sand dunes – Promoting Passion

Promoting Passion Video: Finding Adventure

brookeshaden — Mon, 12 May 2014 14:40:01 +0000

When was the last time you did something completely weird, unique, off-the-wall, and just plain out of your comfort zone? When was the last time you felt truly scared for something you wanted to do, or excited for something you’ve never done before?

I believe that adventure is the heart of our lives, and that everyone lives adventure differently. I feel most alive when I do something that scares me, but on a greater level, I simply try to live my life as a character in an interesting story.

Three things I do to keep adventure in my life:

1. Write myself into a story. I make believe that I am a character in a unique world, and then I use that inspiration to create art out of it. This way I get to see myself becoming a character, often through some type of self-portraiture, and I get to imagine a new life even if only briefly.

2. I get lost. I get in my car and go, or start walking and see where I end up. I love finding new places and losing that sense of control that comes from following a GPS.

3. I face my fears. I spend a lot of time figuring out what I’m afraid of and why, and then I go out and conquer those things that scare me. I love to overcome my fears in this way, and those experiences always end up being the most adventure-filled, and the most worthy.

What will you do this week to add ADVENTURE into your life?

Don’t just go on an adventure, live your life as an adventure!

Promoting Passion Video Blog: 5 Hard Truths

brookeshaden — Mon, 17 Mar 2014 14:16:48 +0000

This may sound strange, but the more I hear harsh words of reality and wisdom, the calmer I feel about creativity, business, and life. There are 5 hard truths to hear that have motivated and inspired me more than most other things in life, and I want to share them with you. I hold these ideas very close and see them in only positive ways.

**1. You may never be as talented as you wish you were.**

Always strive for more. If you reach a place of contentment, growth has stopped.

**2. You deserve to FAIL.**

Not just that you will fail, but you deserve to fail. Everyone has to fail to understand the sweetness of succeeding. So not only will you fail, but you should want to fail. Failure is how we measure success and how we gain perspective on the world.

**3. You will be told NO more than YES.**

Understand that every no is another way of getting to where you want to go, and perseverance is key. Hearing no is validation that you are doing something meaningful.

**4. You are only as good as your weakest deed.**

When you try to be the best version of yourself you gain a better vision of yourself. Think about the best person you can be, and then be that person as much as possible. Change and growth are always within our control. How you see the world and respond to it make you unique, and you can be better than you were before.

**5. People WILL NOT like you.**

No matter what you do or how kind you are or how great your intentions are, people will not like you. Good. Take it, let that digest, and tell the world you’re okay with that. Love yourself first, and more will follow. Never all, but you’ll have a great foundation of support and love. After all, the saying “You get what you give” is one of the truest I know.

Reaching for Answers to Questions

brookeshaden — Thu, 06 Mar 2014 16:50:17 +0000

I am absolutely addicted to finding symbolism in the world and putting it into my images. This picture did that for me to the extreme, and it felt fantastic to go out and create this. I was also able to create in a peaceful state of mind, not feeling any pressure to produce something from my trip to the sand dunes. I was content to simply shoot what I love and leave it at that, and if an image that I liked came of it, all the better. So I created slowly, and calmly, and laughed through it, and had so much fun. I sat on the sand dunes after and watched the sun set, and trekked back to my car with the very last hint of light in the sky.

I knew before leaving for this trip that I wanted to shoot a red dress in the dunes. So with that in mind, I packed only one outfit to wear and set out with that restraint (or rather, world of possibilities!) to play with. I had this idea for a few weeks and wasn’t entirely sure how to execute it, given that sand can be a bit tricky to work with, but I was open to this visually looking, perhaps, different than I anticipated…so long as the concept was still there.

I was with my husband so he helped me shoot myself laying on the sand dune against the horizon. I guided him into where he should be standing (or squatting, for a low angle), and I set the exposure, etc. I knew I had clouds to add in later so that wasn’t a problem, but photographing the rest of the sand was.

I was going to create more of a static wall by shooting the side of a dune and then try to photograph sand being thrown up into the air. I would then composite that together to create the illusion of sand falling down a wall. This seemed futile even as I was photographing it as I wondered how it would go together. But then my husband stepped into the sand and we both noticed how the sand created a natural wall with streams of sand running down it. I photographed that, and that is exactly what you see here.

