Have you heard of the Ted Talks? If not, let’s start there. I think they say it best on their site;

“TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The TED Conference, held annually in the spring, is the heart of TED. More than a thousand people now attend, the event sells out a year in advance, and the content has expanded to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. Over four days, 50 speakers each take an 18-minute slot, and there are many shorter pieces of content, including music, performance and comedy. There are no breakout groups. Everyone shares the same experience. It shouldn’t work, but it does. It works because all of knowledge is connected. Every so often it makes sense to emerge from the trenches we dig for a living, and ascend to a 30,000-foot view, where we see, to our astonishment, an intricately interconnected whole.”

Out of all 50 speakers, only three are picked as the winners. The three winners are given a grant of $100,000 to help make their “One Wish to Change the World” come true.

James Nachtwey is one of the most amazing war photographers of our time.

He also became one of the three TED winners. Read this quick bio for more info on him. His “one wish to change the world” was this;

“I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it, in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.”

From what I understand, no one knows what this story is about. The unveiling of this story and his images happens globally this Friday, October 3rd! This is an event photographers and non-photographers have been sitting on the edge of their chair to see.

If you’d like to see his moving Ted talk go to this link. I highly encourage you to see this clip, but keep in mind, it’s not for children. His war images are to disturbing for my little ones to see. Just an fyi for you.

James Nachtwey is a man that deserves talking about. Tell me what you think after you’ve watched his talk. It shook my inner most being to listen to his talk and see his images.

Set your calendar and mark your this page to see the unveiling on Friday!

Have you flown Virgin America yet?

If not, a must! For real, there are outlets at your seat. No more laptop batteries dying halfway through flight!

Virgin America is my FAVORITE airline right now. You step on the plane and the lighting is PURPLE! There is groovy music playing, and you can’t help but do a little jig as you find your seat.

I told the airline stewardess it’s like a night club in the sky! She was like, “Yeahhh girlll, you know IT!”

Like Jet Blue, you can pay a little extra for some more leg room. The seats are all leather. You can watch new movies, tv, music videos…the list really does go on and on. I’m serious, it’s my favorite way to fly to CA or NY these days. And the tickets are dirt cheap!

And if you are so inclined, you can upgrade to First Class for only $100. If you do, try their Duck Spinach Salad. Wow, I’ve never had duck on salad. To have it on an airpline just doesn’t sound right, but we are talking yummy!

No, we are not sponsored by Virgin America to say these things. However, that would be nice. Brian keeps telling me he wants Ralph Lauren Underwear to be his next sponosor…hmmmm. Yep. I had to stop for a minute the first time I heard it too. Just let that thought sit for a minute. Maybe he could pull it off. Let’s see. Carey or Jeremy, any comments?

I think Virgin America would be my choice instead.

What’s your favorite airline and why?

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Just in case you were beginning to worry, we haven’t forgot to announce the Photo Contest Winner! Just taking forever to count! Did you see how many votes we had!!

For fun photo exercises, check out our popular Instructional DVDs Refuse to Say Cheese , our 101 Kits for starting or expanding a business in photography, click on the words of your choice! We just had a great review done on our DVDs, read about it here!

The Chicago Workshop is sold out. But the Seattle December Workshop is now open for registration! Click HERE to register!

As many of you know, I’ve had the pleasure and honor of being a part of 8 women in what we call the Next Octave. All eight women are fascinating, beautiful, and rich with wisdom. Together we are on a journey for 9 months in helping each other reach the Next Octave in our individual lives. Many wonderful things has come from this journey, but one unexpected gift is the break I get from being the Source.

If you are a mom, you are what my friend Genie calls the “Source”. Everyone in the family comes to you for direction on what to do, how to feel, where to go. As my pastor once said, “If mom’s not happy nobody is happy. If dad’s not happy–who cares.” I know all you husbands reading this know how true the statement can be! And all you moms reading know how taxing it can be to be the source of what meals to cook, lunches to pack, carpools to organize and swim lessons to finish up. When I come to be with my Next Octave girlfriends, I don’t have to be the source.

I get to crash on their living room floor and sleep in late. I get to stay up until 1am as I pick their brains about the meaning of feminine wisdom. I don’t have to pack any lunches or carpool. I just receive, laugh, cry and breathe deep.

Last weekend, I had the pleasure of staying with Peggy. We call her our “Den Mother”. All the other women in this group are twenty years older than me. Peggy is our oldest member and says it with pride. And she should. Her life holds experience that I stand in awe of. She and I stayed up past midnight as she let me ask her question after question about her life.

