Obviously I have a new website! I’m still working on fine-tuning some things but I have everything in one place: coaching info, a page for my podcast, blog, and an image gallery. I’ve never managed a full website but it’s been so interesting to bring it to life. I couldn’t have done it without the expertise of my super-smart and tech-savvy friend, Tricia at Tricia Elizabeth Design. She put together pretty much everything, I filled in the content and am figuring out how to add blocks, etc with WordPress. It’s no wonder that people hire someone full time to manage a website. It’s kind of a living thing that always needs attending to.
And yes, I did mention a podcast at the beginning of this post! Last year I was asked if I would ever do one and my answer was an emphatic “NO”! Well, as I stated in this post from earlier this year, I am saying “yes” to so many new experiences. A photographer friend, Len Metcalf, in Australia reached out to me about a possible collaboration and the podcast, “A Creative Affair“, was born. Listen to the first episode to find out how it all came to be and what it’s all about. We both have a passion for creativity and are exploring the subject in depth. We have already published 2 episodes and plan to release them every other week. Unless we change our minds (which is possible!) we will publish in seasons with some longer breaks in between. This will help us focus on producing valuable content and keep both of us doing the creative work we love. It’s been so fun!
More news. I entered my first competition! The Natural Landscape Awards is in its first year and I’m so excited to see all the winners and images that receive commendation. I entered 12 of my of own images and had 5 pass to the next round for RAW image verification. I entered with ZERO expectations of winning anything and did it for the pure practice of fine tuning my work. It wasn’t necessarily easy but was so fun to choose my “best” work, get help and feedback and submit confidently. Big thanks to Michael Torkildsen and especially to David Thompson for image critique and editing assistance! Mentoring makes such huge difference!
My current challenge is to figure out how to maintain what I am currently involved with, do new work, be creative and not get myself into feelings of overwhelm. Could be soooo easy if I allow those kinds of thoughts and emotions to creep in. Some examples of this:
- I don’t have enough time.
- I have too much to do.
- I don’t know what I should do next.
I like to catch myself when I start thinking in this kind of way because it’s really not productive for me AT ALL! In all of those thoughts I am just spinning in indecision, etc and not actually being productive. My new thoughts to counter the old ones:
- I have plenty of time to do what I need (and want).
- I get to choose exactly how I want to do with my time.
- I trust myself to know what to do next.
Coaching myself through my thoughts and making the mental shift has been so helpful me while I design the life I want to have. It’s still messy and always will be and that’s ok!
I’ll end with some recent images from one of my favorite places, White Sands National Park.