The red of the dress I knew would be contrasted with the sand, but I also chose it for the unique symbolism the color red brings. It feels urgent and deathly to me if used in the right context, and here that seemed very appropriate. Falling sand has long been a symbol of time passing (need I quote from Days of our Lives?), and so I wanted to use that symbol in this image. The sand continues to fall down the wall into darkness, and our subject sits very close to the edge.

A question that comes up is wondering if she too will be consumed by the growing crag and if so, what her fate will be. I love creating images that ask more questions than they answer, and in this image, even I do not have all the answers. I know the questions being posed, and I have my own ideas based on how I’m feeling on different days.

That is the beauty of creating: to continually surprise yourself & always keep yourself reaching for answers to new questions.

Distractions…and Oh Look at That Shiny Thing

brookeshaden — Tue, 18 Feb 2014 14:25:30 +0000

Last year I thought I was wonder woman. I thought I could do it all, and that I would try to do it all. But if I learned anything from Radiohead, its that This Just Feels Like Spinning Plates…and sometimes they all come crashing down. Hard.

So, last year when I was booking my schedule for 2014, I thought “sure, why not book two trips a month…just eat healthier and suck it up!” It turned out to be a lot harder than I thought it would, physically and mentally, to always be traveling. I found myself looking up to my friend Lindsay Adler, as I do so often, and admiring her determination to keep going and “get it all done”…but as much as I’d love to be, I’m not the wonder woman that Lindsay is.

To Lindsay: You amaze me.

The things that I value are making sincere connections, creating art, and writing. And at a certain point, trying new things and growing your business has to take a back seat to what you love, because if it doesn’t, what you love might be something that gets put on the back burner. I don’t want to get distracted from the things that are truly near to my heart.

With all the traveling I’ve been doing, I haven’t been taking time to just stop and create. To plan whole days worth of shooting and editing and other such nonsense. I mean, that’s why I wanted to be a full time photographer in the first place. Freedom. The thrill of creating. And above all, living a happy life.

So all of these thoughts culminated in, truth be told, nothing very spectacular. My plates didn’t fall. They are still spinning, but I’ve taken time to do what I need to do. And I’ve taken steps to spin fewer plates in the future. Because even though that may result in a number of things: less money, fewer connections, less travel, etc…I will gain so much more. What I lose from one category I gain in another, and happiness cannot be measured against anything else.

When I was shooting recently at the sand dunes and I heard the quiet of sand rustling hurriedly down the slope and I saw the spectacular sunset (it screamed to me silently), I realized that this is what I need more of: the tranquility I feel when I am free to create. I had to decide what is important in my life, just as we all must do to find happiness. What do I want to be doing on an everyday basis? Well, for me, the answers are as basic as they come.

I want to be home more and cuddle with my kitties and play that Doctor Who video game with my husband.

I want to cook more delicious food from all of my vegan cookbooks.

I want to create ALL THE TIME.

I want to write and be able to do so without a shaky hand on a plane.

I want to be able to reach people through my blog, videos, and education.

And so then, once those objectives are laid out, they must be put into place. Simple or not, it must be done, because happiness is what I hold most dear.

So instead of privately putting on 15 workshops a year in all different cities, I’m going to start an online interactive workshop. Instead of trying to focus on 10 different projects, I’ve determined which are most important and I’ve resolved to work on them exclusively. I started saying no where I felt the decision was a “make or break” for my happiness.

And most of all, I had to be okay with letting the wind take me where it will. Like a leaf gently falling from a tree, I am content to see where life goes.

So, from a hopeful me that these new decisions will inspire others to take hold of happiness…and with arms spread wide open to new opportunities and the opportunities I will create for myself…

…I’m off for an adventure.

sand dunes – Promoting Passion

Promoting Passion Video: Finding Adventure

What will you do this week to add ADVENTURE into your life?

Promoting Passion Video Blog: 5 Hard Truths

1. You may never be as talented as you wish you were.

2. You deserve to FAIL.

3. You will be told NO more than YES.

4. You are only as good as your weakest deed.

5. People WILL NOT like you.