Photography Side Projects

I have not been doing much of my photography side projects as of late.

My “Ambient Art” series has come to a close, 5yrs in creating that body of work. Time to step away, bring it to a close and move towards a new subject. The Ambient series has been an important creative outlet. Side projects make me a better photographer on game day.

It seems lately every time I have a conversation or read about photography the subject moves towards taking lots and lots of photos of a single subject and or theme. Simply press down on the shutter and rattling off 8 shots per second and then edit to select the best.

I’ve struggled with the idea that photography is a volume sport. Intentionally creating a photo is where it's at for me, not spraying through volumes of photos to pick the best.

I do understand that this is a personal process for the photographer on how they choose to create. I need to be quiet and selective before pressing the shutter. Creative moments live in the breath for me, not in the aftermath.

This brings me to a new side project and I am considering putting some time into: Abstract Wind is the project that I’ll be working on. I have this vision of capturing patterns in the wind, provided by dust, leaves, debris, cloud patterns and birds. This project has me bowing down to Mother Nature and shooting quick to capture as many frames as possible to find that perfect line and form that I wish to capture. So, I argue with myself on that maybe photography can be a volume sport.

It comes down to how you wish to "Do The Work". In the end the creative process is only about doing the work, those who wait for inspiration.....wait.

Heart & Strength Interview Series w/ Johnna Swilley-Lewis

Today I started a new series in which I highlight people living with Devics and/or MS who live life strong. Please let me introduce you to Johnna Swilley-Lewis, a small business owner living in Fort Smith, Arkansas who is living with Devics.

What prompted me to ask Johnna to do this interview with me is that she is a runner. I am looking for people to inspire me to push myself in my life with Devics/MS. Johnna did that for me. Thank you Johnna.

My goal is to show people that you can live well with a disease by placing “purpose and effort” into your life (not simply waiting for medicine to work, but by “you” the individual being proactive). I have personally opted out of taking medicine for my journey with Devics/MS. In no way in this interview do I wish to sway people on their medicine, that is personal decision. I do hope to shed light on the idea that we can have control over our health.

You call yourself the “crazy blind running fool”. What level of blindness are you at? How do you compensate when running being visually impaired?

My optic neuritis has not taken all of my sight, just the ability to focus.

I have a BIG mastiff "Hoss"(dog) who runs with me. At 225 lbs he is quite a deterrent and being the gentle giant that he is I feel safe. I also run with a local group.

My Opthamologist is awesome. He has seen me through a lot, especially the day that came last March when we realized I couldn't see the "BIG E " on the eye chart, which brings me to my favorite quote. "We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot."

You have a goal of running a 1/2 marathon next March. What challenges will Devics/MS place on you during your training?

Currently I am recovering from an achilles tendon tear, after rehab I will start training for a 1/2 marathon in March and with luck a marathon in April. Don't get me wrong , I realize I have to "reason" with "my Devics" from time to time and take a break.

(***Editor Note***) (After reading Johnna's e-mails prior to posting this interview, she inspired me to sign up for my 1st 10k to be held on the 9/25).

How has the practice of alternative medicine influenced your life? (I love the word practice, people need to think about their health as a practice)

A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings, and learn how by his own thoughts to derive benefit from his illnesses - Hippocrates. I truly believe this, therefore I practice it. I do understand that Alternative Medicine is just that: alternative.

My journey began in 1986 and just like most has been the same. It started at a Rheumatologist, Neurologist, Pulmonologist and a lot of other "ologists". For me Western Meds made my personal situation worse, I was labeled "uncompliant" and even "crazy". I went as far as to get a Psych eval. Either way I HAVE DEVICS, IT DOES NOT HAVE ME! I have a vitamin regamen I follow that was prescribed and adjusted as needed by my Chiropractor, who is a Dr. of Naturopathy. Also, he has my MRIs and is well aware of my situation. I see him weekly. I also use a Massage therapist who specializes in reflexology.

