Live For The Nostalgia

On January 1st 2016 I committed to taking one photo every day for a year, in gratitude.

Some days was hard, others super easy.
Some I didn't want to do it at all.
It felt like it took every ounce of my energy to break through the resistance to do it.

It was a big year for us.
I was 5 months pregnant with our second baby.
This was the year we would transition from a family of 3 to 4.
For some reason it felt so much bigger than when we went from just me & B to the 3 of us.

I guess for me it was knowing how much becoming a parent changed me the first time.
In an instant I was different.
Life looked different.

I felt like I was flopping around just trying to figure out the next bit just when I figured out the last bit.
And it took me a while to figure out who I be again.

So how do I do this all again but now with a 2 year old beside me?
How do I love another human when I feel so full in my heart right now with the 3 of us?

At the time, it felt like everyone was talking about having a gratitude practice.
And how life changing they are.
Just write 3 things each day & hey presto amazing love of life will occur.

It didn't really stick with me because I would forget to write every day.
And on the days I remembered I didn't feel all that connected to the words on the page.
Like I could see & hear the words but I couldn't really feel it In my bones.

And then I was like, duh Paula. Photos.

Ever since I was 8 years old I have been obsessed with photography.
For me picking up my camera is more natural then a pen.

My favourite thing about photos is when you look back at them & you get that nostalgic feeling.
The happy sad feels.
So grateful you were there in that moment but sad it has passed now.

It's my favourite kind of sadness because it wouldn't be in my body if I hadn't experienced something so fun / exciting / hilarious / exhilarating / beautiful.

The smile that creeps across my face because...
OMG remember this day!
We were so young but man we had fun.
I might not have remembered this if I didn't have this photo.

In an instant a photo can take you into a full body experience of...
Remembering how that hug felt.
What your Nana's house smelt like.
How that hang time with friends felt like the funnest moment ever.
All the lyrics to that song you & your cousins used to perform on the trampoline because that was your stage you performed on for your fans.

And OMG those pants... WTF was I thinking?

At the end of 2016 after a year of capturing a moment of gratitude every day...
Of the hardest year I had had that far,
My biggest ah ha moment was how full & beautiful my life actually is.

And the power of creating a visual story of a moment in time, simply just to celebrate what is.

The photos helped me to FEEL it in my bones gratitude for my life, especially on the days that felt so relentless & hard & groundhog like.

Because it wasn't just words on a page.
It was a storyboard of MY LIFE.

Each scene connecting to the next while also being individual storylines on their own.

Actual real life of me.
What I see.
And to visually see with my own eyes, I KNOW I have so much to be grateful for,
In any moment,
On any day,
No matter what is happening,
And how dark it feels,
There is always a story to appreciate.

Because in hindsight,
It will make sense in my timeline.

And I am so grateful I took the moment to BE.
To capture with intention, to remember, to shift my lens to focus on more of the love, the life, the experience of being alive.

Because that is what life is for,
To experience being ALIVE.

Photography is one of the funnest & valuable ways to celebrate life.
To document our legacy of existing & contributing to this time on earth.
The moments that are part of our own creation.

To be able to fill your walls with visual love notes.
Moments you see to remind you of how beautiful life is.
With those you love,
And those you loved.
The ones who have been here since the beginning,
And the ones who were here for only a season.

The moments of the deepest belly laughs,
To the moments of our wildest escapades.

Even the most micro of moments,
Like when the light was just right or when a feeling of pure bliss or full body peace came over you.

A connection with a sunflower,
A moment with a satisfying texture that in the photo feels like you can reach out & touch it.

When our photography is art that we proudly hang on our walls,
We are reminded every day to live each day with the knowing that Today, is the good old days of our future.

Documentarians
Love to timestamp a moment

The satisfaction of creating a photo so good that it feels like life itself.
Because when you look at it,
All your cells come alive as if we were there all over again.

Fall in love with the art of photography.
To be the record keeper of your day-to-day life.

Photography as a tool that grants you deeper presence in a moment.
That creates a deeper connection to your experience of life.

A creative escapade to document today,
For the love of nostalgia tomorrow.

I am creating something special, but before I give more details I would LOVE to hear back from you.

>>> REPLY <<< to this email & tell me what kind(s) of photos you would love to be really great at?

Like, candid photos of your kiddos?
Or you & your kiddos?
Whole family photos when you are having a best day ever day?

Or couple goals type photos of you & your lover?

Or travel photos that are just as fun & exciting as when you were there?
Maybe that actually include you too...?
And that aren't just the typical we at another look out / waterfall / monument type photo?

Tell me what you want to be able to capture for your photographic legacy?

I cannot wait to hear from you!

x P x

PS Selfie Queens is so the place to be if you want to learn how to create selfies that are works of art.

Where you are The Artist, The Art & The Muse.

We don't just go through the motions of how to take photos over here.
We are obsessed with creating works of self art.

And having you shift your perspective of how you see you from whatever the self depreciating narrative is.
Like how you are too lumpy / dumpy / bumpy / lanky / manky / flabby / ugly to be able to see yourself as a powerful work of art.

Selfie Queens is more than just a photography course, it's a revolution.

Because how you see you is everything.
It is the ripple effect from every thought you think, every decision you make, every step you take.

We would love to welcome you in, beauty >>> https://www.paulaivy.com/courses/selfie-queens