Cure for the inevitable winter burn out...

Burn out.

I don't about you guys, but it's hard for me to get motivated in these winter months to do anything that isn't business upkeep. I fight the urge to throw a blanket around my waist, make countless cups of coffee, and organize files and contracts.... My camera sits neatly tucked away in the closet, recovering from months and months of vigorous shutter clicks, and I hunker down- letting my creativity regroup and my love for picture making to return. This is a yearly battle for me and I can usually feel it coming on like a bad cold. A little tickle in my throat manifests itself as a signal for me to clear my calendar of paying jobs. A fever creeps up telling me to get back to basics before the flame fizzles out completely. Usually a few months go by where I contemplate things like going back to school, changing my focus to food and interiors, canceling my facebook account, ya know... life changing things.

And then, the sun comes up whether I like it or not. That shoot I scheduled back before burn out settled in so comfortably arrives and I drag that camera bag out from it's dark place and hit the ground running.

And then I go, "Oh yeahhhhhhh ..... I love this image-creating thing" and then my clients go, "I can totally see that you love what you do!" and then I go, "I do... I do love what I do!"

I am a big believer in embracing whatever you are feeling whenever you are feeling it. What is life without emotions and what are emotions without permission to feel them? If I am sad, I cry. If I'm pissed off, I throw a pillow real hard...(I know, I'm just not a punch a wall kind of girl.) ..if I'm over-whelmed I let myself break down .. and then I dry the tears, put the pillow back on the bed, and make a to-do list. Sometimes you gotta just embrace that darkness to get to the dawn.

Anyone else have a similar winter pattern? If so, welcome back from burn out!

Heather and Brian : A Palm Springs wedding dear to my heart

My darling Heather, In this crazy world somehow our paths have always been oddly parallel ....intersecting at times, diverging at others, but when it really mattered; parallel. We've watched each other sink and swim and laugh and cry and falter and steady and hurt and heal and on and on and on ...

I know you .. I've photographed you what feels like a million times. I've got your good side memorized and have figured out how to capture that ridiculously beautiful bouncy hair. So when you told me of your intimate wedding plans and asked me to be the one to document it all- my nerves even surprised me.

"Of course, of course, " I said. When I was really thinking... "Are you sure about this? These are your wedding photos! Do you even like my work? Oh, god. What if I mess up?!" It's almost as if I forgot that one, you love me and two, I do this for a living- that I have actually shot a wedding before. That and (gasp!) the fact that I am pretty good at it.

You assured me time and time again that you could never picture anyone else doing it and in my heart I knew that to be truth.... true to form, I was the only one unsure of myself. As I hopped out of the car to head to your getting ready room I couldn't help it- I was nervous. Like really nervous. Silly Meg.

As soon as I walked through the door I was instantly comfortable. When I heard your mom's voice saying something about how I am your sister and how she was so glad I was there finally .. tears welled up in my eyes. Hayley, little Hayley, looking as beautiful as ever ... your dress hanging up, shoes on the counter....and you. You all dolled up and full of smiles, excitement literally oozing out of your skin. In one second, I was immediately reminded that this is my best friends wedding! And I have the complete honor of being the one to document it. Being nervous or worried or whatever it was that I was seemed like forever ago in an instant and the only thing that followed it was joy.

I am so happy that you have found someone who completes your picture and fits perfectly into your life. Brian is perfect for you in so many ways and I am so excited that he's on this crazy path with you! What the future will bring and where the universe will lead us has always been a big topic of conversation for us ... a fascinating mystery of intersecting paths and circling orbits ... I am excited to have seen your path answer this unknown so perfectly and honored to have been there to document it.

You just never know what can happen in a year.

Brian- welcome to our orbit!

I love you both so much and hope these photos do your memories justice.

Yours,

Meg