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February 16, 2012

WE ARE STILL HERE!

I’m sitting here in our (still feels new) home office (we moved a couple months ago), at our new lovely and large two person desk (finally we both have a spot to work at!), and I just thought I’d write a little something here since it’s been a while. We are still alive, actually feeling more alive than ever, but our days have been full, a good kind of full.

We came home from a conference (which I blogged about here) a few weeks ago simply BUZZING with ideas and new life. I read a friend’s blog this morning (who’d also attended the same conference) and she reminded me again of something that was said during one of the classes that really challenged me at the time, and still does. As small business owners and creative entrepreneurs, each and every one of us has taken a huge leap at least once in our careers. That “leap”, that stepping off the ledge, came when we had the courage to even go down this path and start pursuing our loves as a business. We had the courage then, but what about the second ledge that came along? How many of us have the courage to take a second leap, or a third or a fourth? Because life isn’t about taking one big risk and then coasting on the fumes of that one decision; it’s about risking again and again in pursuit of what makes you truly come alive as you grow and discover who you are.

The real reason I haven’t been blogging so much lately is because most of my time at my computer is being taken up by preparing for the launch of a new blog & website, which I am super excited about and hope will be ready in the next month or so. We’ve also been working on something pretty near and dear to our hearts that has been on our minds for a while, but that we now have the extra bit of courage to actually pursue and put into motion, which I hope to be able to share and get underway soon too! I’m excited beyond belief, seriously the days go by way too fast planning all of this! And although it’s scary beyond belief stepping off that ledge, I’ve never felt more comfortable in my own skin, really.

- Jenn xx

Just a few random images from our life recently…… does everyone else find the last frame of the photobooth strip as hilarious as I do??! I laugh every time I look at it. Toronto, February 2012.

by JENN

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February 2, 2012

THE WHAT IF CONFERENCE

Posted in PERSONAL | THE BUSINESS | TRAVEL

If you’ve been following Dave or my twitter/facebook feeds over the past couple of weeks, then you’ve probably heard us mention (likely more than once!) the incredible time we’ve had being a part of the WHAT IF Conference in Cabo San Lucas Mexico. I really cannot say enough good things about being a part of this…….. that week will go down in our personal histories as one of those game changers, no question. Dave and I have been to a few photography conferences in our time, but this was something completely different — this was not a photography conference. This was a conference for anyone who considers themselves a creative — whether in photography, art, even business — people who are interested in challenging themselves to think bigger and ask the scariest question of all….. What if? all while surrounded by an awesome community of likeminded individuals who’ve become like family. I couldn’t be more grateful to Steve and Jen Bebb, who followed their own “what if?” and put this conference together, and I am brimming over with excitement to see where it goes from here and so excited to be a part of it! Love those two. Dave and I walk away forever changed and moving forward on some big “what if”s of our own!

From chatting over dinner and hanging out on the beach, to wearing ponchos together and dancing the night away, what an amazing group of people this conference brought together! So many fun times and amazing conversations I won’t ever forget. Thank you thank you thank you everyone who stayed up all night chatting with Dave and I! Also, I’ve got to mention the incredible set of “artist-preneurs” who spoke over the course of the four days, you have set off so many sparks and I’ve filled pages and pages with ideas and action steps…. Thanks to each one of you for sharing yourselves — Sarah & Chris Rhoads, Jesh deRox, Justin Lyon, Dan O’Day, Jen & Steve Bebb and Jesse & Whit Chamberlain. Your personal journeys in and of themselves are so inspiring. Can’t thank you enough for hanging with us for the week. PS – I might have cried during each one of your talks.

So, if you consider yourself an “artist-preneur”, you should hop on board, you really should. What If is getting ready to announce their next set of dates, and it’s not something you want to miss. Here are some images to hopefully convince you even more! Dare to live the life you want and don’t let fear stop you from dreaming big friends.

- Jenn xx

The following are a few images from our phones and instax taken over the course of the week……haha so many laughs!

Be sure to follow the WHAT IF Conference on twitter or check back in on the website for the next set of dates somewhere in US. Dave and I hope to see you there!

by JENN

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January 20, 2012

YOU JUST NEED TO START

Posted in PERSONAL

You don’t realize it, but the constant stream of “updates” we receive in this life is overwhelming. Think about it. When before have people, normal people, ever been able to publicly share the highly edited highlight reel of their life, online, as we can now? It all sets us up for rather unrealistic expectations of what we, ourselves, should be doing, or how we measure up to our peers. Nobody deserves that on their shoulders. I’ve been thinking a lot on this lately. I mean, we are very rarely privy to the behind the scenes reel of other people’s lives, yet we are face to face with our own every day, bloopers and all. And sometimes it’s not pretty and sometimes it scares us, but we all have them. We all struggle to find our path underneath the polished up versions of ourselves that we show to the world. Anyone who’s achieved anything has at one point started from point A and set off down a path, whether they were ready to or not, whether it was exactly perfect or not. Figuring it out along the way is ok. The point is that they set off.

You can plan out the route you want to take all you want but what you can’t do is pad the sides of the road. You can do that in five-pin bowling, not in life. Anything worth doing is going to be risky. Sometimes you’ll even be forced to veer off onto a different path altogether, maybe out of necessity, maybe out of pure choice. But that shouldn’t stop us from not starting out in the first place. That element of uncertainty is the element of beauty.

