1. Sally Mann (Revolutionary photographer)
2. Atonement (Beautifully cinematic movie) + the Soundtrack
3. Danielle Da Silva (Activist and photographer)
4. Saladfingers (Creepy web short)
5. Modigliani (Surrealist Painter)
6. Billie Eilish music video – When the Party’s Over
7. Ksenia Anske (Dark Fantasy writer)
8. Stranger Things (Sci-fi TV show)
9. Gillian Gamble (Illustrator, writer, entrepreneur)
10. Neil Gaiman – Coraline (Fantasy children’s book)

I started Promoting Passion years ago. It was a way of bringing together two seemingly opposed words: promoting, and passion. What if, I thought, we could learn to share our passion confidently, and in doing so inspire others to be confident in their passion? How could that change the world?

I started a blog.

And then a convention.

And now a tour.

Because education, inspiration, and community should be accessible. Because without a family of creative weirdos, we too often feel alone. Because why the hell not.

Six weeks ago I set out on the Promoting Passion tour. This tour allowed us to come together as a family of 800. With sponsorship from Sony and Sony Alpha Female, I was able to bring accessible education and inspiration around the world.

I visited: London, Seattle, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, Toronto, Vancouver, and Melbourne. Without Sony believing in the message of Promoting Passion, I could not have made this tour possible, and certainly not at the price point I was able to. They went all in to support us.

I just got home from spending 5 weeks on the road. It was a grueling schedule. Travel – event – travel – event – repeat. I would have broken under the pressure of it if not for my best and most trusted friend, KD. She was there every step of the way to support, encourage, and lift us all up. When the curtains closed, she cleaned every event space, made sure I had food to eat at the end of a 12 hour event day, carried bags and boxes, and truly cared about all of our well-being. If you have one goal in this life, it should be to find a friend that comes close to her. It is rare, and she is precious.

The theme of the tour was legacy. How do you cultivate a legacy with all the noise around us? What steps can we take to roadmap our way to being legends?

I laid it out as best as I could: my own personal path to legacy, and an open invitation for others to join me. It was beautiful. There were so many tears and so many laughs. Thousands of hugs. New friends and old. Paths forged before my eyes. Artists blooming everywhere I looked.

Not all of us get to understand the impact we can have on others in our lifetime. But I witnessed on this tour, without a doubt, that we are all making a dent. That we are all touching someone. That we have the ability to exceed our most narrow limitations and to soar above our potential.

But only – ONLY – if you respond to the call. If you respond to your ability to make change.

Response – ability. Take it or leave it. That is the choice we are all given.

Each group was so different. The energies different, the hugs, the talks, the essence of each tour stop. But one thing remained. We are all artists, and we have something to say. With resilience and pride I watched people find their legacy, watched them say it out loud for the first time, or embody it truly.

My legacy is to inspire creativity in others. Or at least, that’s what it is right now. This tour made me feel like I’m getting closer to that legacy. And it made me want to reach higher, gain more, and give more.

I am so very thankful for everyone who joined me on tour. To everyone who gave me a hug, gave me a knowing look, let me know we are connected, let me know I am not alone in my fears. To everyone – you are my creative family, and with each other we raise the tide for everyone.

I will leave you with a quote that I shared in my lecture on tour, one that I hope you are taking to heart right now, and one that inspires me to keep chasing my legacy:

“If I accept you as you are, I will make you worse; however, if I treat you as though you are what you are capable of becoming, I help you become that.”
– Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

If you came on tour with me, I’d love to hear your takeaways. And if I didn’t get to see you this time, then next time, it’s for you.

Sending you all my most precious creative energy,
Brooke

I’m in a small room in India – West Bengal. Outside the horns are blowing like crows, attacking. People are yelling down the street, their voices drowning together, indecipherable. This is a place that envelopes me the moment I step foot outside the airport, but it challenges me, too. The sounds, the people, the food, the smells, the stories. The stories.

