[personal] the winds of irene

the other night, while the winds of irene blew through my town i hunkered down with a cup of tea and watched the movie fur: and imaginary portrait diane arbus. diane arbus was a prolific photographer in the 1950's and 60's until her suicide in 1971, known best for her work photographing the marginalized of society [aka the freaks and weirdoes], and for her unique style [grainy black and white photos cropped to a square. for anyone with an iphone and the hipstamatic, you might recognize this style if you have the blackeys supergrain "film"].

when the film ended i was inspired to photograph!! but, it was nine o'clock in the evening, there was no one around and it was all but dark! rather than letting the moment pass me by, i ventured outside and took this opportunity to just be creative and see what happens.

the sky was black and blue, and the wind was pushing the clouds and blowing through the trees. it was beautiful how the foreboding sly reflected in leaf filled puddles, and how the only lights on the road were street lights that flickered as the wind tried to turn off the power!

this last photo was my attempt to take a photograph of the tree being blown about... i should really work on my manual focus abilities... but automatic is soooooo lovely most of the time!

hope you enjoyed! it's not high art like diane arbus but it's mine :)

love & sunshine,

shannon-may

[personal] seeking balance

something i have been thinking about a lot lately is the need to develop a schedule for myself... that is a work schedule. this is one challenge i have encountered running my own business: there is no one watching the clock to see when i start at my desk each day!! it also means that there is no one telling me to turn the computer off and call it a work day!!

i spent the whole weekend watching a webinar produced by creativeLIVE.  when the workshop ended on sunday, i was unsure of what to do with myself. i had technically put in a full work day [training] but i hadn't physically done anything. i struggled for about an hour with what to do... there was an internal tango going on between my work self and my personal time self!!

i laid down a boundary [or i tried]. i decided that even though i had emails to return and a photo shoot waiting to be culled, i needed to take time for myself and it had to not include the computer. so, i picked up the book i have been trying to get through [barbara kingsolver's prodigal summer] and read... but after about thirty minutes back to the computer i went. oi vey! i guess i'll try again today!

love & sunshine,
shannon-may

[personal]: work-cation

early this week i went up to pei for a little work-cation. i had a photo shoot scheduled for wednesday [which i cannot wait to show you!] and drove up a couple days early to hang out with my good friend shelley. it was so great to get a change of scenery, and i got tons of work accomplished while hanging out at a new hip coffee shop in summerside... it's called samuel's coffee house and you should check it out [this will definitely be my "office" everytime i am in summerside for work]!

i took tuesday off to play tourist, even though i have been to pei a few times, and ventured into charlottetown. we grabbed lunch and roamed about for a bit with the plan of going to see the new movie the help, but it was sold out! so, my quick thinking need-to-do-something-fun self kicked in and i suggested we grab a bottle of wine and hang out on the beach [that's legal right?]! it was a gorgeous day and i can sit by the ocean for hours and never get bored.

here are some pictures from my day off in pei!

bruscetta with fresh tomatoes and basil. and fried risotto stuffed with pork and topped with fresh parmessean... decadent appetizers we were happy to share!

the sky when were arrived at the beach was gorgeous, and it just got better, which you'll see in the following pictures! and the below picture features seagull tracks!! so sweet.

i did no colour adjustments to this photo. this was the sea and sky as i saw it!! the blue was just brilliant!!

the sun begins to set.

the following photos are due in part to red wine and sunshine, and shelley's natural ability to entertain!

our new friend, the sand man [aka: jack].

self portrait time!

the sun! the sun! the gorgeous setting sun!

thank you for taking an interest in me and my adventures!!  looking forward to sharing some photo shoots with you next week!! have a great weekend! i will be participating in a webinar all weekend, provided the impending storms don't knock out my internet!!

love & sunshine,

shannon-may

[personal] the mullet

i hope the stylist who thought up the androgynous mullet hairstyle had his or her credentials revoked because his horrid hair trend has wounded and scarred so many. to this day i have flash backs to years of bad hair days after sporting the trendy hair do and then trying to grow it out. going through pictures of me as a kid in the eighties actually brings tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat because it is so painful to relive!

i remember when my friends started showing up at school with the hot new hair style that all the grown-ups and movie stars were getting. and there was one girl whose mother had let her  perm the front [short] part of her hair while leaving the back [longer parts] naturally straight. you know the mullet style i am talking about, right? i was sooooo jealous of her!

