Last week, I took a photo each day from Monday to Friday. I shared them on Instagram, named the day and described something I experienced.

I didn’t set out to do a series. My intent on Monday was to document a heartfelt moment. And then I kept sharing one photo each day. I guess you could call it a gratitude project; capturing my response to everyday wonder.

I know, that sounds a bit mushy and sappy. But I feel like there’s a certain cynicism towards sharing good things. “Oh no not another photo of food/baby/puppy/beach on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram don’t people have something better to do and I’m so sick of looking at my friend’s newborn I’m going to barf.”

Of course, it’s important to share both the good and the bad with people you trust. And naturally my everyday life is not all rainbows, cakes and flowers. Being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, puppy owner, freelancer and blogger means that I have plenty of hats to wear and appropriate doses of chaos, noise, happiness, heartache, belly laughs, worry and (don’t forget the) laundry.

Maybe I’m naive, but I don’t think most people deliberately share how uh-may-zing their lives are in an attempt to impress (and yes, there are some who do just that.) I think we all have ups and downs. And the images we share are the moments we want to remember the most, rather than how we want to be remembered.

So, be happy for the person who just shared a photo of that incredible (or boring) meal. They probably had an absolutely crappy day and this meal is chicken soup for their soul.

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There’s a whole 24 hours of up-and-downs behind each photo below.  But these are some of the wonder-FULL moments of last week; my Heartfelt Five.

Monday. Chased a rainbow.

Tuesday. Baked a cake and ate it.

Wednesday. Found sunshine, lollipops and rainbows on my path.

Thursday. Walked in the rain. (So. Good.)

Friday. Adored garden pickings and vintage vases in many shapes and sizes.
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Who knows, I might do another #heartfeltfive series again this week. It was a good reminder to think creatively each day. Feel free to join in.

Ever wanted to do something creative but felt too intimidated to try? That’s how I felt a few months ago. You see, a friend was looking for someone to take her portrait. I wanted to photograph her but there were three problems.

1. I didn’t have a camera. All I use these days is an iPhone and a point & shoot camera. Sure, I’d love a DSLR. It just seems like there would be too much to learn again and it has been in the “when I get time and money” basket.

2. I didn’t have the confidence. Even if I got my hands on a DSLR, what would I know about directing a portrait, let alone using a DSLR?

3. I thought somebody else would do a better job than me….even though, quietly, I had a hunch my background studying and years working in creative media would give me a significant advantage. Without the equipment, training and practice, I simply didn’t trust myself to take a professional portrait for my friend.

So, I did what I could, I contacted a few photographers and passed on a couple of quotes. Secretly, I still wished I had enough confidence to take that photo. I needed someone to give me a head-start,

One of the quotes I passed on was from Portrait Photographer Gina Milicia. Gina took a look at my Instagram and Flickr pics, encouraged and convinced me that she could mentor me to take my friend’s portrait. Me? Was she sure?

With a handful of hope, a glint of excitement and a bucketload of trepidation, we set a time and I headed along to Gina’s Studio. I held her lovely Canon EOS 5D Mark II in my hands  (yes…stressful!) and at first…I felt like an imposter. This was the first time I had held a DSLR camera…ever! The last time I used a SLR camera was back in the ’90s and the amount of dials and numbers on this DSLR camera looked like the dashboard of a cockpit. Gina was fabulous at explaining how the camera worked, asked me about my personal portrait style (I showed her an inspiration board in Evernote) and then she left the rest up to me to direct, gently guiding me and showing me how to improve. She was my “personal trainer” for a few quick hours.

And the results? I was stunned. I could only tell Gina later on that her mentoring session “freaked me out, in a good way!”.

That’s because – as corny as it sounds – a lifetime of creative work and inspiration was finding its way back into my fingertips as I was shooting. Memories of time spent as a teenager doing work experience on the sets of popular children’s TV shows. Memories of making my first short films and trying (failing) to direct talent. The more recent memories of life drawing group and observing the way our tutor gently directs the model into a the perfect pose….so many memories flooding back and going “click” in my head as I directed my friend (who was very patient with me!) to get that “perfect portrait”. I wanted to take a photo which captured her personality, beauty and strength but also honed in on a particular style I’d like to develop.

First of all…we used natural light diffused through frosted windows in a warehouse studio. The background…well take a look for yourself….

We shot in RAW instead of JPEG. We used a tripod because of the low-aperture look I wanted to achieve. Here are a few results. This was taken using an 85mm 1.2 lens.
   

We changed lenses and moved to create a different mood, something a bit more creative and dramatic. These were taken using the 70 – 200mm 2..8 L IS lens, which I preferred because I could also zoom in and out.

The next step for me is to learn some post production to fine-tune the photographs. Gina was kind enough to process a couple using Adobe Lightroom. This is how they turned out…

Don’t you think she looks fab? And…WOW! Thank you so much Gina for helping me to begin my DSLR journey this way! I was so happy with the results. I might even take my photography a little seriously. Now all I need is a good second-hand camera, a tripod, a few willing models and a whole lot of experience so that I can feel confident and proud of my photographs (yes, bit of a perfectionist talking here!) I can’t recommend her mentoring enough for someone who wants to feel confident about their photography again. I learned so much in 4 hours.

