It’s been quite a while since I have done a blog post. It’s not because I haven’t been working or that I don’t have any photos to share. I’ve been shooting up a storm since my last post and I have lots of images sitting in a folder just waiting to be posted. At some point over the past few months I started asking myself some tough questions. Questions that I didn’t know the answers to.
One day while I was perusing online I stumbled upon a video on the blog of one of my favorite photographers, Zack Arias. I watched this video and it literally brought tears to my eyes because it described exactly how I’ve been feeling. Zack talks about how every winter he gets into a funk. While in this funk, he asks himself who he is as a photographer, what is his vision, what are his goals, what can he bring to the table that countless others haven’t done already? These are some of the same questions that I’ve been asking myself. Zack also mentions that he finds himself hating his photography and feeling like it’s just not good enough. He wants to re-create himself and re-define himself as an artist. He also brings up the question, “Why do we have a need to compare ourselves to others and the work that they are creating?”. Watching this video was like having Zack read my thoughts. He puts into words everything that I have been unable to for myself.
I’ve been feeling like my head is banging against the ceiling. I want to take my photography to the next level but I just don’t know how. Insecurities take hold and I tell myself that I’m just not good enough. Constantly comparing myself to others and trying to be someone or something that I am not is exhausting. I think that I found Zack’s video just when I needed to. It helped me realize that I am not alone in this funk. There will always be photographers out there that are more skilled and more talented than me. Instead of letting all of this get me down, I need to remind myself that all I can do is be the best that I can be. I need to let these insecurities push myself to the next level. To do that, I just need to take things one step at a time. I think that sometimes we are hardest on ourselves. Right now, I am reminding myself that it’s okay to walk in my own shoes at my own pace. As Zack says in his video, “Learn. Grow. Have dark days. Persevere. Transformation takes time. It really is worth the wait.” And that is just what I plan to do. I may not get there as fast as I want, but I will get there.
I want to thank you, Zack Arias, for your inspirational video. It really resonated with me and has given me the kick in the butt that I have needed to keep going.
So, with all of that now out in the open, here are a few images from weddings and sessions that I will be doing full blog posts on in the near future.
Saturday, October 23, 2010 Posted in Babies
I sometimes lie awake at night, unable to sleep due to all the ideas running around in my head. I keep a journal on my bedside table so that I can write down the ideas that come to me at 3 in the morning. Some of these ideas come to life and others remain in my journal for when the right circumstances come along. Some of these ideas are so far fetched and “out there” that they may never come to life but I figure it doesn’t hurt to write them down. I guess you could say that I’m a bit of a dreamer and that I like to dream big. The only problem is that I’m sometimes afraid to act on these dreams. Afraid of what others might say or think and afraid that I might fail. I’m working on following through with some of my big dreams. I’m working on telling myself that it’s okay to dream big and that it’s okay to try. I would rather be 80 years old and look back at the things in my life that I tried and failed at, as opposed to the things that I was too afraid to try.
I love photographing newborns. I love looking at these tiny little new people and can’t help but wonder who they will be when they grow up. Will they be big dreamers? Will they become a famous musician that travels the world? Will they be a doctor or a lawyer that spends their days helping others? I hope so. I hope that every single one of these beautiful babies that I have had the pleasure of photographing is never afraid to dream big.
This little guy was such a good model. He slept soundly pretty much through the entire session. I’d like to think that he was dreaming sweet dreams of all the amazing things that he is going to do throughout his life.
“V” has the cutest smile. She flashed us this smile as soon as we met her and I fell in love! We spent a beautiful morning at the park with “V” and her family and she had us laughing pretty much the whole time. This little girl hammed it up for us and I can tell that she is going to break a few boys hearts when she’s all grown up. Just don’t grow up too fast “V”.
Tags: family portrait photographer, family portraits, halifax child photographer, halifax child photography, halifax family photographer, halifax family photography, Halifax Nova Scotia photographer, Halifax Nova Scotia photography, Halifax Nova Scotia portrait photographer, on location photography, Patricia Sampson
I have lost count as to how many times we have photographed the Ryan family. We always look forward to spending time with this fun family and feel so privileged to be able to watch and document the kids as they grow. We spent a few hours at the park with the Ryan family recently and had a great time as usual. The kids have the most gorgeous blue eyes that I have ever seen!
Tags: child photography, child portraits, family portrait photographer, family portraits, halifax child photographer, halifax child photography, halifax family photographer, halifax family photography, Halifax Nova Scotia photographer, Halifax Nova Scotia photography, Halifax Nova Scotia portrait photographer, on location photography, Patricia Sampson
We first met and photographed the Coombs family when sweet little “M” was still in mommy’s tummy. Every time that we photograph this family it feels like we’re hanging out with old friends. We always have such a great time with them and more than a few laughs are shared between us. The following photos are from two separate sessions that we did with the Coombs’. Each session included a different set of grandparents and “M’s” aunt. “M” is one very lucky little girl to have so many people love her so much.
Tags: family portraits, halifax child photographer, halifax child photography, halifax family photographer, halifax family photography, Halifax Nova Scotia photographer, Halifax Nova Scotia photography, Halifax Nova Scotia portrait photographer, on location photography, Patricia Sampson, portrait photographer, portrait photography
Friday, October 15, 2010 Posted in Dogs
A few weeks ago, my good photographer friend Rebecca Clarke asked me to photograph the SPCA’s Bark in the Park event with her. As a huge animal lover I absolutely love the work that the SPCA does. They rely primarily on volunteers and donations to fund animal protection; care and rehabilitation; advocacy; and humane education. I met some amazing people and their dogs at the event along with some wonderful individuals who donate their time to help those dogs in need. I was pretty much in heaven surrounded by numerous dogs that doled out plenty of kisses and happy tail wags. Here is one of my favorite images that I captured at the event.
Karen and Jimmy are getting married next weekend and Ian and I are really looking forward to photographing their wedding! We had a blast taking their engagement photos at York Redoubt so I have a feeling that their wedding day is going to be pretty much the same. Karen told me that she had been a bit nervous all day leading up to their session. I told her that we were going to have fun and that the photo taking process wouldn’t be nearly as bad as she imagined. Well, for someone that was nervous about having her photo taken I think she rocked it! What do you think? And Jimmy, you’re not too bad either 
Thursday, September 2, 2010 Posted in Wedding
I’m just going to let the images speak for themselves in this post because I don’t have the words to say all the things that I’d like to about this amazing day with this awesome couple. Congratulations Stephanie and Andrew!
I’m getting ready to post Stephanie and Andrew’s wedding images and it dawned on me that their engagement images haven’t made it to the blog yet. During the busy wedding season my main focus is getting images to my clients so bear with me while I play catch up here on the blog that has been neglected for the last little while! Stephanie and Andrew were a real treat to photograph and such a sweet couple. I’m not lying when I say that Ian and I laughed so much with these two during their engagement session and on their wedding day. I loved loved loved working with them! Oh, and to top it all off, Stephanie has THE most gorgeous blue eyes that I have ever seen… and if you’ve been following the blog you know all about my obsession with eyes.
by Patricia
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