Shutter Sisters

the last days

By

I am spending the last days of the year bundled up in my favorite scarf, crisp leaves and snow crunching under my feet, blowing on a warm cup of tea that I’m holding with both hands and Christmas songs playing repeatedly over in my head (right now, “Have yourself a merry little Christmas” by Tony Bennett).

I am also pondering over my primary intention for the year to come, and as I reflect on the past twelve months and the moments where I felt most alive I can’t help but think of the amazing women that joined the October class of the Simple Soulful Photography workshop. I once wrote that I envisioned this online course like I would arrange a meet-up with good friends in a small café. But what I have received was so much more than that. The class vibrated with creativity, humbleness and courage, engaging in thought-provoking conversations that I learned so much from, rallying around each other when some participants were going through a rough patch, and sharing beautiful images.

Today I am happy to give away 3 registrations for the January session of the Simple Soulful Photography workshop (January 3-29). Please share with us how you’re spending the last days of the year and leave a comment here to be entered in a random drawing between now and Monday 13th at midnight PST.

Note: Last time I wrote that I was creating a little something special for those who couldn’t join the workshop. You can now download excerpts from the first two lessons of the October 2010 session here.

And if you’d like to start the new year exploring the connection between creativity and self-care, learn basics but essential techniques on composition and lighting, and embrace, cultivate and express your most authentic self in a supportive community, I encourage you to register for the four-week course to join me and featured guests Marianne Elliott, Gail Mooney, Karen Maezen Miller, Amanda Gilligan and Bob Smith.

Comments

  1. On the last day of the year, I'd love nothing more than cuddle up to my lovely wife, with a cup of hot drink (she will have hot chocolate I'm sure, tea or coffee for me) in our hands. =)

  3. I'll spent the last days of the year at my sister's house, a beautiful place in the mountains near Sao Paulo. As it's summer here, we can stay at the swimming pool and rest in the sun. Also, there we have the best sunset that I have ever seen.

  6. I will spend the last days of the year with family and loved ones, but also preparing for the new year and "healing" from the past one (so trying to pass over the bad things and treasuring the good ones, which were surely more abundant!).

  7. Wow! Just stumbled upon your blog and Your pictures are beautiful!! Getting my first DSLR this Xmas (yippee!!) and can't wait to have a play!!! Your workshops look fab 🙂

  9. I spent the last week of every year just being with my family. This year we talked about visiting a few surrounding places (more photography opportunities for me 😉 ) and being with our friends. Life's full of blessings, we need to embrace every moment we have with the people we love and care about.
    PS. Love you new book: Expressive Photography

  10. I am spending the last days of this year trying desperately to get ready for Christmas. When the hustle and bustle of that is over, then perhaps I can get back to my inner creativeness! 🙂 Thank you so much for the chance!!

  11. On these last days I'm prepping the home for my oldest son's return from university, we haven't seen him since September and we're very excited that he will be home with us for a bit.

  15. I will hopefully be spending time with my husband in a cabin on a mt. surrounded by snow. He has never seen "real" snow, so I am hoping that is how this year will end.

  17. I'll be spending the last days of the year making memories with my husband and sons, enjoying every minute we have together on holiday from work, school and everyday life. We'll stretch our holiday time to the limit.

  18. I hope to spend the last days of this year savoring every moment with my three favorite people- my husband, son, and daughter. And while I have a few days off from work, I hope to dig out my camera and capture life. 🙂

  19. I'm spending the remaining time of the year…. celebrating my family, wishing I had stuck to my diet, and setting goals and bounderies for my photography and personal life for 2011

  20. I will be spending the last days of 2010 finishing my job (leaving to focus more on writing and photography and taking care of my husband and myself), spending some time in Michigan with family, and preparing for 2011 and all the possibilities that will be opened up. Thanks for the chance to win a spot in Simple Soulful.

  21. I will be spending the last days of the year playing legos with my 5 year old son, smiling with my hubby and snapping a few more photos with the rented fish eye lense to put in my december daily album!

    Thank you for the chance to join this workshop!

  23. We always take the week between Christmas and New Year's off work and spend the time with family – a lot of hanging out together watching tv, playing games, enjoying whatever gifts we got for Christmas – and I'll be scrapbooking and taking lots of photos!

