Another huge source of creative inspiration for me has been photographer Deb Schwedhelm. Her work is ethereal, captivating, and simple beautiful... but on top of all that her writing also strikes a chord with me because it is so honest. Part of my journey as a photographer has been real desire to nail down how I want to define and shape my style. As I've said before, I believe that a huge part of developing your style is being able to recognize who you are as an individual and really tapping into what you can uniquely bring to the table with your gifts and talents - not simply fixating on what someone else does and attempting to emulate that (more amazing words on this here). All that being said, months ago when Deb announced that she was going to be doing her first ever workshop with friend and fellow photog Leah Zawadski  - I jumped in with both feet. Especially when I saw this as the description for the retreat:

informative and inspiring.

open and honest.

creative and exciting.

a place where photographers and friends can gather together...

to share, learn and grow.

 a wallflower friend...

a person who see's the world for what it really is, all the beauty and the ugly...

someone who knows life is only for the one who is not afraid 
and
that joy is only for him who does not fear to be alone. 

you will never, not even if you try, forget a wallflower friend.

{adapted from urban dictionary}

So in preparation for the Wallflower Friends retreat, I've been combing through all my archives and finding/choosing photos that I love because I just love them... not because it is what a client would want or because everyone is looking and smiling... just because they resonate with ME.