What is your philosophy on living with Devics/MS?

I apologize to no one for the way I choose to face Devics, I OWN my life and until the time comes and I have to give it over to God I will plant my feet or whatever I have available to me and be a force to be reckoned with. I am the "crazy blind runner".

I am the "crazy blind runner". Thank you so much John for letting me share my story with you. God Bless

Photo of the Week

This photo ends my Ambient Art series. You can see the full gallery (HERE), to close this series I want to give away this photo.


This photograph is licensed under a creative commons licensing: Please feel free to use and distribute the photography & artwork in accordance with the licensing.

You can download full size JPG (HERE)

A New Chapter

The above photo is of my daughter heading out the door for her day at kindergarten: a new chapter. This day closes a chapter in my life. This day, especially the morning, was the most emotional day I have had since the day she was born. It seems that she was just squeezing my little finger moments after she was delivered and now 5yrs later she's heading out the door. She smiles and tells me she loves me. I smile, “I love you too baby girl”. We walk to the bus together.

Three months ago I set out in search of a fresh direction in life. Not a dramatic life change but a new sense of purpose. A new chapter.

The question was asked to me “What would your life look like if you could not fail?” My life would be the same minus the day-to-day worries. I would keep my business as is, wife and daughter as is, disease (almost) as is. I know how disturbing that must sound, who would keep a disease as is. I do want a cure. I know that this condition has brought me to this moment, to me actually writing down that I can mange this, better yet, I can do something good with it. I like that. It gives me the fresh direction in life that I’ve been searching for.

What gives me this optimistic outlook? I have no idea. Some people like sports, I like optimism. Let me tell you, this attitude of mine can piss people off, funny but true. How do I spread the word without pissing people off?

After I came out of my MS/DD closet and told the world “hey it's possible to be ok” the feedback has been staggered. Some place me on a mountain top, some just want me to shut up. One of the traits I like about myself is the ability to understand multiple perspectives when talking to people. Which means that when people place me on the mountain top those who wish to push me off are equally as right. I pray for a soft landing with the hope of helping a few along the way.

In the coming months I am going to have the opportunity to have a conversation about doing advocacy work. I like that. I hope it works out. I keep telling the world that I want to be the Lance Armstrong of MS/DD, this could be my start.

Let me leave you with a lesson learned (this lesson is equally applied in health, creativity & life).

Perfection is found in the process. Do not concern yourself with the results, concern yourself with the process.

Process over outcome, in every aspect of life.

Moment

Current Reading: Chi Running by Danny Dreyer
Current Music: Wake Up by John Legend & The Roots
Mood: Satisfied
Sounds: Back ground sounds of news on TV
Smells: Eggs, Spinach & coffee
Temperature: 81 degrees
Thoughts: Process over outcome, in every aspect of life.

Thank You's, Feedback & One Minute

It's a new day and before I get going on this post today there are a couple of people I would like to thank for helping me to get my story out to the world.

Joe Perez, who is a writer that I have followed for years. Thank you Joe for your inspiring words and providing me with a title for my story. Neal Griebling of Future Design Studio. Neal has been a guiding voice to me over this summer, helping me to write the next chapter of my life. Chris Miller, thank you for re-designing my blog and bringing a clear message of what I want to present to the world. Lastly to my wife, you are the only medicine I will ever need...

Now onto the feedback. This is what learned from the sharing of my story on Monday.

First, thank you for your e-mails, kind words and well wishes. They mad my day!

I received the greatest amount of feedback from outside the MS/DD community. That was not at all what I was expecting, I was expecting a collective “Yeah, it's possible to live well with a disease.”

What I received (for the most part) from within the MS/DD community were people sharing their stories with me about feeling judged when they tell their positive thoughts on Facebook pages, forums, websites...etc. I have felt that way too and it's an isolating feeling.

