Me Ra Koh Photography Blog

February 1st, 2010

#SOAR! Business Coaching Assignment #1!

It’s the first Monday of the month ladies! My business coaches, Karen and Fay, and myself are super excited because the first Monday of the month now means something super special for the rest of the year! It’s all about Business Coaching! But let me back up…

The SOAR! blog is going to have a specific rhythm throughout the year. Here is the plan…

1st Monday of the month will be dedicated to Business Coaching. You will be given a Business Coaching exercise that our three SOAR! Recipients are working on. Over the next three days, you will get to not only work on yours but also read what Linda, Jennifer and Lindsay’s experience too! And then we’ll invite you to post yours on the SOARORITY! forum with further conversation! Get ready ladies, Karen and Fay are amazing Business Coaches!

2nd Monday of the month will be dedicated to a Photography Exercise. And again, on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, you’ll get to see the Recipients results and process. (We are so excited for you to be able to share your photo results at SOARORITY!)

3rd Monday of the month will feature one of our Partners that the SOAR! Recipients are working with.

4th Monday of the month will be based on the Artist Way book by Julia Cameron. It is my Bible for creative inspiration. If you don’t already own this book, YOU MUST! Click the “Top Ten Stocking Stuffers” post (I know, how embarrassing that I haven’t found time to update that announcement yet! ) to find the link for the book on Amazon. This fourth week will be introspective exercises that will involve different art mediums from photography, to writing, even scissors and glue and an assignment to take an Artist Date to yourself!

There is sometimes a 5th Monday. Since we have four months with a 5th Monday, we’ve already worked on a special SOAR! theme for those special weeks.

And that’s our SOAR! Blog Rhythm ladies!

All SOAR! Sisters are invited to get involved, sink your teeth in, make this year your year to SOAR! Who is a SOAR! Sister? Any and EVERY woman who wants to learn how to take her dream of having a photography business and SOAR! this year. If you didn’t submit a SOAR! Application, you can still join this wonderful process of empowerment at any time! The SOAR! Scholarship is designed to not only empower the three recipients but all women who need and want emotional support and tools—the kind of support and tools that make all the difference!

So ladies, CLICK HERE to visit the SOAR! Blog and read your first Business Coaching SOAR! Exercise!

xoxo,

Me Ra

2 Comments »

January 29th, 2010

WeHeartSharlaneChase.com

It was my first bridal expo show ever. I was so nervous. I had no idea how to price our wedding packages. They ranged from $1285-$3000. I had no idea how to build a photography booth at an expo. My parents let me borrow a bunch of antique furniture, and Brian I tried to create a classic space in a 10 x 10 square booth. Oh, the stress. But you have to start somewhere.

I remember unloading the car, and this beautiful woman was unloading a couple cars down. Her little girl was with her. She had to be around Pascaline’s age at the time. Somehow we started talking. It was her first show too. We were both wedding photographers, both moms, both excited and scared as all get out. From that moment on we were friends.

Sharlane Chase is the beautiful woman I’m talking about.

She has been a support to me over the years as we’ve both tried to grow our businesses and figure out mothering at the same time. She went from being at this little no name expo with me, to organizing the classiest wedding event in the Northwest! She is the mastermind behind Seattle’s amazing Urban Unveiled event. And Sharlane is a fighter. She is a single mom and does it all with grace and a smile that can heal anyone’s broken heart.

So today, I’m asking you to join me in helping Sharlane. Over the holiday her fiancé proposed, and then she got the news of having cancer. This woman has been through so much. And as you can imagine, the medical costs are insane.

The Seattle and surrounding wedding industry are raising money to help Sharlane pay for her medical bills and fight this battle. There is going to be an amazing auction next week on February 4th in Seattle. If you can, you must come! If you can’t, see the website for more ideas on how to give. CLICK HERE for all the details! The website is www.weheartsharlane.com.

Erin Wheeler, a local photographer, is offering up a wedding photography package for the auction. Check our her website and read her amazing story. CLICK HERE for details!

And more than anything, thank you for lifting Sharlane up in your prayers. She is so dear to so many. She never stops giving. She never stops smiling. She and her little Anna have been through so much. Thank you for helping this strong, beautiful woman, Sharlane Chase.