  24. The last day of the year will be spent relaxing with a glass of wine and a blank book to begin writing down my goals and aspirations for 2011. After a very busy year, I'm looking forward to a bit of quiet time to think about what is to come and to be thankful for what 2010 has brought.

  25. I'm spending my last days of 2011, cleaning house! Purging all the bad, unused and unwanted things, donating as much as possible. Making the cleanest slate for the new year!
    Thanks for all the inspiration your site has givn me this year!

  28. Right now I am anxiously waiting the day I can open and actually start playing with my new camera from my husband and read the new Shutter Sisters Book my daughter has wrapped up for me . Then I will be playing and reading and hoping I can take a class to learn everything.

  29. I will be spending the last days of my year travelling thousands of miles to a foreign country, alone with my two children, to meet my husbands family for the first time ever. I will be having a crash course in a language I don't speak at all, introducing my almost four year old daughter to her grandmother for the first time, meeting the newest member of our family born just two weeks ago, witnessing and photographing my brother-in-laws wedding, celebrating christmas thousands of miles from the only place I know as home, bringing in the new year and new ideas/adventures in this unfamiliar place…and exploring a world that is at once exciting and new, and totally terrifying. I can't imagine what lies ahead…

  30. I'm spending the last days of 2010 cuddled up with my two beautiful girls reading books under our favorite quilt while reflecting on a year of change. I'm leaving 2010 with a more open heart and looking forward to more growth and opportunities in 2011.

    Thank you, Irene, for a chance to be in your Simple Soulful Photography workshop!

  31. I'm finishing up my 365 project and trying to figure out a way to keep the momentum going (without committing to another 365!) — your class sounds like the perfect thing.

  32. I'm spending my last days of the year reflecting on 2010 and thinking about what I can change and challenge myself with in the coming year.

  33. i will be spending the last days of 2010, mostly at work, but finishing it off with new year's at home with my family, sharing in the possibilities of what is to come in 2011.

    Would love the opportunity to participate in this workshop!

  34. I'll be spending the last few days of this year remembering all of the good things that have blessed my life. I'll also be focusing on learning to have patience for all the well intentioned people that tell me that "at least this year is easier because it's not the first".

  35. I will be spending the last days of this year with my family and friends! It seems to be the only time we can get together these days!

  36. I will be working, 9-5 Monday through Friday, earnestly trying to regain my equilibrium rocked by the holidays. Equilibrium is essential in my work. And then, I will squirrel some away for the benefit of myself and my family for an intimate weekend! I will also be gathering resolution to create a New Year that meets the vision I have of my life more closely than the last! A work in progress indeed!

  37. I'll be spending the last days of 2010 preparing for the arrival of family from afar, baking food gifts for friends, framing photographs, and thinking about what an amazing year this has been and how fortunate I am.

  38. we're sitting in blizzard like conditions at the moment…but warm and safe 🙂
    the rest of the month will be preparing for things to come…..
    this class would be perfect, since january always feels like a let down to me instead of the start of something new….i usually don't get that feeling until march or so…..
    so this class…..something to take my mind off the new year….what a blessing it could be.

  39. I'll be spending these last days of the year at home with my husband and 2 kids. We're soaking up as much of the Christmas spirit as we can handle. I'm also looking back at this year and preparing for the year ahead. I'm trying to pull together one word for the coming year instead of a list of resolutions. I know I want to quit photography as a business, but I still need a way to express myself and be creative. In these final days of the year, I want to organize and prepare to start fresh in the new year.

  40. Between now and the end of the year, I will be spending time with family and friends–and hopefully not eating too much food.

  41. I'll be spending the last few days of the year packing to move into my new apartment, stressing over the thought of moving into a new apartment, working, pouting because I didn't book any time off and now am stuck working during the holidays, and getting myself psyched up for a new year, with new beginnings.

  43. I'm waiting anxiously to hear back about my thesis. I'm trying to wrap my head around all the things and people that I've been neglecting in order to meet that deadline– and how best to move forward.. I'm hoping the new year will bring more opportunities for creativity and inspiration!