To those living with the disease I say THANK YOU for sharing your success stories with me. My advice to you is this: Be Not Afraid, Speak Up, Share, Share, Share those encouraging words.... We need more of this. Months ago I read a story about a man with DD getting back on his mountain bike and riding for the first time in a year. I loved it. There are people who still go for the mountain top. I want to be one of those people.

We all miss our previous life of wellness and pain free living. A life where the nightmares were left in our sleeping state. Today I breathe and that is good. Today you breathe and that is good. Let's do something new with our breath.

Lesson learned #2 (see Lesson Learned #1 HERE). One minute of effort a day leads to the greatest improvements.

Go start a new one minute of practice of your own. It could be one minute of writing, one minute of prayer or meditation, one minute of exercise, one minute of gratefulness, one minute of artistic practice, one minute of...

Share your minute with me.

Living Life with the Heart of a Servant and the Strength of a Fighter

In October of 2005 I was told that I have a progressive form of Multiple Sclerosis, while also being diagnosed with Devics Disease a few years later. On January 26 of 2006, my wife gave birth to our daughter. I spent the first year of my daughter’s life sick. It was and is a life with symptoms that made it hard for me to walk, hard for me to have any feeling below the waist, both legs numb and tingling at all times never to subside, muscle weakness, loss of coordination, loss of muscle toning causing stiffness, pain and restricting free movement of my right hand and left side of my mid selection, optic neuritis, electrical shock and buzzing sensations zapping the middle of my back, fatigue, and random other whatnots.

Six years into this journey and I still have all of the symptoms listed above. What I no longer am is a person who identifies with being sick. I am not infallible...I get sick for periods at a time, I get flare-ups and attacks, I have an illness without a cure, I live with the effects that this disease has over me, but I am not sick. I live a well life. A life filled with effort and purpose by living a healthy and creative life. Being a father, husband, photographer and business owner has saved my life...all because I want to be there for everything.

I want to help you in your life in whatever way I can. My goal is to get others with this disease to stand and walk, to create things, to connect and to grow; to be well with a disease without a cure.

I want to be the Lance Armstrong of MS/DD. I want to start telling the world about how to be healthy while having a disease without a cure. Armstrong did this with cancer and a bike. I want to do this with MS/DD, a camera, a pen and my feet.

This past winter of 2011 I was barely able to get out of bed and when I did I wasn’t able to walk without the aid of a cane. Slowly I started to move daily...now in August of 2011 I am able to trail run five miles. I have the goal of becoming a charity runner for MS/DD.

For six years I have kept a blog but never used the words MS/DD. Briefly at times I would hint to my illness but never would the words be said out loud. Why? Fear.

I am a photographer, people hire me with the expectation that I will show up. Never have I wanted to place doubt in a client’s perception of me. Fear kept me from telling the world.

Today I can say that MS/DD has made me a better photographer, business man and hopefully husband and a father. It has taught me to show up. To show up to whatever needs to be focused on that day. It has taught me how to live in the present, not to dwell on what might be. Trust me that is hard to do, especially when you’re in a dark place of illness. It has taught me to enjoy life, to give to others without expectations, to live with purpose.

At this point in my life I want to share my success stories (& hopefully your success story) of living a well life with a disease that has no cure.

Let me be very clear that I am not talking about a cure. This is about living well with the disease. I have chased down many snake oil promises for a cure. What I am promoting is not a cure. It’s an outlook and a philosophy on living your life.

I have taken an integral approach to my wellness, body, mind and soul because all are of equal importance. I think about moving my body, I think about the food (fuel) that I place into my body, I think about my relationships, I think about my thoughts, I think about quieting my mind. I journal, I blog, I play guitar, I take photographs, I walk, I run, I pray, I meditate.

This disease can attack me at any moment, and attack is the right word. A right punch from this disease can blindside me at any moment and I have been there, all too often. I get up slowly at times but I always get up.

Lesson learned #1. There is no perfection, only the process of what I can control.

