Doing It Wrong

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For the last few months, I've been a strange combination of busy and mentally blocked. In the summer and fall, I was concentrating on my work for my contract position (which has since ended) while doing a few portrait shoots in my free time, plus a few informal events. I always forget about how time-intensive the editing process is, though, and the combination of an aging computer, general mental fog after work, and a cat that repeatedly jumps on my keyboard means there's sometimes a long delay before I get the shots ready for other eyes to look at.

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It is what it is.

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I've been busy the last two months (including a job change).  To be honest, I'm going through another block where I'm not satisfied with anything I write, and anytime I try to post what I've been up to, it comes off as a grade school-level "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" report ("and then I did this, and then I did this, and then I did this...").

I don't know if it's just that I'm trying to summarize two months' worth of events (and non-events), or if it's a sign of a focus that's been divided into unproductivity.  Maybe I'm just too mindful of who my potential audience is, and now that my name is attached to this blog as a "professional calling card", that triggers a whole new set of anxieties about content, tone, and quality.  I have to ask myself what point of view I'm trying to express with both my writing and photography.

My portfolio now has a few examples of my couples photography, as well as some individual portraits.  I had a shoot on Thursday that I still need to edit, with three more sittings coming up in the near future.  If anyone's interested in booking a sitting, please don't hesitate to contact me.

I'm a little restless with this design.  I may change it up.

Oh, hey there.

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It's been a busy summer in some ways, quiet in others.  That's how I usually roll, but this year it feels like the hours that normally go into a day aren't there because my mind's a little foggier than normal.  I guess years of poor sleep habits have their way of catching up to you.  A lot has been the same for me since I moved to Halifax in October 2012: work during the weekdays, unwinding during the downtime.  It's all status quo lately, but I'm trying to figure out where the spare time goes, what I want for the next little while, and how I need to do it.  I'm still trying to figure out the answer, but interesting things manage to break the routine enough to keep me entertained.

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Why I haven't been blogging, explanation 39

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I went about two months without a post on this site; my energy's been all over the place lately, and I often don't have the amount of focus that I feel I need to do anything particularly well.  There are a number of things I'm doing or want to be doing these days, some more important than others, but for the last few months I've been short on resources (financially, yes, but more in terms of time and energy) and have been more concerned with maintaining a sort of "status quo" with my life than moving it forward.

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Now taking sittings for portrait shoots

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I had sittings with two different couples this month: an engagement shoot in Hemlock Ravine Park on the 1st (which was my first paid shoot), and a maternity shoot in Halifax Public Gardens yesterday evening.  When shooting, I don't really have too many set ideas for what I want to do and prefer to follow the lead of my subjects; if something comes to mind as we walk around or in the middle of one pose, I'll pursue it, but many of the best shots come from when everyone's relaxed and loose, and I catch the little signs of life that don't necessarily come out of the initial pose.

My portfolio still needs a bit more work, but I will include a section for my couples portraits; I still have to go through my other photography for other parts of my portfolio, but if the weather holds up I may go out with the camera this weekend.

I continue to welcome new opportunities for portrait shoots in the Halifax area; I am available anytime after 4:30 on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday.  I'm only charging for natural light outdoor portraits at this time; however, I need more practice using my flash and doing night portraits, so I'm looking for volunteer models for that kind of work.  Send me a line through the contact page if you're interested in a sitting.

Review: Kim Harris CD Release Party

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One of the brightest lights in the Halifax music scene is Kim Harris, a singer-songwriter originally from Corner Brook, NL.  Harris has appeared regularly in the city as a support act, in numerous local festivals including In The Dead Of Winter and Halifax Pop Explosion, and staged last summer's recreation of the entire soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet with Stewart Legere.  Last night, Harris launched her widely anticipated full-length debut Only The Mighty(released in February) with an incredible live show in the Spatz Theatre atrium in downtown Halifax.

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Re-Introduction

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I've had a few different websites in the past 15 years, including a period where I had about five different pages going at the same time.  There were the private blogs where I could be as unfiltered as I wanted to be and sometimes share a little too much.  One blog that started with a pop culture focus eventually turned into my "SNL Reviews" blog.  I had also attempted a photoblog and a space for my creative writing, but neither were focused, consistently updated, nor of particular note.

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