To my past self: I see you standing there, staring at the brand new camera fresh out of the box. I see your fingers on those buttons, feeling so foreign. I see that dial placed in auto and thinking you have no idea what you’re doing. And you don’t. I see you sitting there at …
CIRCA MAY 2011 Dear past self, just starting out on this photography journey. You don’t know it now, but this isn’t going to be the short-lived, side-gig that you think you’re trying out. You’re going to stumble upon what feels like your calling and your heart is going to be all in on this. The …
Dear me, Welcome to your photography journey. You will discover a few things about yourself during this journey. You will learn that you are a lot more empathetic than you ever thought you were. Photoshop will run super slow on your pc that you will turn to the dark side and purchase an …
Artists do not ask for permission
I had the intention and desire to capture every moment of my kids growing because they sprout up so quickly. That desire was enough to keep me clicking away, but I didn’t know that the desire was going to grow into a passion for life due to a dramatic incident.
Please don’t ever lose yourself again. But if you ever do, remember only when you are your genuine self can you truly create and love. Only when you love yourself you can be that person. Listen to the whisper of your soul and you can do anything. You are strong and capable. You are not who you have been told you are by society, by your critical self. You are who you choose to be. Always choose you.
Dear Megan, You’ve always been a lover of moments, connection, and emotion. Ever since you were a small child, a camera in hand, snapping moments of your childhood, and plastering photos all over your sponge-painted walls. The artist has always been within you, pounding against the walls of human flesh, pointed down a road …
Dear Katie at 29 years old sitting in your office cubicle with your headset answering customer calls, completely miserable and missing your newborn baby~ things will get better. You will find your passion, you won’t be stuck at this job forever. Just hang in there, you know this isn’t what you were meant to do and you’re worried that you’ll never find something you truly want to do for a living, but you will. At 29, you are just beginning your adult life and have a lot of learning and growth ahead of you.
Dear Past Self, How I long to be you again. So joyful about your work, instead of being hung up on technicalities. That happiness in your heart, shining through those Aperture Priority JPEGS. Every mistake you make, every client who made you cry, every idea that you couldn’t figure out how to emulate- built …
Words by Adri De La Cruz Oh what a year it’s been. If you’re like me than 2017 hit you like a ton of bricks. My only hope is that you grew from every experience, as a human and as an artist. I am so tremendously proud of the community we are building over at …