Peggy has survived the deep loss of losing her oldest daughter to ovarian cancer. Beth was in her thirties, bright, alive, and a firecracker in spirit. She went in for a routine check up and was gone in 93 days. How does a mom survive such tremendous loss?

Peggy has survived what seems un-survivable. Every part of her that has chosen to keep going, keep being a mom to her other children, keep being a wife and keep loving other women like me–leaves me speechless. To make the choice to live with an open heart, when life has been so unfair…this is a miracle. I was going to take a picture of Peggy before I left, but instead I wanted to capture the many parts of her home that symbolize the essence of Peggy.

Her raised Victorian in the heart of Berkley, breathes deep with comfort, warmth and beauty–it breathes Peggy. The details surround you from the moment you pull up to her home. Sunday morning I took about twenty minutes and walked around her house with my camera, picking and choosing the details that best describe Peggy’s beauty. These are the symbols I found around her home so you could experience her too.

It starts with the stairs to her front door. Eye catching in a brilliant blue, so incredibly inviting. The purple flowers and vines wrap themselves around the white banister pulling you in to a home of rest.

But Peggy is also strong and certain. Like the magnificent 100 year old molding in and around her home, she seems to know the lines she has walked, is walking and continuing to follow.

Peggy isn’t wishy washy. She doesn’t mince her words. She says things like they are. Her passion for women, for their voice, for her voice is precise It wraps around the home of her heart as well as the home of her dwelling place.

Even the design of her chair seems to circle round and round you.

Peggy is also vibrant! Over the years, she has taught workshops on sensuality, bringing confidence and healing to women. Her bright yellow lantern is in the back hallway, one could almost miss it because the placement is subtle and unobtrusive. This reminds me of Peggy. She is strong and vibrant, but her sense of femininity and passion are never obtrusive. Instead they lure you in, wanting to know her more.

And when Peggy retires for the night, she climbs a steep ladder up to her bedroom loft. To climb down a ladder every morning and then back up every night is something I could journal for hours around. The symbolism makes my head spin, so I’ll leave you with this simple image.

Can you guess what the photo exercise is?

Photo Exercise in Symbols

Pick someone in your life that causes an emotion to rise up in you. Maybe you are intrigued by them, curious about their life. Maybe they are the opposite of you and confuse you to no end. Maybe it’s one of your children, a parent, or grandparent. Maybe an old friend or a new friend like Peggy.

Once you have your person, visit them and ask if you can spend twenty minutes taking detail photos of their home or bedroom. This is a wonderful exercise to do with your kids. As I share on DVD 1, Refuse to Say Cheese , capturing the details in our kids lives can be so fun because in months they will have already changed on us. The details that define their present stage in life will be all new. So you don’t have to travel to Berkeley to do this exercise, a walk down the hallway will do just fine.

Use the lowest aperture/F stop you can because the story of your images are the details. The blurred background will help give more attention to the details you are capturing. If you aren’t comfortable shooting in Manuel try AV or A mode. This means you get to set your aperture to its lowest point (2.8 or 3.5 or maybe 5.6–it all depends on the lens you are using. The lower you can go the more dramatic your blur is.), and the camera will figure out your shutter speed. If this makes you break a sweat, turn your camera to the Portrait Mode. There is usually an icon with a lady’s head to symbolize Portrait Mode. You can find this mode on a DSLR or simple Point and Shoot. This is basically taking photos at a low aperture and choosing the appropriate shutter speed. As you can see, there are many ways to do this one exercise. Modify it to whatever level is most comfortable for you.

Recipe for Peggy’s Details:

All the above images were shot with my Sony 350 and 35mm lens. The 350 is a great DSLR that is super easy to travel with and has fantastic color! I was at a 1.6 aperture for extreme blur in the background. My shutter speed was 1/500 or 500th of a second. When I was outside shooting the blue steps and molding, I could be at a 100 ISO. But when I came in the house, I lost light and needed to bump up to a 400 ISO.

Enjoy! Tell us how it goes! If you want, you can even send me some of your images. I would love to see! Email them to mera@merakoh.com.

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To vote for one of the Five Finalists in the Water Themed Photo Contest, click here! If we get 400 votes, we’re giving one random voter a copy of Adobe’s Lightroom Software! So make sure you vote before midnight tonight! Midnight PST is the DEADLINE!