When I listen closely through the mountainous shouts I hear cross-sections of lives; one man tells another to be careful crossing the street, not through his words, but through his body language. A woman kisses her child while a hundred people push past her, tenderness going unnoticed.

In my workshop I’m teaching self-expression through photography and movement, aided by Kolkata Sanved. The young women that sit in the room with me have pasts that I cannot imagine. I try, but it feels wrong to imagine my life with the same difficulties; disrespectful, somehow. I am ill-equipped to feel what they feel, at least precisely. My life has been vastly different and that shows in every minutiae when I travel in India. In the ways that I get irritated by people bumping into me, when I feel exhausted by the crowds, and especially when I feel trapped by the buildings and pollution. That is life here, though, and I am unaccustomed, even after five years of coming.

Today in the workshop we are learning storytelling. I explain why this is important –  because, after all, their story is theirs. It is for them to tell, not me. I never felt comfortable photographing people whose lives have been so uniquely different from mine, using my way of telling stories to tell theirs. This is for them to share. Instead, I teach storytelling. I teach how to use a camera. I teach self-portraiture. I teach them how to tell their own stories.

And so they do, effortlessly.

Because storytelling is the culture here. This is a place where stories pile on top of stories so that every object, every location, is imbued with the deepest stories.

Even more than stories, though, is the hope that permeates.

I’m in the Kolkata Sanved office and day one of my workshop is almost over. We are talking about our stories, but not in literal terms. I never, ever ask someone to share their past. Instead, we speak in symbols, in emotions. I ask them to bring me an object that represents their past. We learn symbolism in art.

They bring me water, as a symbol for constantly moving. They bring me a rock, a symbol for heaviness. They bring me a dead tree, a symbol unto itself. A box, to show entrapment. A match, to show danger.

We photograph those objects, and they learn the camera.

I ask them to choose an emotion that represents how they feel now that they have had education, now that they have found safety. Shanti, they say: peace. Aasha: hope. Curiosity. Learning. Happy.

As I listen to them sharing a symbol from their past, I do not have to use a lot of imagination to understand where they come from: darkness to light. The story is there, the details are not important for me to hear.

As I hear them share their emotions, representing who they are now, I see the shift from sadness to joy.

Everyone that I meet here is so open.

YES, I have had hardship. BUT, now I am free.

This is not true for so many. This is why the power of self-expression is so vital. When we give voices to those who feel they cannot speak they realize that their story matters.

It breaks me to think about how many people are living in poverty, enslavement, abuse, and more. How can we help them? I don’t know, myself. It is a problem the world may still be trying to solve a thousand years in the future. But, how can we help those who have been rescued, who have come out the other side? How can we heal them, give them strength, hope, determination? Empowerment. Education.

We give them a tool to tell their story. Because, so many – too many – have had their stories taken from them. Here, in this workshop, we try to give it back.

I have done many of these workshops over the past five years. Always, they say the same: we have come from ash and we have rebuilt ourselves. They tried to break us but we would not be broken.

There is hope. There is always hope.

This is a culture of light. Where there is darkness, light permeates.

I show them a camera. I show them a window. I show them a dark stairwell. The choice is theirs. Always, the image is the same: we reach toward the light.

They take their self-portraits. “Represent your dream for your future in a single image”, I tell them. A heavy thing to portray. They have never taken pictures before. And yet – beauty, hope, determination. The word of this workshop is: POWER.

“I am powerful!” one girl shouts as she takes her self-portrait.
“I am confident!” another girl says as she poses.
And finally, at the end, someone says: “I have learned how to tell my story. This is my story to tell.”

It is a culture of light.

And, can’t we all use that? No matter where you are right now, remember the beauty I have seen here. I need you to see it with me. I need you to feel this. The light demands it. Their stories demand it.

Will you try to reach for the light,
even when it is difficult?

1. What do you consider to be ethical storytelling?
2. How do you prefer to tell your own story?

—

I am currently in India teaching self-expression workshops to underprivileged communities. These workshops were developed by myself, Blossomy Projects, and Kolkata Sanved to blend movement with photography. I travel here to Kolkata, India once a year to help end gender-based violence and aid in the education and empowerment of those effected.

