Tranquility

We all have days when everything seems to be going wrong. Your last shoot sucked, you lost a client, or you just feel meh and think all your photos are crappy.

I usually curl up in the fetal position with a hot peppermint tea and binge watch “The Originals” on Netflix. Watching these characters go through one angst moment after another makes me feel so much better. Yes, that’s so sad but true.

But, I can’t stay in bed all day. I need to get out and shoot something that makes me feel good. I set out to shoot one of my projects (I have so many). There’s always something available to shoot. It doesn’t have to be a person or a pet either.  The other day when I was in a particularly funky mood, I set out and went by one of the nearby neighborhoods that has a ton of Willow trees or they look like Willow trees to me anyway. It wasn’t a bright sunny day; in fact it was very cloudy and rainy. It was a perfect day to find a sad image full of willow trees. But my favorite subject to shoot is the beach. I’ll go to the coast and sit there watching the birds or simply listen to the water. My favorite time to go to the beach is in the winter when it’s cold and there’s no one around to disturb my tranquility. It’s also a great time to practice with natural lighting. I enjoy taking time to learn my camera and just shoot. But, when 'I’m feeling funky I think of others and say, it’s really not that bad for me after all.

I also find reading these quotes really help.

Here are a few of my favorites:

“It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.” ~ W.C. Fields

“I never loved another person the way I loved myself.”~ Mae West

“I used to be self conscious about my height, but then I thought, f*** that, I’m Harry Potter. ~ Daniel Radcliffe

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” ~ Marianne Williamson

“Having a low opinion of yourself is not ‘modesty’. It’s self-destruction. Holding your uniqueness in high regard is not ‘egotism’. It’s a necessary precondition to happiness and success.” ~ Bobbe Sommer

“Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

“Someone else’s opinion of you does not have to become your reality.” ~ Les Brown