  45. I'll be off work for a week and I'm hoping the last few days of the year will be spent with my husband as we don't see enough of each other, catching up with friends, and some time for reflection. I've been feeling for a while that I need to listen more to the inner me, be that in my photography or any other way. To that end I'll be exploring a local meditation class, planning some writing I want to start, and taking some long walks in the winter countryside with my camera.

  48. the last day of the year? well lets see, I for sure will be spending it being Thankful after that I'm not sure, we have had an unexpected tragedy, so Thankful is all I can commit to at this time:) God is faithful

  50. the last days of my year? work slows down at last by wednesday, that night a long massage (such perfect timing), the next night the first holiday party (again, such perfect timing), a photo and words every day until christmas, part of my online advent calendar, and then? no idea at all. i am winging it and more than happy to be doing so. day by day with no plans sounds like heaven.

  51. I spent my last days split between rushing with my students and rushing home to be with my family. I love both. Christmas means very different things for my students and for my family.. they are both lovely. They are both very busy!

  52. I am enjoying the pace of this December. My children are older so there is less hustle and bustle and I love that. They will all be home for Christmas. My daughter is now and so we bake and sing along to Christmas music and drink tea together sharing her stories from her semester in New Zealand. Love it. Now if we could just get some snow.

  53. I am spending these last days finishing up custom jewelry orders. Posting to my blog (I should reach 100 posts in the next week or so!). I am excited to launch another ila blu jewelry give away. I am loving the Jamaican renditions of traditional Christmas songs. My family is preparing spiritually, emotionally and soon to be physically for a very big move. I would love to win this blessed opportunity. Crosing my fingers and sending smiles. Also working on my intentions and word for 2011! One Love, many blessings.

  54. beautiful irene. your course sounds delightful.
    i will been spending time reflecting with reverb10 and looking back at my year in photos, but mostly enjoying a real family break from the routine.
    x.

  55. my last days of the this year are spent indoors, taking care of the little one growing in my belly. at the tail end of my first trimester, i struggle with nausea and many other typical things that accompany pregnancy. but i sit here, bundled up, looking out at the snow with great anticipation for the new year, a nausea-free second trimester, warmer weather, and june 19th when baby is to arrive. this is my first, and i never thought i would ever conceive, so i am beyond excited and eager to meet this child. and as i wait, i will be pouring over manuals and experimenting with my newest camera… one i have not yet had a chance to start learning. it's a hand-me-down, but it is an upgrade from my canon S5 IS to a nikon D40, and so i look forward to learning how to use it so that i can take some wonderful photos of my baby when he/she arrives.

  57. With my next big birthday less than a month away, I am spending the final days of 2010 going thru a personal retrospective of what I have and have not accomplished and thus starting on my hopes for 2011. All of this from the warm comfort of our rented house in France, our dogs are happy and healthy, and so are we what more is there to ask?

    Cheers!

  58. I'm looking foward to spending the holidays with family and friends. Kids Christmas concerts, baking cookies, wrapping presents, drinking hot chocolate, all the things that make me feel warm and cozy this time of year. I'm also hoping to squeeze in some time to tinker around with my new camera. Hope I can eventually get this thing figured out!

  59. my husband and i will be traveling to vancouver for the holidays up to early january. we'll be spending time with his parents, visiting relatives that he has not seen for a long time, and for sure we will be taking photographs =) happy times!

  60. I am spending my last days of the year with family and friends! Hopefully, we have a great time and there isn't too much snow! Last year we were snowed in. I love the holidays and eating yummy food 🙂

  61. As we're getting ready for Christmas.. The shopping has been completed.. The hand made gifts have been created and now I'm just surrounding myself with photographs that I've taken these past couple weeks for family, friends, and close neighbors… They have all been printed and now I'm sorting them.. and getting ready to package them up for the best end of the year gift from the heart.. My heart..

  62. The last days of the year will be spent with my family. My girls were homeschooled until this year and I just can't wait to have them home for a whole week!!! I would really love to win one of these. It's a course I'd love to take, but money is so tight right now I don't think I could do it without help.

  63. I'm spending the last days of the year settling into a brand new city (denver) with my beautiful finance' and our 2 crazy kitties. Lots of time sitting in our cozy apartment in front of our big living room windows watching the cold swirling outside. Although, there's something so invigorating about bundling up at night, braving the cold, and walking through the city. I'm so happy to finally be experiencing winter (having left the south).