I am leaving for Sri Lanka in the morning to continue this work before returning home on February 2nd.

This week, read Barbara’s story and find inspiration within it. From the theme of fear to the way she describes it, to the dusty attic location and the emotions the character goes through, there are near endless ways of becoming inspired. Once you have figured out which part of the story inspires you most, create a piece of art based on your inspiration. Post a link to your artwork in the comments, and optionally, you can add commentary about the piece and how you were inspired if you like. 

Next week I will be choosing a winner and honorable mentions from the artwork provided, and I will be sending along a personalized package to whomever is chosen (as well as to Barbara for her amazing contribution!). Happy creating!

Barbara’s Story:

“Oh Daddy; how will I ever do anything or be anybody if I’m always scared.

She was fearful…as far back as she could remember. Afraid to walk to school alone, of failing a test, of not being good enough; afraid of going to Hell if she committed a ‘sin’. Even her dreams were scary, filled with darkness and monsters. So many fears for such a little girl.

The little girl’s father took her by the hand and together they went to the attic. He dusted off a big wooden box and slowly opened the lid. The box was empty except for what looked like an old piece of cloth. Her daddy removed the cloth to reveal a beautiful shiny sword. Whenever you feel afraid; all you have to do is touch this sword and you will have the courage to do anything.

One by one she conquered her fears with the help of the shiny sword. As the years passed she grew into a confident courageous woman. Yesterday her Daddy died and as she lay the shiny sword beside him, I heard her say ‘Thank you, Daddy, but I won’t need this anymore. I realize now that the courage was within me the whole time!'”

Honorable Mentions:

Kisa Kavass
Michael
Hanna
Sydney Paige Richardson
Naiya
Lea M. Callais
Marcy Criner
Danielle Anderson

Read all the stories here!

WEEK 1

WEEK 2

Here are my top tips for storytelling:

Post your stories in the comments of this blog post, and have fun!

Unless you can’t function at your optimal level because of it. Disorganization is something I have challenged head on this year. I redesigned my office so that everything has a place. I organized my email so that I answer them quickly instead of waiting sometimes months in between. I have list apps on my phone and desktop to keep me on task, and I have a nightly and morning routine that keeps me organized as well.

Those have been huge changes for me, and the results have been spectacular. I no longer panic about missing emails or wonder as I fall asleep what I need to accomplish in the morning, and those small changes have been really big for my well being. Just by having my emails caught up on and always having clear goals planned, I have decreased my stress. I have more free time, I worry less, and I enjoy working more.

Here are all of the changes I made. The video also shows my new office, and I included some “extras” (re: ridiculous) clips at the very end. Apologies for the focus issues in this video. I think I need glasses.

1. Wake up early. When I am up early, I feel an odd sense of pride, as though I have already accomplished my first mission. I am taking advantage of my most productive hours, no one else is awake then, and I have time to fall into a routine.

2. Drink water. This is another one of those things that makes me feel motivated and healthy. I drink 3 liters of water a day. I drink one of those liters before I do much else in the morning. It energizes me and allows me to feel accomplished.

3. Stretch & meditate. I do this each morning in the open air and it makes me feel invigorated and alive. My body hurts less throughout the day (the Fibromyalgia can really make my joints hurt) and I feel inspired by the time I sit down to work.

4. ToDoist. This is an app that I have for my desktop that allows me to write out, per category, what I need to get done and then check it off the list when I finish. It also has tons of other features I haven’t even tapped into yet. Absolutely adore this app to pieces.

5. Email organization. I have my email categorized into three main folders: My immediate folder. Anything I put in there needs to be dealt with within 24 hours. My pending folder, where emails that require follow-up go. And my assistant’s folder, where emails that deal mostly with scheduling go. If I hit inbox 0 for my personal immediate inbox everyday, I feel significantly less stressed and I sleep better. I try to do this in the morning before any other tasks so that I am still excited to complete the other things on my to do list.

