Brian and I have returned from shooting a wonderful wedding in Moses Lake, WA. We were flown into Spokane from Seattle (a whole 40 minute flight–I know. We are totally spoiled!). Then we drove about 90 minutes into complete farm country. You know you’re in the middle of nowhere when your three choices for eating are Denny’s, Sheri’s and the cafe at Shilo Inn–and the cafe at Shilo Inn looks the best.

Our groom is a Portuguese dairy farmer. We had the most fascinating conversations with their family members. And wow, we had the best BBQ and salsa dancing I’ve seen in a long time! Dairy farmers know how to SALSA! And confession time, I have to admit it was nice getting a little break from puppy training. The kids went to Grandma’s and Prince Phillip and Rosie had their own sitter spoiling them both all weekend. Brian and I feel rested, refreshed, and ready to start another week of puppy potty training! Thank you for all your tips in Friday’s post! We have already learned so much from what you’ve shared!

I’m excited for you to see the whole wedding, but there is one image I can’t wait to show you. I was taking photos of the bride’s wedding dress and the sweetest little flower girl was practicing her twirls in the background.

I was trying out the Sony 350 with these shots because we have the 35 mm that will go down to a 1.6. I wanted that extreme, low aperture so I could enhance the dreaminess of the little one twirling. And the color on the 350 is FANTASTIC! But did I get this shot on my first try? Not quite.

She was actually twirling in another part of the room, and I thought she was so cute that I had the idea to open up the windows and let her twirl in front of the windows. I wasn’t sure what I was wanting, but I knew there was something to be captured with the vintage wedding dress, bright window light, twirling flower girl. I also felt like this image was about feeling dreamy, not perfect detail or perfect lighting. What would the end result be, wasn’t sure yet–just had this sense.

Creativity is often like this, don’t you think? Your not sure what it is your envisioning, but you know it’s there. You can just feel the quiet nudging inside.

I love how Julia Cameron wrote, “Artists are visionaries. We routinely practice a form of faith, seeing clearly and moving toward a creative goal that shimmers in the distance–often visible to us, but invisible to those around us…” She goes on to write, “Art is an act of faith, and we practice practicing it. Sometimes we are called on pilgrimages on its behalf and, like many pilgrims, we doubt the call even as we answer it. But answer we do.”

How many of you feel called to a pilgrimage of photography? How many of you doubt the call even as you begin to answer it?

I think the toughest, most challenging part to being an artist is one thing and one thing only. It is trust in yourself. Trust that the pilgrimage you desire is not vain or a waste of time, but it is real and meant to bring you joy, wholeness, and restored wonder. Trust that those little nudges or shimmers I see in the distance when shooting a wedding are real and alive only waiting to be found–even if it’s invisible to those around me.

The painful truth is we have all tried trusting these quiet tugs inside us and at one point or another found utter failure as a result. We have all experienced listening to that inner voice only to end up feeling embarrassed in the end. Or maybe you come from a past like mine, where you trusted another person only to be victimized. How could you ever trust your sense of judgment again? Where do you begin?

I don’t often give these types of photo exercises, but I think it’s vital to practice this no matter what form of art you do. It’s an exercise of “exercising” your trust in your creative self.

Find 45-60 minutes this week where you can take your camera and practice “art as an act of faith”. Take pictures of your kids playing, or your pet for the photo contest, or nature around you. But allow yourself to be quiet inside. Have your camera on Auto mode if that will help you relax. Focus on listening to your inner voice. Look for the shimmer inside you that sees the world in a unique way. Try capturing the shimmer. Try following those quiet nudges. And when you feel uncomfortable and awkward remember, we are practicing “art as an act of faith”. Faith is the key component.

When you’re done, look through your images and see if you can identify something different. Write down what that different thing(s) is. I know this is a very abstract photo exercise, and it won’t make sense until you are in the midst of experiencing it. But go with me on this. We are working at acknowledging those shimmery things we see in the distance. We are working at trusting our inner, creative voice. And if you are comfortable, email me and tell me how this exercise went. mera@merakoh.com

Let’s shimmer this week in a way we never have.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For more fun photo exercises, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese , our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, or for details on spots left in our upcoming Chicago Workshop , click on the words of your choice!