I’d love to see your favorite editing tips!
Share a bit of your process in the comments so we can all learn from each other!

I hope you have a very inspired week!

Model: Jen Brook

I decided to share a backward edit of the photo I am sharing today to emphasize how everything that we do begins as a small idea. It may seem impossible, it might seem like it isn’t worth finishing, and there might be people criticizing the idea or the process; but in the end, when all is said and done, it is not the finished product that means half as much as the journey. An idea stays an idea unless you see it through to the end, and in the end, people judge their lives based on how many ideas became reality.

And if you would, share what you plan on doing this week that will turn an idea into reality. I want to be inspired by your commitment to seeing it through to the end.

In all of this craziness, with the year coming to a close and inspiration running deep in my veins, I decided I could use some simplicity this week for my Promoting Passion video. I recorded my screen while editing my latest picture, though it froze a quarter of the way through so I finished the video by including screen grabs of the editing process thereafter. Sometimes all I need to feel the calm is some inspiring music and the reminder that life moves at the pace we set, and we always have the option to change it. But right now, I’m going to enjoy each minute and taking home a lesson from every journey.

…take a moment to savor the beauty in your life.

Create something unexpected. Do something to remind yourself how amazing the world is. Take a walk. Make a piece of art. Give someone a hug. And above all, create your dreams.

If you do take this challenge, come back here and leave a comment with the resulting image that you created…or if you aren’t a photographer, take the same challenge but create something else entirely…an arts & crafts project, a piece of writing, a painting, etc…Create….because it will awaken something beautiful within.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF.
CREATE. INSPIRE.
PROMOTE PASSION.

Listening to a certain song in my husband’s car the first day we met.

Chasing hot air balloons with my mom through the countryside.

Walking through a pitch black underground cave with my sister.

Quitting my job to pursue art full time.

We all have inspirations and passions in this world. My own passions have been called creepy, distasteful, and inappropriate because of my love for all things dark. But nonetheless they press on in my mind, and I share them with whomever will watch, because I believe in the power of passion. I believe that one passionate soul can inspire another. To be wholly yourself and embrace your inspiration is to live a life of freedom and beauty.

Never be ashamed of what excites you. Be yourself, and others will respect you for it. Shout your passion to the world and someone will respond.

What moments have defined you? What are your passions?

A few days ago I was in Miami, Florida and I happened upon the Bass Musuem of Art. I wandered inside and asked the woman at the front desk what exhibits were up. She said that they had one inspired by death and fashion, and I immediately bought tickets. I was not at all disappointed, and drew inspiration from almost every piece of art I saw there.

I was reminded of how much I love death, dying, and the art of living. One piece in particular there featured an explosion (fog, flowers, debris, etc.) and my image is inspired by that as well as the show as a whole. If you get a chance to see it, definitely do. You will not at all be disappointed!

My life centers around believing that impossibilities are simply undiscovered possibilities, and I have the power to find them.

I photographed this snow scene on creativeLIVE, so if you are interested in seeing how it was photographed or more of the editing process in slower motion, you can check that out here. My goal was simple: create a fantasy world that has more meaning and beauty in it than what I saw in front of me. I was confronted with an abandoned room. It was beautiful in it’s own right – peeling paint and debris all over the floor. But for me, it was missing that magic spark.

We threw paper bits and fake snow all around. We covered the floor in flour. I dressed the model in my favorite cloak to finish her fairytale makeover, and then I shot a couple different setups until I felt like I had achieved the feeling in my imagination.

Wonder. Darkness. Beauty. Fantasy.

Everyone has the ability to create a unique reality through art. It may be that your perfect reality is the one you live in and so you capture life as you see it. Or perhaps you’re on the other end of that spectrum and create surrealistic scenes. Either way, we can create our own magic, and it is never further away than our imaginations.

How do you create your own magic?

This new video is all about the new year. Admittedly I rambled a bit, but I wanted to speak from the heart and just put it all out there on this one. The others will be tighter though! So for this video we deal with a new year, new dreams and aspirations, and I share a photo that I created with those things in mind, including a speed edit of that image.

If you’ll share your new year’s resolutions with me I’d love to hear them because my biggest motivations in life included inspiration itself, and I just love hearing the motivations and dreams of others. Thank you for inspiring me now and always, I take that with me into the new year feeling like anything is possible.