(I love you Sharlane. I’ll never forget the photo shoot we did of each other and the kids in your little kitchen. How has time gone so fast. Love you and Anna so much.)

xoxo, Me Ra

9 Comments »

January 28th, 2010

A Main Ingredient to Successful Business!

You may not like me when I say it, but there is no way around it. One of the main ingredients to a Successful Business is Exercise!

Have you made a New Year’s Resolution to be in better shape? It’s never to late! I’m not talking about Barbie Doll shape or those Size 6’s that are really the new Size 10’s—ugh! I’m talking about feeling good about your body/fitness and raising your CONFIDENCE (there’s that word again!).

When we started shooting weddings more consistently, I would wake up Sunday morning and be WORTHLESS for the rest of the day. It was insane! I’d nap on the couch and feel like a train hit me. This was not okay for my family.

Shooting weddings is such an endurance based activity, standing on your feet for up to 12 hours. I knew I needed to get in shape for the job. So I started swimming to build up my back muscles and endurance level. Eventually, I met this scary guy, Troy Nesby.

He’s not that scary. But he is a darn good trainer. AND guess what ladies, he is putting Cross Fit and Cardio exercises/workouts on his new blog. It’s called the Homework Fitness blog, and it’s pretty great.

I LOVE it because one of my biggest battles is keeping consistency in a life that is made up of consistent travel. I feel like I do so good with exercise at home, but then we hit the road and my diet and exercise routine struggle. But if my dad can do it, I sure as heck can.

My dad has travelled abroad for almost forty years. He is sometimes out of the country two or three times a month. And guess what, when he flies from Seattle to Korea, he checks himself in at the hotel (in KOREA) and does cardio after a THIRTEEN hour flight! He’s in his late sixties and has no body fat! He made a decision on his 40th birthday to stay in shape, regardless of how crazy his schedule was, and he has done it. If I think my schedule gets crazy, I don’t have anything on him.

So last year I bought resistance bands that I can take anywhere. If you don’t have a gym membership, you totally need these bands. They cost maybe $15 at Target. And when I’m on the road, I pull up Troy’s blog and find a workout that I can do from anywhere in the world.

What do you say ladies? What about setting some fitness goals. My goal is to exercise 5-6 times a week. I do pretty good with 3 times, but I’d like to bump it up because honestly, I just feel better on the days I workout. What’s a realistic goal that you can set for yourself? If you do any of Troy’s workouts from his blog, post a comment on how it went. I’ve started doing it, and for some reason it helps me feel more accountable.

Why is exercise a main ingredient for a successful business? There are many things in the life of your business that you can’t control or predict. Choosing to get up in the morning and hit the gym before the kids wake up is something you can control. And it’s amazing how this keeps you grounded while building your business. Jeff Jochum and I talk about this off and on. Give it a try. You’ll see what I mean!

CLICK HERE for Troy’s Homework Fitness Blog! And leave a comment after you do a workout! I won’t feel so alone!

xoxo,

Me Ra

8 Comments »

January 27th, 2010

Recapping Seattle CONFIDENCE Wkshp! (and a new one for Spring 2010!)

I had some time over the weekend to look through our images from last weekend’s Seattle CONFIDENCE Workshop. What a wonderful, beautiful group of women! We had the best time together. What could be better than a weekend with girlfriends (and Brian ) full of laughing, little bit of cleansing crying, understanding your camera, discovering yourself as an artist, and meeting friends that you will have for a life time! Thank you Seattle Confidence ladies!

(I’m trying to figure out what Brian is doing in our group photo. I think he said “Let’s all wave at the camera!” But then he didn’t wave. Figures!)

I love doing the CONFIDENCE workshop local because the Hotel Murano’s private gallery is the BEST place for this type of weekend. It’s so beautiful and inspiring. But the most beautiful subjects were all the models! On Saturday, we had four sweet babies come with their mamas—and even one grandma!

I especially love the one-on-one time we get to answer questions. Sometimes you just need a moment to have someone walk through your camera with you, and I know that for myself, this has made such a difference so many times!

Three (beautiful) generations!