  64. I am spending the remaining days of 2010 with friends and family, and gaining inspiration from the Picture the Holidays Class for creating better images. I look forward to 2011 being a year of new opportunities, new challenges, new dreams.

  66. I'm really starting to think about what I can do to make next year 100x's better. While at the same time reflecting on what I have done so far and not forget about all of that stuff too. The snow we've had is really making me want to hunker down and get clear about the road ahead.

    In Jan, I will be taking the Mondo Beyondo class which I am very excited about, although this one sounds terrific too.

    ~WW

  67. I'm spending the last days of the year reflecting on 2010 and planning for 2011 through the #reverb10 project. I'm also excited to be spending my first Christmas in my own home, with my husband and daughter! And hopefully taking lots of beautiful pictures of the occasion. Then, for the very last day of 2010, I'll be traveling to a very close friend's long-awaited wedding. What a joyous way to ring in the New Year!

  68. The last few days of this year will be spent enjoying the holidays, the lights, the festivities … relaxing by the fire, walking in the city, celebrating, finding perfect ways to wind down the year.

  70. I expect I will spend the last days of the year going on long solo walks along the ocean, contemplating the slow return of the light, honoring the darkness, reflecting on loss and pain and counting the blessings that remain.

  71. My husband has the last week of the year off so we will spend that time together, maybe doing some projects around the house, maybe going on some day trips with the family.

  73. I'm spending the last day of 2010 working. I'm a nurse and will be on call for emergencies on the 31st and 1st.

  74. I am a fan of Ali Edwards 'word of the year' and usually spend my last days relaxing with family and friends and pondering what my word of the year will be. This past year was 'explore' and I think I did a good job of exploring new things, and the previous year was 'experience' which I did a bang up job of experiencing things. So, who knows what I will come up with for 2011, but I hope it is inspirational for me! 🙂

  75. I'm trying to soak up the season, enjoy the preparations without getting stressed out, and making it fun for my family as well! 🙂

  76. These last days of the year find me still scurrying to finish up Christmas gifts I'm making! Soon though, I too will be relaxing and assessing where I am and where I'd like to be this time next year.

  77. As this year winds down, I will spending many hours with family. My father is arriving from a different part of the country, my sisters and I are gathering for a weekend of shopping together, my daughter will be hosting Christmas this year which is new. We also have a grandbaby who will be celebrating her first Christmas. Llife is good!

  79. I don't usually think of the new year as a new page/chapter/book, but this year I am quite looking forward to ending one chapter (I am finally finishing my B.A. next week) and starting the next (my daughter starting kindergarten). I am also looking forward to taking out the camera more over these lazy holiday days. Cheers!

  80. I will be spending the last days of 2011 with my family close by…either skiing during the day time hours or snuggled up by the fire in the evenings.

  83. I am spending the last days of the New Year in a reflective mood. The image in my mind is of lighting a candle for all that has happened this year (a very traumatic one for the family) and gazing at yellow chrysanthemums which give me hope that sunshine and life will prevail.

  86. thanks so much for this chance to enroll! today is my birthday and I have spent it with family and friends and laughing (eating falafel and pancakes, too)–the way I hope to spend all the remaining days of 2010.

  87. I will spend the next week with 22 very excited kindergartners! Exhausting, but very fun! Then it's off to relax and ski with family in Montana. Lots of snow, I hope!

  88. I am spending them learning how to focus in on the precious moments that last Christmas were totally overlooked, in the panic of illness, stress, financial crisis etc.
    This year I am forcing myself to slow down, prepare, and let the little things go.
    Appreciating the small wonders of a toddler pleased by her first christmas tree, warm socks, drinking hot tea, snuggling with my little family, and appreciating that we do still have a place to call home.
    I am spending the last days of the year, in a state of contentment, peace, and gratitude.
    Something that I am looked for my entire life and just now learning how to see.

    Would love to take part in your course, to fix these moments I am seeing, feeling, and making into stills for other times in my life and others.