6. Happiness & resolution documents. I keep two text files on my desktop. One says “Happiness” and the other says “Resolutions”. The happiness document lists all of the things that makes me feel healthy and happy on a regular basis so that I can always check in on it to make sure I am doing what makes me feel good. My resolutions document simply lists all of the things I want to accomplish this year. It is always in sight and I can keep on track that way.

7. Inspirational quotes. The image on my desktop background is always rotating through inspirational quotes that I’ve downloaded in image form. Mostly from Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland, these quotes remind me all the time of who I want to be and inspire me to reach for more.

8. Hard drives. I keep my work backed up on two hard drives that are almost always at my computer plugged in. One I travel with and the other stays put. Because I have them out in the open, often plugged in, I never have to worry about finding a document because they are all, essentially, already on my computer waiting to be found. I organize my images based on folders of: YEAR — TITLE.

9. Uniform password. For my passwords on my computer and social sites, I have a root word for my password. Take LANTERN, for example. And then I add on a signifying word to that for each website. Let’s say we are signing up for Flickr, you would write LANTERNFLICKR so that you never forget your password and so that they are always different. I have two base passwords – one that my assistant and husband know, and one that is for personal use only.

10. Colornote. On my phone, just as I do with ToDoist on my desktop, I use a to-do list app. This allows me to write out a checklist or text document that I can later transfer to ToDoist if I am traveling.

11. Inspiring workspace. I have never had a space of my own that I have found inspirational, so this year I redecorated. I got new desks, a filing cabinet, and I even decorated my walls. I filled my office with props that I have used in photo shoots and hung my work on my walls (other artists coming soon). Everywhere I look there is a touch of something personal and special, and it makes me feel excited to sit down to work every day.

You can check out the video for what my new office looks like.

How do you keep organized? Any special tips that make you feel extra healthy, productive, or motivated?

I used to feel inferior if I couldn’t create an image every single day. Then I started looking at other photographer’s careers and realized that many artists limit how often they create. They don’t share a lot. They keep it under wraps. I started to feel inferior for putting out too much work. I started to feel like I had no concept of how this industry works. And that, right there, was my flaw. Somewhere along the lines I started thinking in terms of an “industry” instead of a “hobby”. I started to question what others were doing instead of living my life by my own rules. I had to distance myself, and so I have. I create when I want to create. I create because I want to create. And part of that creation process, for me, is sharing. And so I share when I want to share. Because your opinions add value to the work.

This year I have created 17 images. Is that a lot? A year ago I would have told myself to slow down. Is that only a little? Four years ago I would have been upset with myself for not creating faster. Now? I just don’t care. I love what I do. I love creating. And I won’t create based on anyone else’s standards.

I love giving myself regular check-ins, to make sure that I am making the healthiest choices for me and not for anyone else. I like to knock on my own door and ask how I’m doing. Because if not me, who? Now that we are almost into April, we have hit the quarter mark of 2015. So often people say that time moves too fast, but to me, it moves at just the right pace. I always feel like whatever time it is, it is the right time. And so, with it being March, I feel quite ready for a check-in.

These are some questions I ask myself:

1. How do you feel about the work you have produced this year? Quantity? Quality? Overall aesthetic?

2. Are you happy with how much time you have dedicated to yourself? Do you need to make more time for your passion?

3. Are you unhappy with decisions you have made this year? What specifically? How can you change course?

4. How can you take a more active role in pursuing your dreams? Look back at your New Year Resolutions and move one forward. What specific steps can you take?

5. Do you feel you have a good support system in place? Sometimes friends come and go. Make sure you are loved. Don’t have a community? Start one! Join a group. Create a group. Host a meet-up. Join a competition. Message someone you admire.

