early spring photo walk {life}

I'm the first to admit, I'm not the best photo-walker. Maybe it's the pressure. I don't know. It's hard enough to get me out of the studio, but walking around looking for random things to photograph? Not feeling so great at that.

But it's my year of pushing my photography boundaries (did I tell you that?), so when I had the chance to meet with a new group of women photographers, I had to leap on it. Photo walk: not optional. I had to leap on that too.

We met for coffee first, and getting to know these amazing photographers was, for me, almost the best part. We all bring different perspectives and fresh ideas, and simply sharing stories and information is energizing and inspiring to me. We got along famously from the start, so much so that when we did get to walking there was more talking than photo taking. 

I wanted to give myself some limitations and some structure, so I only brought the Lensbaby. I like the challenge of one lens, and I haven't had the LB on my camera in a long time. One woman in our group is a beast with the LB, so it could have been intimidating to try to fiddle with that little lens, but mostly I just tried to chill and have some fun. That's what it's all about, right?

Looking back, it's kind of amazing how much further we are along in our spring these days (I'm lame, aren't I? It's taken me forever to post. And edit. And download.) But you know what? This was a good day. I do love taking photos of architecture, and I especially love testing the waters with a new group of people. I think I got lucky this time. Can't wait till we get out there again.

weekend recap and perception collection, april 14

1. lunch these days | 2. new toy | 3. happy place | 4. someone's happy again | 5. also, happy place | 6. test shot

My friend Christine and I emailed a lot this weekend (you'll see why in a minute), and by the end I had to tell her that our weekend was pretty lame. Sometimes lame is the best, right?  Errands, yard work, lunch out. It takes up all the time. It was gloriously beautiful here, finally spring like, and Neel's garden is in full spring flower. We have this path of phlox that is just to die for. Like walking through a wonderland. But it's so hard to figure out how to photograph. I'm working on it. I'll report back.

And of course I'm dying to talk to you about my new toy up in photo #2 there. I have a lot to say. Because of that, I'll save that conversation for another day. In the meantime it's enough now that Neel and I took a walk in a pretty neighborhood by the beach and put our toes in the sand.

In the meantime, I have some exciting news to share!

As you guys know, photography is much on my mind, and as I've said before, Instagram is often where it's at for me. I get asked regularly for prompts and challenges, and when I went scouting around for some collaborations to challenge me, the idea of working with my good (but too far-away) friend Christine from The Plumed Nest came to mind. Christine is a stunningly talented artist and a stellar photographer. Just emailing back and forth with her to brainstorm this little project has me excited and inspired.

So Christine and I are joining forces on a wee photo-a-day challenge, and we'd love you to play along with us! This is a no-pressure proposition, simply let yourself be inspired by the prompts as we've laid them out and have some fun. We're starting this Friday, April 18, and we'll hang together for the next two weeks at the hashtag #perception_collection. Join us for the whole smash, or drop in and out whenever a prompt strikes your fancy. The prompts are designed to be wide ranging, and the goal is to focus your eye and have some fun. You can follow me on Instagram here and Christine here, and at the end of the two weeks she and I'll feature some of our favorite photos on our blogs.

I love using the challenge and structure that daily prompts can give you, and I hope you'll consider playing along for at least some of our suggestions. Added side bonus? You might stumble upon some inspiring photographer and make some friends. That's always my favorite part! Hope to see you on the 'gram over the next few weeks!