Ladies, remember when I set up the shot of mom on her side, to accentuate a soft curve of her hips? This is one of the shots that I got from that set up. I thought it would help for you to see what I was seeing.

And remember these two boys? Hilarious! It’s freezing cold outside, but they took off their shirts and showed us their muscles!

If you are local to Seattle and want a wonderful group of mom photographers to connect with, you must contact Mary! She started this fantastic group of women, Mamas with Cameras, because of her own desire to understand her camera so she could capture her son. She was in the last CONFIDENCE Workshop, and we were lucky to have her family as a model last weekend!

And then there was another former CONFIDENCE Jamaican sister, Phillipa. Oh my goodness, her babies are the sweetest. This is my favorite one—singing on the railroad tracks without a care in the world.

Brian and I want to thank all the Seattle CONFIDENCE ladies. You opened your hearts up to us and your dreams, and what an powerful weekend it was. We are so excited to see what you captured over the weekend.

And for all of you who haven’t been able to get into a Seattle CONFIDENCE Wkshp, we have decided to offer one in the Spring! We will be flying the three SOAR! Recipients to this workshop too! So stay tuned! We are hammering out the exact dates and will let you know soon!

xoxo, Me Ra

**See Linda Baylis, SOAR! Recipient’s, blog post today on her Self Portrait!

17 Comments »

January 26th, 2010

Early Bird Registration Extended Until…

Brian and I never made an “official” announcement that we had kept the Early Bird Registration Price up for all those that were following the SOAR! Announcement. We are glad that a number of you have had the opportunity to take advantage of this.

We are going to keep the $799, Early Bird Registration price, up until this Friday, January 29th @ Midnight PST. And then we will shift back to the normal CONFIDENCE price of $999.

If you live in or around NY, we still have FIVE spots left! CLICK HERE for more NY CONFIDENCE Spring Workshop details!

If you are in Southern CA, we’ve got FOUR spots left! CLICK HERE for more CA CONFIDENCE Spring Workshop details!

AND, if you live in the Seattle, or greater Pacific Northwest area, we will be announcing a Spring CONFIDENCE Workshop weekend soon. So stay tuned!

Tomorrow I’m going to do a fun recap on last weekend’s Seattle CONFIDENCE Workshop!

…with a few shots of some pretty sweet babies!

xoxo,

Me Ra

5 Comments »

January 25th, 2010

The New SOAR! Blog is LIVE!

The 3 SOAR! Recipients had a powerful workshop weekend at Ignite the Flame with Karen and Fay! For the first time, our SOAR! Recipients, Linda, Jennifer and Lindsay were all together! Our AMAZING, wise business coaches are in this too! Karen is on the right and Fay is on the left in orange!

I got to chat with them at the beginning and the end, and I can’t wait for them to share their time with you! One little funny story, they all showed up at the Meet and Greet with shiny, red shoes! Totally not planned! But I heard that they were clicking their heels saying “There’s no place like SOAR!”

I’ve asked them to spend some time processing their weekend, so much deep work was done. And in a couple weeks, they will do a blog post that sheds more light on what happened. But for now…

We have taken a deep breath and are exhaling, expanding, stretching ourselves into new, beautiful territory! Today is the official opening day for the SOAR! blog! Hooray!!

Get over there and sink your teeth into the first SOAR! Photography Exercise! But be warned. This is a photo exercise you will love and hate me for. Our three SOAR! Recipients are leading the way and will be sharing their results and experience on the SOAR! blog this week. I loved hearing how powerful this was for them. I know it will be for you too.

We are also close to the SOARORITY Forum being ready! So get ready ladies, you are going to have a home to post all your exercise results too! Keep your ears open for the upcoming news!

(Can you believe this? We now have TWO blogs and a soon to be live Forum going all at once?! This is amazing! Hold on to your seats. I know I am!)

xoxo,

Me Ra

CLICK HERE for your first SOAR! Photo Assignment!

p.s. A BIG THANK YOU to Jen Macniven for all these FANTASTIC photos over the weekend! Girl, you rocked it! I can’t wait to share more!