The Chicago Workshop is sold out. But the Seattle December Workshop is now open for registration! Click HERE to register!

To see our day job , visit here.

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, click on the words of your choice!

To submit a photo for August’s Photo Contest, email us an image that is about your Pet. The image has to show off a part of their personality. Attach the image as a JPG and send to contest@merakoh.com. The deadline is the last day of August! For the August prize info, click the word!

I received an email yesterday from my business coach, Karen Buckley. The email seemed to flow well with yesterday’s post and all your wonderful, vulnerable, beautiful comments.

Karen and Fay Freed are going to offer a Free Teleconference Call to women on August 13th from 4-5pm PST. To listen in on a conference call with these two women as your teachers—oh my goodness! You must, you must! And it’s free! How can you not!

You will hear the wisdom ooze out of their very voices. And then I’m sure you’ll get a glimpse at how these two women have had such an impact on my life, love, leadership and feminine wisdom. In fact, a handful of you are now doing business coaching sessions with Karen Buckley. It’s so fun to hear how much she is helping some of you grow on an individual basis. The lady is simply amazing. If we ever get the Refuse forum finished you’ll get to read monthly columns from her too (hint, hint Brian! :)).

Here are the details if you want to join in on the conference call. My favorite line is “What is feminine wisdom anyway?” Remember, you can join in and not say a word but just listen. You won’t regret it. These women know how to pack an hour phone call up with all kinds of delicious things to think about!

“Infusing our Life, our Love and our Leadership with
Feminine Wisdom”

? Why should we even bother infusing our life with feminine wisdom?

? What is feminine wisdom anyway?

? How would I know if I have it?

? What benefit will this have in my day-to-day living of life?

Join us in a lively dialogue about these topics!
Find out how you can be a part of the growing Wisdom Connection community.

Please just let us know by return email that you’d like to be a part of the call and we will get you the teleconference access information. info@wisdomconnection.biz

Feel free to invite your women friends to join as well!
It’s the green way to meet.

SAVE THE DATE!
“The Nine Facets of Feminine Wisdom: Keys to Leading as a Woman”
TeleSeminar October 8, 15 & 22 4-5:00PDT $75 for the series

“When we claim our feminine wisdom, our inner authority becomes unshakeable and our life is infused with joy.”
Karen Buckley

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.

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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!

I’m amazed when I see what is rolling out for our business but also our friends too!

Dane’s book, Fast Track Photographer, is ready to order!

Sara’s GoBee products have officially launched!

Our DVDs and 101 Kits are selling every day, and we continue to receive the most wonderful emails of how much people are learning from these products. The Chicago Workshop in November only has a few spots left!

Plus, we have some exciting new “top secret” projects in progress!

The question that often follows is “How do we do we manage to diversify our business and still run a successful wedding photography studio?” Because yes, we still love shooting weddings. And yet, any one of these projects are their own full time business in itself.

One of the secrets I have found to being a successful small business owner is in a single phrase. “A small business owner is often a jack of all trade but a master of none.” Being a “jack of all trades” is the secret pitfall to avoid. But how do you avoid being the jack of all trades and master of none?…What do I even mean by any of this?

During an interview in March at WPPI, Dane, Sara and myself all realized each of us had huge things happening in our businesses and there was one particular BIG REASON we could credit our successes to! The video below explains how we all stepped out of being a “jack of all trades”.

Check it out! This will hopefully inspire and challenge you (while making you laugh too–we got to keep it real right!! :))

p.s. I also want to introduce another talented photographer who you will meet in this video. His name is Marc Weisberg. Check out his portfolio and blog–beautiful!!

One of my biggest pet peeves when shooting a wedding or photo shoot is that I always end up wearing pants without any pockets. If I need a new flash card, I have to track Brian down or the camera bags down or both! It’s totally ridiculous. I even thought of getting one of those older fanny packs, but I can’t bring myself to do it. The fanny pack and what I’m wearing would totally clash–let alone make my rear look big and puffy!

Well, thank you Sara France and Lauren Hillary for creating a hip product (no pun intended) that solves my problem!!! It’s called the GO-BEE Hip Clutch: and I thrilled to say that I just preordered mine!!

Look at this inside of this sexy thing! Is it perfect or what! I can have my Blackberry, CF cards, lense cleaner, business cards all inside—ooooh, I’m so loving this!

