We took a trip up to Marysville a few months ago to celebrate something very special with our dear friends David and Kristina. Their four-year-old angel of a daughter, Kaylah, had just beaten cancer. They planned to have a bonfire to burn and let go of the radiation mask and backpack that Kaylah had to use for the past year while in treatment. It was an extraordinary moment, and we were so blessed to be there.
My flight leaves in less than 6 hours. It’s past midnight, and I just finished packing for 4 day/3 night trip to Vegas to participate in WPPI 2010, an annual convention held by Wedding and Portrait Photographers International. I’ve got my moleskine and pens for lecture notes, strobist gear for a potential night shoot in the desert (fingers crossed!), a copy of Seth Godin’s Linchpin, and my herringbone jacket and tie for Airhorns + Lasers. I’m good to go!
There are so many exciting things on the horizon for our family and business. We wrapped filming on a three-day promo shoot for Saia Weddings just yesterday by my good friend and former colleague, Ted Allen from the Bay Area. We’re patiently waiting on the edit, and can’t wait to share it with everyone here within the next few weeks. Further, I’m in the middle of planning several one-day workshops for amateur and budding professional photographers in the Seattle area — stay tuned for official dates and details! :)
An unanticipated but altogether welcome side-effect of finally starting this blog is that it has completely reinvigorated my passion for personal projects. A lot of professional photographers will tell you that their desire to shoot for themselves will tend to wane as their craft becomes their profession. I took a couple shots out of the passenger seat on my way back from Mystic 5 with my old buddy, Val, and just had a little fun with them.
The top is a photo montage I threw together, and the last is a (humble) little nod to Cartier-Bresson, waiting for the decisive moment when a passerby is illuminated by a streetlight.
Have your personal projects fallen to the wayside? What do you do to keep your creativity alive?
all images © 2010 romin lee johnson ProPhoto3 by NetRivet Blogs