The whole experience made me realise that sometimes,  you just need someone to equip you to take the next big step to achieve your creative goal. You never know what the results might be. You might even be pleasantly amazed.

What’s one creative goal you would like to achieve next year? Who could mentor you so that you have a head-start?

I’m really enjoying looking at things. Really looking. And looking again.

I’m rearranging pictures and stacking paintings against the wall.

I’m looking at picture books.

I’m practicing.

Shuffling.

Sorting.

Seeing.

Shaping.

Creating.

Perhaps as I am headed towards a significant birthday, I’ve recently been admiring many things of yesteryear. There’s something so fun and creative in all things retro. This week I headed out to some op-shops with a few girlfriends after working hard on the late-night launch of an ebook (about iPhone photography…loved working on this one obviously!)  However there’s another side to vintage finds. Moments and memories. Treasured memories. Some books I have been reading also spoke of objects from the past.

For instance, I read with curiosity how artist Mirka Mora practically caught memories in her handbags. One day she lost many of them, following a visit from Marcel Marceau in which he advised her to lose some clutter before it took over her life. She gave many of her beloved handbags away to charity. Only to try and buy back as many as she could. You see, she realised, regretfully, that she couldn’t bear to part with so many memories, after all.  (“It is as if my fate is sealed and I cannot change the way I am, or I might lose the art of painting, who feeds on the memories encrusted in my brain.” Mirka Mora, Love and Clutter)

In her older age, Nora Ephron wrote with amusement and a sense of betrayal about her memories. Many had left her. Amusing because she could remember some trivial and useless things. The more important details however, were washed away with time. She regretted not keeping a journal and love letters. I wonder if our blogs will help us to remember some of the moments we forgot to document elswhere, when we’re older. (“On some level, my life has been wasted on me. After all, if I can’t remember it, who can?” Nora Ephron, I Remember Nothing)

In 1989 I visited Berlin as part of a student exchange program and LOVED the op shops. We could buy the American Military’s used Levi 501′s by the kilo. I still remember a silk pyjama top which I wore as a shirt the next year, and a fuschia coloured silk dress which I wore and wore until I couldn’t repair it. They reminded me of the vibrancy of West Berlin, the punks, a creative city and my first trip overseas on my own. Obviously I don’t own them any more. I wonder if I will forget about Berlin. About the op shop owner who had mascara running down his face as he sobbed into the phone. The feeling of being in such a big city as a teenager. About the bizarre feeling of a city divided and the sad, courageous stories she once told.

When I find lovely things in op-shops I can’t help but wonder what memories they once held. Then I place them in my home, on my bookshelf or my wardrobe and forget that they ever held …or will hold…any memories at all.

More to come…

When you’ve not been overseas in a long, long time

(The last time I went was in 1999)…

Okay that’s about as far as I’m getting with a poem today. But I AM excited about my trip to NYC  which is coming up in two weeks! Yes, it has been a while between trips overseas. So what does a girl need to know about travel these days? Where should I keep my passport? What is LAX airport like for transfers? What do I do for cash? What are your essential jetlag survival techniques? What should I be prepared for? How do I navigate the subway? I have five days of sightseeing in New York before two days at BlogHer. I’d love your advice.

To celebrate my BIG trip I’m giving away a copy of a ProBlogger ebook – of your choice.

All you need to do is write a comment below with your best travel tip for me. I’ll draw a random winner on Thursday 19th 2012 9am local Melbourne time.

Meanwhile, I’ll continue to be inspired by random but wonderful instagram photos of New York.

We found a tree or three backlit in the most spectacular afternoon sunlight. Perfect for the #sundayart theme of trees.

We happened upon some fairytale-like mushrooms only a few houses away from us.

The boys were chased by their own shadows.

Don’t you love the discoveries that can be found just around the corner on a Sunday afternoon?

unexpected surprises in three acts

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ACT I

marshmallows in a fire pit

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ACT II

cheese platter from my boys

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ACT III

it doesn’t have to be sunny to enjoy the beach #sundayart

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I didn’t even include the photos of the rainbows we saw on Saturday. The cute gifts that my boys bought me from a stand at school. Their big hugs. Or the lunch that my kitchen-shy husband made me.  But I chose these three photos because they were unexpected creative moments over a busy weekend.  The laughter of children around a fire. The gift of a cheese platter prepared by my husband. Walking up close to the roar of a wild ocean, right before we hid under an old rail bridge to escape the rain.

I’m so grateful for moments like these. We could have stayed indoors, because it was cold. But we explored, we discovered, we made fire (yes, I think making fire is creative too!)

What do you think it takes, to make sure you discover such wonderful things?

Sand.

Soul.

Space.

That’s my 7 year old sitting next to some driftwood, around 8 in the morning last Saturday. Me, I’m the one taking the photo before putting my phone back into my pocket until we walked back, so that I appreciate the rest of the moment with him. I still like looking at this (Instagram enhanced) photo. I love capturing these moments.  I hope I will always remember them.

I love being in this zone so much, that I’m going to start life drawing classes.

I love being in this zone so much, that I take my shoes off to walk barefoot along the beach.

Sometimes things are left bare, simplified, unplugged, essential.