A little bit before the fireworks started on July 4th, the boats and were getting ready to catch the best view of the city. I was standing close to the George Washington Parkway along with thousands of other people. I remember that night being kinda foggy and with the smoke coming from the fireworks, it made for a really interesting show.
So glad it’s Friday! I had a busy week of meetings and appointments and currently listening to a lot of hammer banging because we’re getting repairs done to the house. It’s not the funnest thing to listen to while you’re working, but I’m glad our shower is finally getting fixed.
What are your plans for the holiday weekend?
Here are three things that I’m grateful for this week:
1. Theres nothing like seeing your work blown up and center stage in a law office right next to the White House! So exciting to see this in person.
2. Starting to work with interns. I have Nia who’s a film student at Howard U and Jon who’s a freshmen at American U. I’m excited to see what will come out of these two 🙂
3. Booked my trip to San Francisco.
I remember taking this a little bit before the 4th of July. Probably July 3rd or something. I remember because this guy stopped me while I on top of the Lincoln steps and told me he had just finished watching my tutorial on how to take firework pictures. I thought it was so cool that he even remembered my name! We then talked about where we were going to take pictures for the holiday and other DC things. It was pretty cool.
I like to read. This hasn’t always been the case. I remember when I was in school it was my least favorite thing to do. Talk about snooze fest.
But in the past few years, I’ve been craving books. Non-fiction, self improvement types in particular. So, I thought it’d be fun to talk about some of my favorites or books I’m currently reading.
Right before I left to Europe, I started reading A New Earth
by Eckhard Tolle recommended to me by Trey Ratcliff. Talk about eye opening. Geez Louise! I never knew how MUCH my inner most thoughts were due to my ego. Before this book I didn’t even think I had much of an ego. After reading it I can see how some of my actions or thoughts may have seemed like I do.
The biggest things I’ve taken away from this book:
– You can’t take yourself too seriously, things happen for a reason and you just gotta roll with the punches
-My possessions don’t define me
-Flowers are here on earth for no other reason that to be admired and to be beautiful.
If that sounds like something you’d be interested in, check it out on Amazon
If you have any recommendations for me, please let me know! I’m always on the hunt for a good book and I usually just read books that have been recommended to me by friends. I feel like I can trust their opinons more, or something like that.
Even though I’m not done going through all my Europe images, I’m still out taking pictures. I can’t help it! I can’t leave my camera alone for more than a few days.
This was taken last week as a storm was approaching. Luckily, I didn’t get caught in the rain this time.
It’s official! It’s been one year since I became a master at the Arcanum and started inviting friends into my cohort. There have been many things that have been said about the Arcanum like, “it’s changed my life” or “it’s such a great community” but the thing about it, is that it’s all totally true.
Last year, on July 7th I was really nervous. I really didn’t really know what I getting myself into but most of all, I was worried about my ability to lead and mentor 20 photographers. I mean, what do I really have to offer that they couldn’t learn anywhere else?
So I pushed my fears aside and slowly built up my cohort with 20 AMAZING landscape and nature photographers. And through this experience I’ve learned so much! I even feel a little guilty because my cohort has taught me sooo much about photography and friendship that it doesn’t even feel like a mentor/mentee relationship anymore. It really just feels like friends with common interests hanging out.
If you’ve been a long time follower of my blog, you may have noticed my photography style has changed a bit in the past year. In the very beginning of the blog I used to shoot and process exclusively HDR. Now with the Arcanum and specifically my cohort, I’ve pushed out of my own comfort zone to try new things in shooting, processing, and just the whole way I look at photography. And for that I’m extremely grateful for my cohort, Angelaville because I’m so much prouder of my work as of recent.
But it’s not just interacting with the members of Angelaville, it’s hanging out with the other masters and members of the Arcanum that makes this whole experience soooo much cooler. I’ve met some pretty awesome people and I’m confident that wherever I go in the world, I’ll have a friend to meet up with through the Arcanum.
So to say that the Arcanum is life changing is totally an understatement. It’s only been a year and I can’t even remember what I used to do before it came about. It’s totally rocked my photo world I can’t wait to see what the next year holds 🙂