Each has a different meaning for me, though all relating back to nature. The first was photographed in my hometown, and it was important to me to feel at one with nature as I had felt while living there, and still so often do. The second was for a more magical feel, as though the leaves were cloaking the subject as she stood and allowed it to happen. And finally this new one, a Mother Nature homage, as the character stands upon a dead and dull landscape. She breathes life into it.

This next week I’ll be taking some lights out into the forest for the first time, planning some bigger concept images, and working more on storytelling. These are the areas I feel I need to work harder and so I am. People don’t get places by standing still, after all!

(Though it does feel nice to rest your feet from time to time!)

Model: Stephanie Perez

When it came time to do the class, I nearly forgot that it was nighttime! I was envisioning everything being lit by a window. So instead of panicking with 20 minutes to spare before class, I once again nagged the Sweetlight team and asked if they could put one light with a softbox above the subject, pointing directly down. Everyone looked at me like I was nuts…which I might be, but in my mind, I wanted to simulate a moon. So I figured the best way to do that would be to put the light overhead and diffuse it.

Once the light was set the class gathered, and we began building. We started with a simple setup: dirt on the floor (thank you WHCC!), a black backdrop, and our model Marsha laying on top. I put a lantern in her hand and made it look like a forest scene with a girl who had fallen asleep under the night sky.

From there we began adding leaves, and then sticks, and then eventually a bed.

(I should definitely say thank you to the hotel for providing the bed, though I actually think they still have no idea that we covered it in dirt and sticks, so probably best to not mention it…).

My method was to build the scene up, starting with something simple and ending in a crescendo of a beautiful dream sequence – a girl dreaming in the forest at night, still sleeping in her bed. It was probably the most fun I’ve had teaching as far as the actual shooting goes…and to imagine, it was all in a ballroom at a hotel with one light and a black background. That is why I love photography. You can make it whatever you want, your dreams can become a reality, and you can do it with your own rules.

If you’d like to purchase this print to support the Saving Eliza charity, you can do so here!

If you had a blank space, how would you decorate it?

I am grateful, and I am stressed.

I value calm. I value being centered and balanced. Being busy is great because it is often a sign of life moving forward. But sometimes we put too much value on being busy. I am guilty of this. I send out a tweet listing all the things I have to do. I let others know that my life is constantly moving…and why? To compensate for something? To make my life seem bigger than it is?

I don’t value being busy in this way. I don’t like doing things for the sake of doing them. I am most inspired when I am home with my other half. I am most calm when I can sit and think and write and shoot and edit. I am most inspired when I’m not rushing around airports or scheduling the next thing in my week.

I think that we put too much emphasis on how busy we are, but not on how productive we are. Have you ever heard someone list all the things they had to do in their day? Often it will start with: Well I got out of bed at 6 o’clock, and then I put clothes on, and then I drove to the coffee shop and ordered coffee for my coworkers, and then I had to be at work by 8…

And all of that listing to say that someone drank coffee and went to work.

I am guilty of this. I hear people talk like this. And that is okay – we are all feeling stressed at some point and we all need someone to say that they understand, or that you’re doing a great job. But at what point do we start to place real value in those lists, to the point that having a lot to do is more valuable than the things you’re actually doing? At what point does our stock in being busy outweigh the actual living of life?

One of my goals for this year is to not be as busy. It might mean I make less money. That is something I would have to accept. It might mean that I make fewer “industry connections”, but does that really matter? I’m not one for networking, I’m one for living. Being busy is great, but to a certain point. Everyone has their own idea of how busy is too busy, and now more than ever I know my limits.

If I looked back on my life would I be able to say that I lived it exactly as I dreamed? No, probably not. And not because I am unhappy in any way, but simply I feel the need to be home more. I feel the need to spend more valuable time with my loved ones, and treasure that time in the moment. We all put emphasis on different things that are important to us. Being busy should never be something we put emphasis on, but instead it should be about the things that keep us busy – our passions – that we feel most connected to.

What are your thoughts on being busy? Are you too busy or not busy enough? What is something that you think you could use more of in your life to feel more fulfilled?