I never wanted to talk about my illness. Still don’t. I do not want to be a person whose life is defined by the diagnosis of a disease. I want to talk about the lessons learned from living with the disease. These are not lessons on medical advice or tips or tricks to wellness, nor are these suggestions on how to handle side effects from medicine. These are lessons about putting in the effort.

My goal is to help others lead a life filled with health, creativity, simplicity infused with the “heart of a servant” and the “strength of a fighter”. And that takes practice.

I invite you to join me in this journey. Please pass this along if it inspired you. Facebook this, Tweet this, e-mail this to friends and family struggling with these diseases.

Top 10 list of Daughter & Daddy Similarities

Jotted this list down after spending a morning playing with my daughter:

1. Pants are always optional
2. Poopie jokes are funny
3. Barefoot is best
4. Books at bedtime. Always.
5. Belly zerberts is just good parenting
6. Lady GaGa & Taylor Swift are dreamy
7. Monkey-bar workouts for us
8. Phineas and Ferb is the best TV show. Ever.
9. We both love Mommy
10.We both like to color inside the lines but think outside the box. It’s our own existential crisis with a crayon in hand.

Nationally Published, Updates & Stuff

Ok, so this makes us feel good...we have been nationally published twice this week.

Style Me Pretty featured one of our engagement sessions. You can read the story over at Elizabeth’s blog.

Indian Wedding Site featured one of our weddings.

Also, Check out our website (www.craig-photography.com). We have added a crazy amount of new photos.

If is this is not enough self marketing, you can also see our new Facebook page which has a zillion of photos, truly zillions.

Renaissance Man or Singular Focus

I am disciplined by nature; I say my prayers, eat my vegetables, and do my push-ups. But the one thing that has always been lacking for me is that I can’t pick a direction and stick with it.

Singular focus: I’ve never been good at that. To have the drive and attention to do one thing well for long periods of time. It just doesn't seem natural.

It’s all about composition and creating something new to me. I have the discipline for creating but not the passion to master one subject in its totality, if that's even possible.

Guitar, camera or the pen? Business man or working artist? Zen or Christianity? These are all passions of mine but I have mastered none. Conceivably I’m a renaissance man like Leonardo Da Vinci?

In reading all these endurance books over this summer the one running thought that I kept asking myself was “ how do they fight the boredom and repetition of their day?” Even during my obsessive study of Bach I would read about students practicing their instrument for ten hours at a time. I have spent a lifetime with a guitar on my lap but never have I practiced for ten straight hours. Never.

So I struggle with the divided nature of renaissance man or singular focus.

My wife has the gift of singular focus when it comes to her photography. She is a woman's photographer; a creative portraitist and that is her love and passion behind the lens. She is always developing her talents in this direction. I am proudly jealous of her photography in this way, (but it's also nice to have a sugar momma; it's good for the renaissance man's soul).

Capturing a photo is all about documenting a singular moment of focus.

Perhaps a renaissance man can have a singular focus even if it's fleeting....

Moment

Current Reading: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
Current Music: Nothing - recommend something good?
Mood: Dreamy
Sounds: laundry machine
Smells: Coffee
Temperature: 74 degrees, cloudy & gray outside.
Thoughts: Health. Creativity. Life. Simplicity.

Published ~ Indian Wedding Photographers

Happy to tell you that we got one of our recent Indian weddings published on a national Indian wedding site! We were contacted a little while ago and asked if we would mind sharing Ashima & Neel’s wedding photos for their site.

I don’t know if you remember Ashima & Neel (see slide show here) their wedding was jam-packed full of the most awesome festivities, food and details. It was a very emotional weekend and the energy surrounding everything was so contagious. With the Sangeet/Mehendi at PNC Park (Neel is a big baseball fan) and a gigantic wedding and reception at the Pittsburgh Hyatt, we were just hanging on with both hands trying not to fall off.

IndianWeddingSite published 3 separate posts: the Sangeet/Mehendi, the Wedding and the Reception. Gorgeous! And also don’t forget to drop by our Indian Wedding Photography website!

