Introspective I'm NOT!

Sorry blog world and internet....it's been a while since I last spoke with you.  I decided to take a bit of a break after my wedding photography workshop and evaluate c koop photography.  And let me tell you that I am not an introspective person....AT ALL!!!!  Anytime I have questions asked that involve me having to delve deep into my experiences and pull out what I think they meant or how they have changed me today I usually clam right up.

I'm of the belief that I could spend my time more fruitfully if I just focussed on what is ahead of me...not what is behind.....forgetting that the past does teach me some things too!  Being reflective is a struggle for me even though I know the results can often be illuminating...I still avoid it.  So.....imagine coming home from an amazing 3 day workshop filled with great tips, new ideas, and hearing from seasoned pros and not see what needs to be changed.  Well....I honestly came home from the first evening with Mike Colon knowing that things needed to change.  I knew I was in TROUBLE!!  Saturday and Sunday completely confirmed it after listening to Perry Thompson and a few other photographers that I've been following for years.  These photographers have been in the business for years and had so much to share which was amazing as sometimes the photography community can be somewhat competitive and not want to share anything.  These guys shared.....lots.

I think the biggest thing I carried away was the need to value my work as a photographer and an artist.  And so I'm in the midst of that right now.  Do I value what I do?  Do I provide my best? And.....do I serve my clients?  The thing is....I can apply this to more than just the c koop photography part of my life.....do I value what I do as a mom? wife? friend?  Do I give my best to those around me?  And do I serve?  Lots to think about.  So that's where I've been the last 2 weeks....thinking, evaluating and making some changes.  So stay tuned for what's going to happen!

And because every post is soooo much better with a photo here's one that I love coming back to because it reminds me of what's ahead....SUMMER!!!!

What should I ask for Mother's Day?

I love gifts, getting them, giving them, making them, shopping for them. You get it...gifts?.....LOVE!!!!  One of my favorite gifts I've received was a coffee mug . Huh?  I thought Carly didn't like coffee!  Well that's changing and a whole different blog post.  But what made this coffee mug so special was that it was covered in photos of my three favorite guys.  A few reasons why I like it......it was made.....it has photos of three people I deeply love and it keeps my drinks warm when I'm sitting in a cold arena!!!

I think that every mom loves getting gifts from their kids, but even more special is when they've put some work or thought into the actual gift.  And so I've decided to help you out this Mother's Day (which is May 8th by the way!!).  What would be better than an updated photo of you and your siblings for your mom?

So...... book an hour long sibling photo session and get a disc of 15 edited images and an 11x14 gallery wrap for $350.00 for your mom to hang on her wall and make all her friends jealous because her kids went "too far" with this year's gift!!


Hhmmmm...time to get my gift list ready.....think a new lens would be too much to ask for from Tys and Ry?

Contact me if you're interested.  Book soon to guarantee gallery wrap delivery before May 8th!

Time to update the goals.

I decided that this year I would come up with a few goals for my photography and even though I'm a list maker this was difficult for me!


I really really struggle with being introspective and reflective and in coming up with goals I had to look back over my last year of photography and try and see what I wanted to completely ditch and what I wanted to sharpen a little more and what I wanted to change.  I also included some real big dream goals, something to strive for but were a little unrealistic. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that one of those big dream goals was reached!  I'm super excited and pleased to announce that I've had a wedding published!

Bill and Stacey's March 2010 wedding in Arrowood has been highlighted in Alberta Brides!   It's a new publication based in Lethbridge and I'm excited to see how they will change the bridal culture of Alberta.

Since that goal has now been reached on to making the rest of them come to fruition!!  Here's to booking a destination wedding that invovles flying somewhere warmer than a prairie summer day!!  Garth's goals for me would look a little different - he'd love to be able to golf everyday which would involve me booking a lot more photo gigs.  Not too sure he's ready for retirement quite yet!!!

And because a blog post is always better with a photo, I've included a fave from my last wedding!

Another concert in the car.

So....I consider one of my jobs as a mom is to embarrass my children on a consistent basis. It's not something I learned from my own mother (at least nothing I can share on the blog....she does read it you know!!) I learned this all on my own. Tysen was sick today and because I had made a meeting that I didn't want to cancel again I just brought him along. It was a short meeting, but a rather long drive and when it's a long drive, the road trip music comes out. I've got my music cranked and am enjoying myself singing along and I find myself checking my rearview mirror just in time to see Tys roll his eyes at me! It gets worse when he realizes that people in other cars can see me seeing my heart out in true Carly Koop concert format. Too bad buddy! If I'm comfortable enough to hold my finger mike up to my mouth and sing get used to it!!! Aaahhh, wait a minute, wait a minute...I'm now remembering my mom doing the same thing! Wow, the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree! You can bet that these concerts will continue and I'm sure the eye rolls will get bigger and more frequent.


On another note I'm a fairweather runner. Yup, once the temperature drops lower than -8 (ish) I call it quits until spring. But today's music selection has geared me up for the running season. I've found a new song to add to my play list for running. It inspired me so much that I've now pulled out the trusty sneakers and am ready to run!! Take a listen and tell me what you think....does it make you move?  Yup....what you see on the screen?  I totally see this video in my head while I'm doing my own concert.  Could totally happen.

 

I'm Singing Along

I think I've mentioned before how music plays a big part of my life.  I love to sit, read, run, bake, drive, edit photos while listening to music.  And right now I'm fighting the impulse to purchase this CD on iTunes as I sit here listening to it and singing along.  So far I've been okay, thank goodness for YouTube!

These guys are the real deal.....I mean they sound the same live as they do on their CD's.  Unlike some of today's popular artists who sound not so great when performing live.  I've really got nothing more to say today (surprised?).  So just sit back and listen to thes ong.  I hope to catch them live next time they drive through Calgary but I won't be sitting down then....I'll be singing along loudly, very loudly.

There will be a next time - playing in the river

I was going through some photos on my laptop the other day and came across these treasures.  I can't believe that I hadn't done anything with them, but was thankful to have the time to go through them and at least mentally warm up!!

I remember this afternoon very clearly, it was a gorgeous summer day with just the appropriate amount of heat for the average person. Me?  Not average (at least in this dept.).....I LOVE the heat, I could live in Phoenix in July I love it so much. Anyways, I like the summer, but right now it's the complete opposite.....I think my hands have been freezing cold for at least the last week.  I find myself washing my hands longer than the required alphabet song, I will sing it a couple times and make up a chorus or two just so my hands can stay nice and warm!

Back to that afternoon.  Our new friends Bill and Jacqueline invited us for a spur of the moment picnic in the park. So we grabbed some Arby's and headed to the park.  They found the perfect picnic spot and we parked ourselves and spent time enjoying the sun and the sound of the river gurgling beside us.  It didn't take the boys anytime to figure out how to cool off, not just a little sprinkle or splash, but rather wading out into the river and racing back and forth between the banks became the game.  Tys and Ry were following the lead of two young men that they absolutely love!  Bryce and Brent have become some important people in my boys life and so when they jumped into the river Tys and Ry were soon to follow!

What followed was a great afternoon watching all the boys (husbands too!) play in the river.  And being boys they had boat races (don't all boys like races?) made out of whatever they could find.  Jacqueline and I lounged on the riverbank taking photos, talking, laughing, and wishing for iced capps, but we were far too comfortable to move. 

It was the perfect afternoon with great friends.  Next time, and I sure hope there will be a next time, we'll bring boat making supplies and will pick up iced capps on the way.