That’s where I’m at right now and just thought I’d share. For others, but also for myself. A couple more Hawaii images folks, then I swear I’m done! We’re shortly off to a conference for creatives so it might be quiet on here for the next little bit, but I’ll try to keep in touch. Have a happy weekend!

- Jenn xx

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by JENN

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January 17, 2012

UNPLUGGING IN MAUI

Posted in PERSONAL | TRAVEL

My parents have been visiting the island of Maui in the island chain of Hawaii for the past few years, and every time they come home Dave and I are bombarded (in the best of ways) with many stories, macadamia nuts, and photos from what has quickly become their favourite place on this planet. And every time they return, they tell us “you should go” and then “no, really, you have to go”, until finally last month they surprised us with a trip down south for a week to wrap up our 2011, and now we get it.

Maui to me will always be remembered as stepping off the plane into a pure and sweet-smelling air (yes, the air there just smells better). I’ll always remember when the breeze blew in the right direction and being hit by the aroma of one gorgeous bunch of flowers after another, or walking along a path that is littered not with garbage but with flowers that have fallen from the trees like leaves in the fall…… I mean, what an amazing place — their litter is mostly made up of flowers! We had a car for the week and got to see the island — some of our highlights include the morning we got up at 3AM to drive up the HALEAKALA CRATER (not before stopping for some sustenance in the form of coffee at the amazing CRATER COFFEE cart) and watched the sun rise from 10,000ft — amazing. Then we enjoyed a lazy descent down the mountain while defrosting (it was chilly up there!) stopping in at a few places along the way and a delicious lunch at a gorgeous tucked away spot called CAFE DES AMIS, which we wholeheartedly recommend if you’re into Indian food as much as we are.

Mostly though, Maui will be remembered as a time where we were able to unplug, from email, twitter, facebook, and this whole online world, take a run along the beach path as the sun rose, stroll over to HONOLULU COFFEE after breakfast for a latte, and just sit out, read through some good books, talk, and just get back to what matters. I really felt like during our time away I was able to shut out some of the periphery and extraneous and just get back to truly listening to my own inner voice. We reflected on the year we’d had and talked through lots of ideas about where to go from here……. Maui will definitely be remembered most of all as a turning point on this great journey of life : ) Enjoy these few frames we shot along the way!

- Jenn xx

Maui, December 2011. For the photography nerds in the crowd, Dave and I both challenged ourselves to manually setting our white balance on this trip (honestly, I usually stick to Auto, or maybe play around with the “cloudy” preset) and I’ve got to say we both really loved the challenge, and the results! I’d definitely recommend trying it out if you haven’t. I learned a lot!

Tags: hawaii travel images | jenn and dave | maui travel images | personal travel images | we like to travel

by JENN

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January 2, 2012

2012! LOOKING AHEAD AND INSIDE

Posted in PERSONAL | THE BUSINESS

Hope you all had an excellent New Year’s, however you chose to celebrate! Just thought I’d take a minute here while I wait for the paint to dry (is that a saying? I mean it literally though, we really are waiting for paint to dry before another coat goes on the walls of our new office…..!) and as I finish up a delicious bowl of yogurt and blueberries, to think a little bit on the past year, the new one that’s ahead, and what it all means to me. I have some thoughts to share too, if you don’t mind.

This past year has been a huge one for Dave and I in terms of coming into our own as photographers, artists, creatives, and business owners. I think for any creative jumping into their field of choice, it’s a bit like a kid learning to ride a bike, a little bit swerve-y at first, just hoping to stay on most of the time. That’s a lot of what our first year was like, when I think back on it now. There were a few moments to look around, have small successes and enjoy the ride, but it was mostly clutching to the handlebars, trying to push out the fears, and watching and learning from as many other people as we could as we tried to find our feet. This past year was our second full year, and when I look back on 2011 I see it as an immense period of growth and of discovering who I was as not just a photographer but mostly as a person. A person beyond a wedding photographer, or even a photographer or creative, and discovering the reasons behind my passions and the things that get me excited and fired up inside. I’ve spent the last little while really diving into those reasons….. I’ve loved it and have learned a ton!

There’s still a few more shoots that I want to share from 2011, but from here on out I’m taking some time to re-examine the direction I want this blog to go in, one that fits exactly with our hearts and goals. There will be some changes happening over the next few months, for which I hope you’ll stick around to see! I might not be on here as much over the little bit as I want to really focus on these things, but I’ll still be around : )

Businesses are a lot like houses — sometimes you need to paint a few walls, fix a few things on the surface, and sometimes it’s a bigger project. I think you always need to be prepared to knock down a few walls, as painful as that might be, if that’s what it takes to build up something truly great and that satisfies those things you believe in your core. We are looking into 2012 ready to push made up boundaries, expand our horizons, put our blinkers on and stay true to our voice and who we authentically are. We’re digging deep into ourselves to discover what it is that drives us as people and the causes we want to champion that reach out beyond ourselves.

So grateful for each of you that supports us and reads along. Here’s to a bright 2012 where we are all able to hear and listen to our own voice from within…….