On Walking

Sunday afternoon I took a long walk to get two slices of pizza.

I slept in that morning and after a pot of coffee, photo editing, and too much marketing research I got up from my desk and walked.

Walking over the years has become my church; this is where I feel the presence and trust me I have spent more time in churches than most church ladies...truly. When I walk I can see the seasons change, flowers bloom and flowers dying, grass turning green to burning out from the sun, to the leaves falling off the trees. I see neighbors, not often though, few leave their homes. I do see some at times. I wave as I walk by, they have come to know me. There is one man who is always standing out at the end of his driveway on the right hand side where he places his trash. No matter what time of day I walk by there he is standing there, sometimes on his phone, sometimes smoking, sometimes just standing and staring out. I have come to think of him as my neighborhood gnome, always there, always present without purpose. I wonder what he thinks of me as I walk by.

As I walk out of my neighborhood I past a hospital. I see, as always, that the parking lot is full; there are never any open spots. Cars circle around doing loop-t-loops searching for a spot to park. I have used the services of this hospital myself. It is nice, nice people work there, and that is what makes the sick well. So I guess a full lot means there are people being treated nice, this is good.

Next I pass a park that is lined with tennis courts. Wish I could play, I have tried at times but with little success. A good photographer friend of mine was teaching me years ago but he was too good and I was too slow. These courts are littered with the geriatric, dressed in white: clean white clothes, clean white shoes and clean white hair. There are couples playing doubles and I smile every time and think “maybe when I’m sixty I’ll take up the sport”.

There is a patch of woods that I cut through on my way. This is the spot of land where I decided to take up trail running. This patch of woods is filled with loop-t-loop trails that are far enough for me to work up a good sweat but not too far that I could not cry out for help if I broke a leg. I am a month and a half into running and breaking a leg hasn't happened, not yet at least. I named this park wood-chip-trail with my daughter years ago. Not sure if that's the real name but at the entrance the trails are lined with wood-chips and it gives you the feeling that you're walking through a Disney forest scene.

As I come out of the woods I make my way into the next business district, now just one mile from the best pizza. I walk down the sidewalk past mom and pop stores. I wonder how they stay in business, but I’m glad that they do. Never once have I spent a dime in any of these places, except the pub.

I walk into the pizza shop, order two slices and large iced tea. There are five booths lining the wall, the first four booths are filled with men sitting alone staring at the TV on the wall, which has a golf game on. I take the fifth booth and start reading a City Paper while I wait for my order to be ready. Two guys in front of me start talking about how great the weather is in San Diego, I’ve only been there once and the weather was nice, white beaches too. As I listen to this conversation I wonder what is worse: that I am eves-dropping or actually interested in San Diego weather? Five guys, siting in five separate booths all eating alone on a Sunday afternoon. We all must have our story of why we are eating alone on a Sunday afternoon. Mine is that my wife and daughter are out shopping. I would much rather eat alone than go shopping. The gentleman in the first booth looks as if he had a hard life, you can see it in the wrinkles in his skin. You just know that he has stories to tell, but all he does is eat his pizza and at the oddest moment he speaks up and says, "Laguna beach. That is nice if you're in San Diego go there." And he goes back to eating.

I get my slices, take my time eating them.

I walk back home.

Photo of the Week

Moment

Current Reading: Running On Empty by Marshall Ulrich
Current Music: Pat Metheny, What's It All About
Mood: Trail running excited
Sounds: My wife reading a story to my daughter
Smells: Who Smurfed
Temperature: 82 degrees
Thoughts: Trail running, meditation and writing, there is something profound in this trinity....hope I can discover what it is?

Light

We have been experimenting with different lighting set-ups this year. This is what I learned (or in truth, remembered).

Flex TTL - Nikon PocketWizard is good, not great. When set for TTL, flash recycle time has become an issue. When the flash is set in Manual, no problems at all.

Tripod and a reflector are still my best weapons of choice for off-camera light.

