I tend to over-extend-plan-do most things in my day to day life. I take too many tasks, bundle them together, and overwhelm myself (and those in my direct line of fire, whoops). Eventually there is some sort of brain explosion as I try to make 300 to-do lists and accomplish everything all at once. Not good.
Sometime in March I decided I needed to be in the woods with my dog for a few days, unplug from the internet, hike and catch up on my work. Family stress and distractions were getting the best of me and I couldn't focus. It was too cold to hammock camp, so some quick research led me to the only state park in our area that had a single cabin that had electricity and allowed dogs. As soon as I went to book it, I saw that a snowstorm had knocked out all their power. Plan foiled.
Months passed, spring and summer packed my calendar, and the retreat was put on the back burner. I had a few nice camping trips, but no dedicated me time. Still overwhelmed.
Flash to the beginning of this October. One of those insane overwhelmed-on-every-front evenings. I just needed to be alone. Within an hour I had booked three nights in the same cabin I'd been eyeing seven months earlier. Two weeks later I loaded up my rickety Subaru and headed into the mountains.
Leading up to the spur-of-the-moment booking, I had been looking for a new outlet. I was shooting more than I ever had before, but once I delivered work to my clients, my photos just sat stagnant on my hard drives, with maybe one or two popping up on facebook each week. I felt the overwhelming nagging of neglected photos and felt as if I was letting myself down by not doing more with the product of what I am so passionate about.
The cabin trip was my new start and fresh perspective on my vision for my work. This website has been here for 15 months now. The portfolio content outdated and rushed from the struggle to find a balance between my full-time job and my freelance work. Balance is always the mantra in the back of my head, but much easier said than done.
I plan to use this blog space to give myself a visual archive of casual photo sets, my design work, photography sessions, and projects. Updating and keeping a consistent portfolio, encouraging my creativity, accountability, and inspiration is key as well.