6 Comments »

January 22nd, 2010

Photos from Seattle Sony Style, SOARORITY! Forum, the SOAR! Blog, and MORE!

Wow! W-O-W! There is a lot to tell you today! And it’s all such fun stuff!!!

First, we had a wonderful speaking engagement Wednesday night. I can’t tell you how great it was to be doing a Sony Style store presentation in my home town. I loved it! The staff at the Seattle store were so good to us. They were so excited for the event, had posters up everywhere. For the last week, they’d been handing out fliers. Thank you so much Seattle store! Let’s do it again soon!

Since we were local, my mom and aunt had the opportunity to come. That was super fun. My beautiful mom is to the right, and my beautiful Korean aunt is to the left.

The manager had secured 25 chairs. But we had 51 people show! Isn’t that awesome!

There were even women who had been in our CONFIDENCE workshop all weekend! I looked at Carmen, one of our workshop attendees, and said “Your not tired of listening to me talk all weekend!” What a huge compliment to see a number of our CONFIDENCE ladies in the audience from our most recent workshop to several ones past.

It’s been a BIG week for all of us. There is so much happening at once, I’m trying to not to go cross eyed.

But I have some great news! The SOARORITY! Forum is underway! Chopping Block, our amazing web/blog designers, are donating their time, talent and services to the SOAR! Community! They are amazing! They are building us an awesome forum to call our own. SOARORITY! will be going live very, very soon so stay tuned!

The SOAR! Blog is also going “officially” live on Monday morning! Have you noticed that new “blog” tab on the SOAR! website? I just spent the last hour hammering out the SOAR! blog schedule for the YEAR with Karen, my business coach. I’ve got exciting news ladies! The SOAR! Blog schedule is going to be beautiful! Every week of the month, it will have it’s own enriching, yummy exercise for you! By the end of the year, the Archives on the SOAR! blog are going to kick booty resource for anyone wanting to SOAR! with their business dreams!

We will kick off the SOAR! Blog this Monday morning with an important photo exercise. This will be our first photo exercise of the year! And the nature of this exercise is grounding you for the upcoming year. You’ll get to see the SOAR! Recipients results throughout the week next week, as they’ve been working on this exercise since I met them. And then you will have the opportunity to post your results on the SOARORITY! Forum!

When February 1st comes, the first Monday of the month, Karen and Fay will be posting the first business coaching exercise. And get this…they will continue this rhythm throughout the year. You will get to read and try the business coaching exercises that the SOAR! Recipients are doing, every first Monday of the month! Isn’t that awesome! So much more to share about what will happen next, but I’ll let you savor that yummy news first.

One last thing, as we transition the SOAR! blogging to it’s new home on the SOAR! website, I’m excited to return to the blogging topics I did before SOAR! For all of you who are dying about the Comfort Photo Contest, yes, the Five Finalists are coming! The voting will start soon! I haven’t forgot. Just got a little sidetracked—you could say. And I’ve also got a handful of new photo recipes for you to try! Thank you for supporting this wild ride we’ve all been on. I still can’t believe what has been birthed!

Say a prayer for our SOAR! Recipients! They all flew to San Francisco today. They are meeting for the first time. We’ve put them in a private home—all to themselves. They have their first coaching session from 2pm-4pm today, and then they will be brought into the beautiful Wise Women Embrace. It’s going to be an intense weekend. And yes, we’ve got video support with them so you will get to see the highlights of their weekend!

Have a wonderful weekend ladies! See you back on Monday!

Much, much love, Me Ra

p.s, Thanks to all the volunteers that are getting the SOAR! Hall of Fame together! Email Christine Barker if you’d like to be involved! You can email Christine at soarsisters@gmail.com.

12 Comments »

January 20th, 2010

A Video on My Doorstep…

On Monday night, I opened a package that I found on my doorstep. It was a plain CD with a simple “thank you” written on the outside. What I watched has to be the most incredible thank you I’ve ever received. I’m speechless.

I’m in tears trying to find the words. I kept this video to myself since Monday night—treasuring this special gift. And yet I know this beautiful gift is meant to be shared. So with much honor, I share the video with all of you—a video that has given my wings more strength to keep soaring—more strength than these women will ever know.