Late to the game on researching this, White Lightning (self-contained studio flashes), which I call “canned light”, are less expensive than most high-end flashes. I just had to send a flash into Nikon to have it fixed. If the flash repair cost more than $300 I am going with a new White Lightning.

Natural light is how I prefer to shoot. I feel it is the best way to create separation between you and other photographers. Natural light is never the same twice......

Photo of the Week

Zombie, Zendo & Motion

I remember the pain but I forgot how bad it feels.

This summer I have been on a transformational journey of body, mind and soul. At times on this blog I write about my health and its condition. I do my best to stay away from words (thoughts) like "disease", "illness" and other depressing verbiage. Why? We all suffer in some way. No need to label mine.

Two months ago I set out to rehab myself from this past winter of sickness and also set into motion training for this upcoming winter season. For reasons unbeknownst to me winter is hard on me, body, mind and soul...hard.

For 60 days I have been a soldier to my mission at hand. I started slowly with push-ups and pull-ups in my backyard, doing as many as I could, which wasn't much. Daily I built my strength. Walking at first around the block, progressing to walking 5 miles a day. Three weeks ago I started trail running, which I love. Back in March of this year I was walking with a cane and today I am trail running. I feel like Lance Armstrong, minus the cancer and the fame. No ultra marathon in my future as of yet, but who knows? Ego is alive and getting stronger, push-ups do a body good.

I fuel myself with a library of endurance books, reading everything that I could get my hands on. I motivated myself with thoughts of my wife and daughter while chanting the mantra “heart & strength” over and over in my head. I’ve even hired a business coach to help guide me along this journey. We talk about the “now” the “what might be” and the dreaded “yes/but” moments we all face in life. It's a cocktail of therapy and business advice from a guy who looks like George Carlin and talks like the Dalai Lama. He thinks I should write a book.

I joined a Zendo to develop my meditation practice. I see it as training for what might never come, but I want the foundation to be laid if needed.

Two days ago I had a set back. I awoke to pain and a feeling deep inside of me that was not good. A shakiness in the core of my body has returned. I call this feeling “zombie fog syndrome”. 60 days of work gone, for not. When zombie mode strikes, life mentally becomes hard. I question every move that I made over the past couple of days, I question every piece of food that I consumed, I even question the people that I came into contact with, constantly searching for patterns that might lead to answers. No answers arise, no patters form.

Sunday morning I sat through an hour and a half of zazen in this zombie fog of pain and self doubt. The only reason I went was a nagging feeling I had all throughout the night of “do not miss it". I awoke early, so I went.

This meditation was not my best, my mind ran wild with thoughts and my body surged with pain. Not once did I feel relief while on the mat. The bell rings three times and the zazen period is over. Thank God I say to myself as I try to stand and not look as if I was going to fall over.

After the session was over and I walked to my car I noticed a sensation flowing through my body. This is good. I feel ok. Pain is subsiding.

Motion, 60 days of motion in body, mind and soul. This is my answer! I trained myself for motion. Health is out of my control at this time. Motion is not. I can move forward, if the body fails I can move the mind , if the mind fails I can move the spirit. As long as I have breath I have motion. I am in control, this is what I learned. This is what I wish to share with you.

My life is guided by the simple words of “create, connect & grow”. I am learning that it is all about the act of motion. Motion is the fuel for my philosophy.

Do something good, repeat it, then share it....that is motion....

Updates & Stuff

~ New photos on our main site, Craig Photography (Click Here)
~ My Flickr page has some new pics, finally (Click Here)
~ Elizabeth has a new blog...go see (Click Here)

Photo of the Week

Barefoot Spirituality

Sitting in the zendo this past Sunday morning deep in zazen I peek around the room. Peeking during zazen will not get you any closer to enlightenment but it does feel good to stretch the neck. I started to think about, actually in zazen you're not supposed to think; your thoughts arise, you notice them and then let them pass into the emptiness.

We are all barefoot. A group of barefoot people sitting in a Zendo contemplating the whatever?

