Celebrating Beauty

  I had a wonderful conversation with an artist friend this week about photography, the purpose, and what really drives me.  Yes, there are times I get burnt out.  There are times when I want to give up photography all together.  But the people, the places, the beauty... That's what keeps me connected to my camera.  I have the opportunity today to show you why you are beautiful.  To let you see it through my eyes.  And the world.  This beautiful world we live in.  Every day, I see the mountains, I see a new sky - cloudy, sunny, colorful, or dark is dismal.  It's all beautiful.  And those moments of reality - tears shed, a crying baby, a playing child, the sun rising over the mountain, or even simply the way the light shines on the leaves of the trees.  Moments in weddings or families.  Moments in events or activities.  And moments of peace in nature.

Today, I am alive and that means I get to open my eyes and celebrate the beauty all around me.  As a photographer, my job and my opportunity is to show the beauty in the world as I see it.

Through my eyes, my lens, here are a few examples of the beauty in Turks and Caicos (Caribbean).  There's a story behind every moment, but today I just want to share the photos and let you see what you see.

 

Jamaica

When Jasmine and I started looking for locations for our cruise, the first requirement was warm.  She's moved out to New York City and I'm still in Utah, so we wanted to get away from the winter.  This vetoed the Antarctica cruise.  The second thing that sparked our interest was Jamaica.  To be honest, we chose this cruise specifically so that we could go to Jamaica.  We grew up with the movie "Cool Runnings", and we were just a little tinsey bit obsessed.  We loved quoting the movie- "Ya mon!"  "No problem, mon!"  "Hey Sanka, ya dead?!"  And everything you see if movies is true, right?  OK, maybe not.  But we were still excited.

Sooooo, we didn't see a bobsled team practicing going downhill, and there wasn't live music on every corner.  But Jamaica did have  vivid colors everywhere.  The blues in the water, the umbrellas and clothes, the lush greenery and even some flowers.  I was bummed we didn't really meet a "Sanka" character like in Cool Runnings, but we had a few funny experiences with  some locals.  "Can we get you girls anything?  A taxi?  ...Some grass?"   Yeaaah, definitely not in Utah anymore ;-)

Below is the patio where we tried jerk chicken and pork.  It was decent, but I imagine it's a lot like BBQ, the flavors, spiciness, and overall quality varies.  I'll definitely try it again some time in a less tourist-y area.  I love how the umbrellas match the flowers though.

This guy made me smile - singing "Don't worry about a thing, cuz every little thing is gonna be alright..."  Love music like that!  And the colors from the market behind him.

 

The top right photo above is my favorite from the whole trip - the yellow umbrella with the blue water and the gorgeous sand.  Looks like the perfect vacation to me.

And I thought the bottom left photo below was really cool, but Thomas said you can't really tell it's a wave coming up on the sand.  Maybe we'll call it abstract art?

 

Played a bit with the Canon G11 and the underwater casing, first time really using it and I say 2 thumbs up.  However, we also had the rest of our camera gear and didn't want to just leave it sitting on the beach, so we actually traded off - Jasmine would go swimming while I sat on the beach, then I would go swimming while she sat on the beach.  Definitely remembering to bring a larger group to the beach next time.  We met a cute little old lady who seemed trustworthy (and apparently was since she didn't steal our stuff!) set the cameras by her for the last 10 minutes so we could play in the water together.  Can you believe how blue that water is though?  Unreal!

Labadee, Haiti

When I travel, I love to see the culture.  The people in their daily lives.  How are their lives different than mine?  How are they the same?  It's interesting to see a new perspective.  So I was a little bit disappointed when I learned that the island in Haiti the cruise ship stops at was a private island and all tourism.  But when I opened my eyes, I saw a little taste of heaven. The first photo I took when I got off the boat is this one below.  It's interesting because I have so much experience photographing people that I wasn't sure what else to do for this scene.  I tried a few different angles, but I couldn't change it up by asking the palm tree to pose differently.  And ultimately, I was happiest with the very first photo.  It's a new challenge and I will be learning how to improve.

I then walked closer to the water and a rock took off the top of my toe.  The blood would have ruined the shot, so I took a little break until we got to a new location :)

I think these two should be on motivational posters or something.  On the left:  It's not about where the journey ends, it's the path you take to get there.  And on the right, well, I don't know if a quote goes along with it, just a sigh.  Doesn't that look amazing right now?

 

 

If you look carefully at the photo below, you can see several wires running across the water.  These are not telephone lines, they are actually zip lines that Jasmine and I went down (daredevils, I tell ya!).  I wish I had a video to show you of us, but to get an idea anyway, here's a link to some other guy going down the zip line: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixynfjhA5zk

 

This guy below did three things:  1. Danced (somewhat similar to a hulu?  Lots of hip movements.  It was... interesting).  2. Smiled and laughed.  3. And he ate fire.  Over and over again.  Can you say "Awesome"?

And this is one of my favorite photos - this guy was playing in a little trio as we waited in line to get back on the ship (anyone who hasn't been on a cruise should be warned that the lines you wait in to get on the ship, off the ship, to get food, photos, or into the theatres - they are as bad as an amusement park).  We were very grateful for the entertainment  as we waited this time.  And isn't this little old guy adorable?

So there it was.  Not tons of culture, but a view that took my breath away.  Tomorrow - Jamaica!

Cruisin' in the Caribbean

Finding balance in life has always been a challenge.  I have a wonderful husband and a fantastic photography business, but also have to fin time for a social life, down time, creative outlets, emotional and physical health, etc.  Everyone has to juggle these things.  So it comes down to priorities.  Some of you might know that I've increased my prices again for 2012 to have just a little bit less photography in my life and a little bit more rock climbing and other exercise/activities, social life, and me time.  Balance.  I'm hoping my 60-80 hour weeks are over for good and I can improve some of the other areas of my life now.

Anyway, this is a good start.  Last week, for the first time since I've started my photography career, I took a vacation where I was completely off the grid.  No phone or internet because I was cruisin' in the Caribbean.  Just my sister and me.  ...And 6000 other people on the boat.  And it was fantastic!  Still a lot of photography, but I got to focus on a different side of photography than usual - the kind that doesn't include people.  Definitely new for me!  I used to see a sunset and say "I wish I could put a bride in front of this".  Last week I succeeded in seeing the beauty of the sunset by itself.

I am such a social person.  But there is something absolutely wonderful about simple sitting.  Being alone with nature, thinking, breathing, feeling.  I feel like this first photo captured how I feel about that experience.  Life seems simple.  It's just nice.

Below, the name of our boat - we sailed Royal Caribbean.

Jasmine and I on formal night with the huge Christmas tree behind.  We were practicing one flash techniques to overpower the ugly tungsten lights that caused shadows on our eyes.  Jasmine was just given a camera for her birthday, so it was awesome to practice and teach a little bit.  We're coming up on 4 years that I got a camera for my birthday (thanks, Dad!) so I was a little sentimental.

 

The view from the boat, playing with white balances.

 

And I think this structure below looks a little bit like a space ship, though it was just a cool glass covering over the hot tub.

 

 

Again, palm trees make everything better.

And we played a little bit.  Yay surfing.  (I obviously didn't take the photo of myself, thanks Nate.)

 

Now I'm back and working like crazy again, but I going to try a little harder to stop and feel the sun, look at the sky, make some new friends.  I don't think I need to go to the Caribbean to do that!

Photos from our stop in Haiti on the blog tomorrow.