Much love,

Me Ra (and Brian too! )

p.s. I also want to thank the SOAR! Partners, each one of you. You believed in me when I came to you with the SOAR! Vision, and look at all the women we’ve encouraged. Thank you for trusting me with your names and reputations.

p.s.s. See you all tonight at the Seattle Sony Style store! We start at 6pm! My parents and grandparents are even coming, and those are four people you MUST meet. See you soon!

37 Comments »

January 19th, 2010

#SOAR! Hall of Fame! Let’s Make it Happen!

I am so excited to say that one of your fellow SOAR! Sisters has graciously offered to organize the SOAR! Hall of Fame! Christine Barker, thank you so much! Can I get a huge applause for Christine Barker!

We are going to have the following Hall of Fame categories.

SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame

1. Most Creative

2. Most Hilarious

3. Most Daring

4. Most Inspirational

5. Most Entertaining

6. Most Confident Video Presence

7. Most Heart Warming

8. Best Video Editing

9. Best Photography

10. All Around BEST SOAR! 2009 Video

If you’d like to see another category added, feel free to let Christine know. You can email Christine at soarsisters@gmail.com.

But here is the deal. There is no way Christine can do this on her own. Can you imagine? No. This is way to big of a project for one woman. So we’d like to enlist a panel of judges. We don’t want to open this contest up to the general public. Instead, it would be wonderful to have our fellow SOAR! Sisters be our panel of judges. SOAR! Sisters who either entered their video or followed along with support. SOAR! Sisters who have watched the videos and cherish them. A handful of you have already emailed with your interest to help, so we are going to forward your emails to Christine. Look for her email, or feel free to email her again! The first step is to create a panel, the second step is to assign categories to each panel. We’d love to have the top three videos of each category be in the SOAR! Hall of Fame. Christine will connect with those interested for further juicy details. (Thank you CHRISTINE! Did we say that yet?!!!)

I think the SOAR! 2009 Hall of Fame would be a wonderful, wonderful way to honor our applicants. When we are stretching our wings, we need continued affirmation that we are on the right path. I would love for us to give this to at least 30, maybe even more, SOAR! Sisters. Thank you so much for supporting this endeavor! If you’d like to help, we’d love it. Email Christine, our SOAR! Hall of Fame Leader, at soarsisters@gmail.com.

xoxo, Me Ra

p.s. For those of you expecting a blog post from Linda Baylis today, one of our SOAR! Recipients, I’ve decided to have all three recipients take the week to prepare for this weekend. There is so much that goes into leaving your family for a few days, especially as a mom. Believe me, if I know nothing else, I know that! We’ve got a full plate on the blog this week with much more to come, including a SOAR! Photography Exercises to get working on!

p.s.s. See you tomorrow night in Seattle at the Sony Style store!

3 Comments »

January 18th, 2010

Free Photography Class w/SONY STYLE in Seattle this Wed, 1/20!

The energy of this community was incredible last week. Thank you for giving so many WARM welcomes to the SOAR! Recipients! You have no idea how much your comments gave them. Karen and Fay, my coaches and the SOAR! Business Coaches, are working with me to hammer out blog topic schedules, so all of you can participate in their journey as much as possible! The forum building has been trickier than we expected, but we are still plugging away!

We also finalized Linda, Jennifer and Lindsay’s flights for this coming weekend! They are all headed to San Francisco to meet in person and join the Ignite the Flame Conference with Fay and Karen! Our SOAR! Blog goes live tomorrow or Wednesday, and I’ll post the first photo exercise that they must bring this weekend.

From the beautiful energy of our SOAR! Recipients and your welcoming hearts, Brian and I kicked off our first CONFIDENCE Wkshp in Seattle this weekend! We had an AMAZING weekend with the Seattle CONFIDENCE ladies! So many wonderful memories.

But it doesn’t stop with this weekend! We are excited to say that I’ll be doing a mini-wkshp for FREE this Wednesday night in Seattle!

The event is going to be at the Sony Style Store from 6pm-7:30pm. See all the details in the flyer above! (Click on the flyer to make it bigger!) It’s so great to start 2010 with local events, feeling surrounded and supported by friends and family.