This got me thinking about how many things in my life I do better when I am barefoot. I write better when I am barefoot. I play guitar better when I am barefoot. I trail run (almost) barefoot, in Vibram 5 Finger shoes. Yoga barefoot, lots and lots of things I do in my barefoot. I play with my daughter in the backyard barefoot.

There is no special reason why I prefer barefoot life, I just do.

After the Sunday service at the Zendo I could not stop thinking about all the barefoot Buddhas we are trying to be. There is comfort in barefoot but also there can be pain if you do not watch your step. Barefoot brings about awareness to your body and attention to the soil you walk upon. I like this idea. Mindfulness by foot.

Currently reading “Marathon Monks of Mount Hiei” by John Stevens. It is the story, if that is the right word, of a group of Buddhist monks who push the limits of human endurance in service for attaining enlightenment. In 7 years they will have run 1,000 marathons on a vegan diet. This is taking “The Four Noble Truths on suffering” to a crazy place of ultra endurance athletes seeking a spiritual high. By the way, they run in straw sandals that fall apart daily, they run nearly barefoot.

What I am learning in this book?

That we need to know our place in this world. To understand the soil that we walk on, to experience the importance of each season. To see the effects of what damage we may do to our surroundings. To take notice to the people around us as we are moving by so quickly.

Barefoot spirituality. I remember reading a Ken Wilber book where he wrote “Finding your spirit is as easy as noticing your feet” .

I like that....

~ Time Off

Going for a long walk in the woods... See you next week.

Moment

Current Reading: RUN by Dean Karnazes
Current Music: David Bowie Best Of
Mood: Vibrant
Sound: TV noise
Smells: Waffles & Coffee
Temperature: 80 "ish" today
Thoughts: Having a detailed contract good....relying on e-mail conversations not good.

Creative Photography ~ Talk

(Its not about the camera)
(Unleashing your creativity)

(Healthy living via a creative process)
(10 commandments of creativity)

Tomorrow night I will be giving my first talk on creativity. Public speaking on creativity has been a longtime goal of mine and it will be nice to check it off the bucket list. Hopefully if I do my job well it will be the first of many.

This talk has taken on different themes throughout this past year. To give you the short back story of how this “talk” came to be, last year after teaching a photo 101 workshop the conversation veered to my beliefs about the importance of creativity in daily life. This conversation was held after the workshop ended with a small group of people. After the conversation ended I was asked if I could give this same talk next year at the “Health Fair”.

One year later, I will be giving this talk. There will be four running themes: (see above).

Originally the talk was going to be on “faith and creativity”, but at the last minute I was asked to change the title to simply “Creative Photography”. The title change did bother me a little, but truthfully not much. Faith will be a guiding theme blended throughout the talk. And no, it will not be evangelical at all.

Lastly, I will end the talk with a Q&A session. I am guessing I will get a lot of techie questions, that's ok: I will tell you what the best camera to buy. (But you probably won’t like my answer.)

Where: Upper St. Clair Community Building
Free: Open to all
Time: 7pm

Zentimental

Zentimental, that's how she describes her feelings. She laughs, pours herself more coffee and continues on with her meal. Me, I am seated across the breakfast table from her, with seven other people joining her at the morning table.

Prior to this meal, I completed my first formal zazen meditation at Plum Blossom Zendo. I have been attracted to Zen for well over a decade, but never made the jump to start a formal practice.

Zentimental: that is the perfect word to describe my feelings. I have read books, lots of them on Zen. I have practiced home meditation for ten years but never had I made the journey to expand this passion.

I have roots in Christianity and a strong connection to the works of Zen practitioners. At this period of my life it's time to grow both lineages in a blending journey. Let's see what happens.

Sunday morning I park my car on a normal street right down the road from Carnegie Mellon University. This does not look like a Zendo to me. I walk up a couple of steps and knock on the front door of a townhouse. There is nothing Zen about this experience. Where is the Buddha statue? Where are the prayer flags? Where is the Zen garden? This is just a townhouse in a row of other townhouses.

