: February 6, 2010 8:21 am
Cute! love this weekly edition :) Danni from Oh, Hello Friend is a really good friend of mine! i gave her your website cus she is looking for a photographer for her wedding in sept. She really liked your stuff. Who knows? maybe she’ll contact you :)
- Katie: February 6, 2010 8:23 am
  Ooooh thanks Mindy! Her wedding would be a dream to shoot!

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