simple soulful authenticity

simple soulful {the other workshop i was in for the month of january} has come to a close. i have not written much about it, and worse, i have not been nearly as involved in it as i had hoped. it seemed like the daily prompts of the "picture winter" workshop took up more of my time and energy.

but with simple soulful, it was less about prompts {photography ideas or "assignments"} and more about written lessons that would help us with photography overall... both during the workshop and beyond, in the sense that we could take so much of what was said with us into the rest of our days of shooting... so a "sort of at your own pace" kind of thing... simple... soulful.

anyway, i love what photographer and shutter sister, irene nam, did for us at the end of this workshop that she taught... she put together a little video {slide presentation} of several photos from the january simple soulful flickr group with some quotes taken out of the comments that several of the participants left on her tri-weekly lessons.

i was honored that she included one of my photos in it, as well as a quote from one of my comments.

the quote said "i am proud of stepping out of my comfort zone... it was like getting out of a ford pinto to get into a lexus and drive... for me, anyway."

that was from a comment i left on the "stepping out of your comfort zone" lesson. i was talking about being brave enough to start using my dslr {as opposed to my point-n-shoot}, even though not knowing much about it intimidated me. learning to step out of my comfort zone was one of the best parts of this workshop.

anyway, i just wanted to write and say how much i enjoyed this workshop, and how much i encourage you all to take it, no matter what level you are at in photography. {it's helpful for writers, too.} irene had some really valuable insight into artistic pursuits and being true to yourself as an artist.

it's why she also had a guest speaker share some thoughts as part of one of her lessons, as well.

i wanted to share an excerpt from what the guest speaker said in the lesson about authenicity... the part that resonated with me the most {below}, as i feel it is not only what i think about being authentic with my photos, but with my photography blog and the writing i do on it as well.

this guest wrote:

when you are unhappy, be unhappy. when you are uncertain, be uncertain. when you are delighted, be delighted. when you are worried, worry. when you are tired, be tired. when you are inspired, be inspired. when you are eager, be eager. when it's time to work, work. when it's time to rest, rest. tell me, at this moment, is there anyone more authentically you than you? is your real life occurring anywhere else than here?

that is the epitome of what i want this blog to be. and my goal has been to use my photography to help me be that way here... since i FIRST started it. so i LOVED that!

i can only say, i am so glad i took part in this workshop... and i will definitely be getting the blurb book that is available, which encapsulates the workshop in its entirety. and with it, i will continue to incorporate the things i learned into my photography... as well as all other artistic avenues i take.

{thank you, irene... for this very simple soulful month.}