I first spied this little item at the GO-BEE party in Vegas during WPPI. But I got a closer look when Sara came to our San Diego Workshop to demo a lighting trick. (I literally called her the night before, and she totally showed up and helped workshop attendees during the live shoot. Amazing!) As she was doing this, I noticed she was wearing that super cute GO-BEE.

The GO-BEE’s weren’t ready to order yet, but folks, they are now! If you get one, use the Pre Order Discount code on her blog. The code is PREORDER. This gives you $15 off! Check out all the details at the GO-BEE website.

And, they even have a men’s version!

Go Sara and Lauren! Thank you for taking your own leaps of faith on this idea! You two are totally inspiring women!

p.s. If you enjoy looking at good photography blogs, check out Sara’s… Where in the World is France?

p.s.s. The NEW July Photo Contest Theme is WATER!!!

You can enter any images that have to do with water whether it is kids running through sprinklers, afternoons at the swimming pool, heaven forbid–rain, or the ocean, or another idea I’m leaving out. You get the idea. July’s theme of water is in celebration of the great weather we’ve been having in Seattle! The sprinklers never felt so good! So send your entries to contest@merakoh.com. The deadline is Thursday, July 31st at 12 midnight (Pacific Time).

Here is an inspiring story about a man and his beautiful bride: John and Lauren.

They came into our life when they got married. Brian and I had the wonderful privilege of being their wedding photographers. It was the BEST time–great couple, great details, hilarious memories made–wait, do you remember the playbill wedding program? That’s the same John and Lauren! If you never caught their wedding, check it out.

I’m not sure if they caught the photography bug before or after their wedding, but a year later John and Lauren were signed up for one of our photography workshops. Lauren came to the Beginner’s Workshop, and then they both came to the Advanced Workshop. Brian and I were so excited to speak into their lives and help their beginning business grow.

Then I get this email a couple weeks ago from John. He says they’ve just posted their second wedding and asks me if I’d check it out. Can I just say I didn’t expect these kinds of shots to be the results. Man! If this is was only their second wedding, look out!!!

Doesn’t this image below just look dreamy!! Lauren shot this one. I’m so proud of her. I love how we don’t see the eyes. I love that the background is totally dark. The whole set up, lighting, and post process to this image is perfect!

John said they had some time to play around with lighting during the getting ready part of the day. He said he remembered the blog post I did on back lighting dresses and decided to try the same idea. I’d say he figured it out and then some!

The blog post and exercise that John was talking about it is called “Off Camera Lighting Demystified“. Check it out and give it your own try.

And then I just have to show off this photo because it’s to cool. Look at that back light behind the groom. Isn’t it fantastic! Way to go you two!

Take a look at the whole wedding slideshow. It’s not only great photography, but you’ll be inspired to keep after your own dreams!

And if you have a minute, leave some comments on their blog letting these two know it’s not just me who thinks they did an AMAZING JOB!!

My little wifey and our kiddies mama asked me to post where and when she’s planning on having dinner in Denver tonight.

If you want to get some food inside the Whole Foods Market deli, Me Ra will meet you at the outside tables and chairs depending on how long the photo shoot goes today. Below I posted the address, time and links for directions.

Where: Whole Foods Market 870 S Colorado Blvd, Denver, CO 80246-2014

When: June 22, at 4:30 or 5:00 PM (depending on how long the photo shoot is).

Have a great dinner and ask her some REALLLLYYYY hard questions!!!! Thanks!!!

This little mama is headed this morning to do a photo shoot in Colorado!

This is so last minute, but why not throw it out there–sometimes last minute stuff is fun, right!

I have a couple open hours on Sunday (early evening) before I catch my flight home. Are there any photographers who would like to meet up for dinner? We get so many emails every day from photographers and newbies with such great questions, and I feel bad that I can’t answer them all. So I thought if any of you are in Denver and want to meet face to face over dinner, we could tackle some of those questions in person.

If your interested, post a comment in today’s post AND send Brian an email (brian@merakoh.com)! Since Brian’s staying back with the kiddos, I’m going to have him figure out the place to meet and time to meet. Once he gets your email, he’ll solidify details and email you all back.

Yeah! Can’t wait to meet some of you!

Thank you so much for all the FUN and HILARIOUS posts on the Loser Mom blog post! Your comments and stories were such a kick to read! If you haven’t read them yet, you must! These moms will let you know you are NOT a Loser Mom but instead, you’re in great company. And FYI, Blaze didn’t cry before swim class today! It’s amazing how far you can bribe a kid with a package of M&Ms!