Top Tips & Exercises

A. Create a creation routine in which you set aside a certain amount of time each week to create. Next, create a routine for how you create so you can get more accomplished. For me personally, if I am stuck in a rut and simply want to break free, I begin with an inspiration exercise: 10 minutes of brainstorming. Next, I spend 10 minutes sketching and writing a description of a potential image. After that, I shoot, which will take roughly 20 minutes. And finally, I begin the edit. All of this can last 1 hour, and there is no pressure to finish. But once you’ve invested time into a creative project and you’ve gone through specific steps, you are more likely to come back to it and actually finish.

It doesn’t matter what your routine is, just as long as you have one in place. Knowing how you work best and then cultivating those circumstances is going to help tremendously in your personal progression.

B.  Have a night of fear & fun. Pick one night out of the week to do something that scares you, but could also be fun. A certain photo shoot, a social gathering, or something as simple as writing an email to someone you don’t know. Take a risk, set time aside for yourself to properly do that thing, and reward yourself once you have. Make it as fun as possible. Bring a friend to make a little party out of it. Challenge others to do the same. Define what scares you, and figure out a way to playfully address that fear.

 C. Reach out to someone in your community. I invite all of you to join my new Facebook group which is an extension of this blog. I will be posting weekly challenges, both personal and artistic, that anyone can participate in. Reach out to someone in the group. Tell them how much you admire them, or simply get to know someone on a deeper level. We are all looking for companionship from others who understand our struggles and triumphs.

I would love to hear your answers to the questions, any tips/exercises you may have to keep on the right track, or even your favorite/least favorite images from this year so far!

I hope you’ll join the Facebook group so we can grow this community further!

…I just need to pace myself.
(In other words: Brooke, be good. Please don’t fizzle your money away on costumes.)

Victorian Choice
(on Ebay)

Purpose: Period piece + drama.
Price: $30-150

American Vintage
(online and in stores in Los Angeles)

Purpose: Vintage pieces by era.
Price: $50+

Nifty Thrifty
(online)

Purpose: Inexpensive vintage items.
Price: $10-50

Rusty Zipper
(online)

Purpose: Prairie dresses.
Price: $40-60

Adored Vintage
(online)

Purpose: High-end vintage.
Price: $60-500

Aside from online shops, whenever I travel to a new town I ask the locals where to go for vintage, second hand shops, or costume stores. A lot of towns do have places like this, and while they can be expensive, you can always try to haggle with the price. I have even “rented” from stores like this even though it is not their policy to do so – it doesn’t hurt to ask!

If you are searching on a site like Ebay or Etsy, some key words that I often use are:

Fairytale
Flowing
Prairie
Bohemian
Long dress
Vintage
Gunne Sax (brand)
Victorian

I don’t worry to much about size when looking for vintage outfits, since one size is usually all that is offered. I always carry with me binder clips and safety pins so that I can make an outfit fit the model.

I hope that you find this helpful, and if you have any suggestions, please list them in the comments! This can be an ongoing helpful list for everyone!

We have made great leaps forward during my last trip there and are almost ready to open the doors to the first class of 15 students. I am partnered with Blossomy, the amazing organization that I work through in India, as well as New Light, an organization in Kolkata to help survivors of human trafficking. The partnerships are in place, a location is rented, a curriculum has been set, we are securing the main instructors, and we will open doors officially in October 2015. Now it is time to fill the space…”The Light Space”, to be exact…a play on our partner organization’s name, New Light, and referencing the safe space that these individuals will have to create in.

We are looking for donations to run the school, as using our limited budget for equipment would deplete it quickly, and we need that money to go toward payment of instructors and rental fees.

What we need (any brands, new or used!):

DSLR Cameras
Lenses
Batteries/Chargers
Memory Cards
Tripods
Camera Bags
Laptops/Chargers

If you would like to donate, email me for an address.

My assistant will be gathering the equipment. This address expires in May, so please ship donations before MAY 2015. I will be sending HUGE THANK YOUs to everyone involved. And really, truly, thank you for aiding in the fight against human trafficking and for your generosity. Even if you cannot give anything at this time, thank you for reading and for spreading the word. You are light.

For any questions regarding donations, you can contact me through my website at:

www.brookeshaden.com/contact