i'm glad i'm my own person now, and think hard before diving into the latest trend... though when i am fifty years old i am still likely to look back at photos of me taken now and ask myself: what was i thinking...

thank you laughing with me [and not at me]. have a good weekend!

love & sunshine,

shannon-may

[personal] dark days

one of my favourite television series of all time is gilmore girls. witty writing, dysfunctional relationships masking, pop culture, and an over emphasis on emily post... what could be better!! the more i watch it [and i watch it alot... dare i admit that i watch the series at least twice a year?] the more i feel like i know characters personally [is that sad?]. anyway, there is one episode that focuses on luke's "dark day," aka the anniversary of this father's death. it's the one day a year he allows himself to be miserable; he closes himself off from others and they stay far out of his way. what a concept!

this past monday [aka moanday] i experienced my own dark day. i woke up and immediately knew that it was going to be bad. i met my friend ang for lunch [i am sure i was not very pleasant to be with, sorry ang!] and then came home not even bothering to be productive. all i wanted to do was watch a movie, cozy up in my chair and just shut the world out. it was the best thing i could do for myself [and for those around me :) ].

giving myself permission to have these days.. to be miserable/unhopeful/grumpy/unpleasent to be around is freeing [it's hard being happy when you feel like an oscar the grouch inside!]. it also makes me press in to God and to lean on him. i have no desire to remain in this place and to be closed off from others... and i find God is the best one to help me out of the pit, and my faith is strengthened 'cause he always seems to reach down in these times and pull me out!. and this past monday was no exception. when i took ruthie out for her last walk of the day i surrendered the dark day and all that it had encompassed to God. okay, enough is enough. i can't do anything about the worries on my mind except trust you to be with me and work all things out for good. i've had my miserable day and now i need to get back on track! when i woke up on tuesday, it was a new day... and it was light filled!

when was the last day you allowed yourself a dark day? when did you last give yourself permission to be grumpy while the storm clouds hover above your head for awhile? and how did you move on toward light filled days again?

love & sunshine,
shannon-may

ps: here is a little something from what i am working on this week!

[inspiration] bridal shoot

a few months ago i bought a wedding dress. and a couple of nights ago it finally was taken out of the closet, hang off the hanger, and was used in a styled bridal shoot i put together.

the plan: spend a few hours photographing my gorgeous friend rosie, utilizing various scenic areas around the st. stephen area. what was not planned and what turned out to be the best decision ever was to also photograph rosie at her house, which is a beautiful old home right in the heart of town and it was the element that really tied the inspired theme together!

the styled shoot was inspired by a an old antique photograph i picked up during a recent trip to bar harbor and ellsworth, in maine. this photograph has haunted me [in a good way] and inspired more than just this bridal shoot.

please allow me to indulge my narcissism for a moment. i am in love with these images. and i feel that i have reached a new level of quality and polish with my photography... i know this is has much to do with my growing confidence and the more i practice the better my skills become. but i also think it is because i am [finally] doing what i believe i was created for: photographing people, human nature, beauty and creation.

all the details [the earrings, the jewellery box, the jewellery tray are mine that i have collected over the years. they are either family heirlooms, a gift or a garage sale find!

i put this flower hairclip together about an hour before the shoot. i had been looking online for something to place in rosie's hair but couldn't find anything inspiring!! [it is amazing what we can do when we are resourceful]!

this is antique photograph that inspired the whole shoot. it was taken at the thurber studio, in lisbon new hampshire [there is no date]. i do not know what it is about this photograph but i think it is just breathtaking. the composition and lighting are lovely and the subject is stunning! based on the photo paper and the style of the model's clothing and hair i am going to guess that this portrait was taken no later than 1920... but perhaps you have a better guess!

this is my attempt to recreate the inspiring portrait...  to maintain the theme of the bridal shoot, and because i was inspired by the photo's style i choose to use an antique/creamtone on some of the photos rather than a standard black and white mix.

this cameo belonged to my mother and she gave it to me along with a few other pins and brooches when i was home for a visit this past june.

 the evening light was just stunning and provided the perfect mood for this shoot.

the earrings rosie is wearing also belonged to my mother. her brother gave them to her when she was a young women, and i have been wearing them since i was in my early twenties!

we found this gorgeous cathedral of trees as we drove home from shooting near todd's point.

rosie, thank you once again for indulging my creativity and modelling for me! you are absolutely beautiful in body and soul! my camera loves you and so do i!

questions, comments [and songs of praise] are welcome!

love & sunshine,

shannon-may