The door is answered by a woman with a smile and a please come in. People greet me politely, I shake hands and exchange niceties. Next I am taken to the third floor of the house , this is the Zendo. An empty room with a Buddha statue and eight meditation cushions on the floor. Ok, this is starting to look Zen to me. I am given a Zen 101 intro class of what to expect and how to act in the Zendo. Bow to the Buddha first then bow to the group then bow to your mat then sit. I was given a list of the chants and prayers and then I walk through the proper technique of walking meditation.

Bell rings three times, all becomes silent. The group from downstairs walks quietly to the zendo. We sit for 25 minutes of zazen followed up with 15 minutes of walking meditation, then one last period of 25 minutes of zazen.

The first zazen session went great, all those books and home practice was paying off. "I am a meditator", I think to myself. Bring on the ten day retreats. Three bells ring again ending the first period of zazen. Next, the group stands up and starts walking clockwise. At this point I am not meditating, I am just trying not to walk into the person in front of me. My mind is full of noise and I think the guy two people in front of me looks like George Carlin, I try not to giggle, please God do not let me giggle now. (good to have roots in Christianity for such an emergency) My prayers were answered. More bells ring out, more bows and we sit for the last 25 minutes of zazen. This is not going well; my back has a sharp pain in between my shoulder blades, the right side of my face is itchy all I want is that damn bell to ring. Ok, so a ten day retreat is out, for now.

The bells ring, I did it. We rise and the practice leader give out orders for morning chores. I have to help clean the zendo. I knew this part was going to happen, all those books prepared me for this. I clean all the mats in silence while another man vacuums the floor. This is nice I think to myself. The movement feels good and silence makes the work mindful. OK this is good, I am feeling something. My heart beats slow, my mind is focused at the job at hand, I will come back to this zendo. The bells ring three times and we go down to the breakfast table.

I feel Zentimental.......

Elizabeth Craig Intimates

If You Like Elizabeth Craig Intimates, May I Ask That You “LIKE” Me? | Shameless Request for Some Facebook Love

Well I have to say I gave in to something I said I never would: requesting people to “Like” me. As a business owner I get TONS of requests to “Like” other people’s businesses and it can get a bit overwhelming. However, I was recently convinced that my Intimates photography could be pushed further if I opened a Facebook business page. So…*sigh*…I finally gave in. I’m not complaining! I’m incredibly blessed that people seem to like my work (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!) so it did make sense to make this small leap.

So, as much as I hate to ask, and as much as I feel like a 7 year old on the playground asking you to be my friend (actually that’s kinda cute…..will you “Like” me? I promise I’m a good friend, loyal, fun and have a terrific sense of humor (if I do say so myself)

If you like Elizabeth Craig Intimates, may I ask that you “LIKE” me?

Thanks for all the support!

Updates & Stuff

To see some of our best creative portraiture, ever (Click Here)

July 14th ~ I will be speaking on “ Creative Photography Process” (p.s. Its not about the camera) Click here for info

Off to see a Biz coach about a Zen practice...

Moment

Current Reading: Soul Mining: A Musical Life by Daniel Lanois
Current Music: Psychedelic Furs, Greatest Hits
Mood: Ready to go....
Smells: Coffee
Sounds: Quite morning hum of Mother Nature
Temperature: 87 degrees
Thoughts: Birthed a new project-idea last night. I need this. As of late I have been purchasing new equipment to speed up post production work. You can not purchase your way to a new idea-project. Now I need to set aside the time and hope the weather becomes my creative partner.

July 4th Photo & Free Download

As promised, here is a free download, photo taken July 4th 2011.


This photograph is licensed under a creative commons licensing: Please feel free to use and distribute the photography in accordance with the licensing.

Hope you enjoy the pic...

~ Time Off

Have a great 4th of July. See you next week.

Peace ~ John