    Ally

  89. i am spending the last days of 2010 evaluating business and personal goals, re-energizing, discovering new things, loving, relaxing, working smart and loving 🙂 lots things i gave up throughout the year…

  91. What a generous offer; Me the last few days of the year, will be highlighted with the year's reflection. I will observe and watch my family before me, knowing this time is precious and won't last long. I will linger in their actions, but also observe the treasured memories, I will later tuck away. I will snap a photo, go for a walk and observe the quiet stillness as the New Year approaches. Reminded of their growth and mine during the year and what seeds to plant for the New Year ahead~ I will journal some goals and try to be thoughtful in asking what I wish!

  93. Spending the last of the season soaking up as much family time as I can, enjoying the little things, treating myself to sweet treats, and reflecting on 2010 and readying myself for the next year and what I hope to happen!

  94. After a crazy year, spent hopelessly behind, I want to spent this year enjoying a quiet restful time spent with family. I want to enjoy the simple things and not stress about all the things I "should have" done. I'm looking forward to a new year and plan to take 2011 a little slower.

  96. Well, after Wednesday I'll be officially done with the semester and hope to spend the rest of 2010 relaxing at home with the family. I also wouldn't mind going out and experimenting a little more with my camera even though it's just below freezing where I live.

  97. I'll be taking some time off of work to focus on getting myself ready to start a new adventure in 2011.

  98. I'm soaking up and passing on the magic and good juju that comes out so much at this time of year! And photographing!

  99. I will spend the end of the year planning for the new year. One of my favorite things is the begininng of a new year!

  101. I am trying to be a more organized 'me' in the last days of the year. I am wrapping packages to mail out (BEFORE 12/25) (a first for me)… but also I am focusing on the "being" in each day…. just being. Looking at the Christmas tree lights… listening to Christmas tunes…. just enjoying these December moments of a holiday time that I love so much!

  102. I will try to step AWAY from the computer and spend some real moments with my family enjoying the holidays (of course, where am I right now?? 😉
    I am lately SO wound up with excitement for the new levels my photography hobby has taken me to that I have recently found myself being less than present too much of the time.

    I certainly won't put away my camera, though!

  104. I'll be spending my last days of this year basking in the love of my family. As the holidays wind down and the kids are home from school, we just relax at home and enjoy each other. I love this time of the year.
    Thank you so much for the chance to win a spot in the workshop!

  105. I'll spend the rest of this year using my new lens and learning how it works. I am attempting to photograph the holiday through the eyes of a 4 year old. It's allowing me to visualize the holiday in a new way this year. It's really about fun and family right now!

  106. I am spending the last days of 2010 making our new house a warm and inviting home. Spending time with my sisters and my children, and baking, baking, baking.

  107. After trekking half way from the East Coast back to the chilly Midwest, I will be treasuring daily blazing fires, moments of laughter with my children and husband. I hope to dust off last years NewYear resolution list and add; Spending Quality Moments with those I care about, Fill my soul with images new, and Loose those last 30lbs by walking with my camera DAILY!

  108. I am attempting to focus on the positive and non-commercial aspects of the holidays….making memories and traditions for our son that are not barcoded or bought from a store…..i do not always succeed as we have dueling grandparents that seem to want to outdo the other set! trying to see it as love….trying!

  109. The last few days of the year will be rough, I predict. We're spending Christmas with my dying father. After a roller coaster of a year (for me, personally) I think we will need some close family time. I predict lots of cuddles, hot tea, baking, quilting, and a some outdoor play in the snow.

  110. I'm looking forward to spending the last few days of the year with little to do aside from reading a stack of books and spending time with my family! (Pretty sure there'll be a lot of eating in there too!)

  113. spending the last days of the year cozy in the cabin creating some christmas gifts and snuggling with the pets. best wishes to all.

  114. I took about ten days off at the end of the year, so I will be spending that time at home in the quiet with my husband.

  116. That photo is so beautiful! And yes, a life lived with intention is the most powerful. This year has been just mind blowing for me, with me making changes that even I can't even quite comprehend right now! Here's to 2011 being a year of continued growth and ultimately, joy! Also: I am off to go investigate this workshop as I am totally looking for new ways to up the creative ante. <3

  117. We're spending the last few days of the year doing traditional Christmas things. I especially want to build a gingerbread house (from a kit, I'm not going crazy!) and bake sugar cookies. I'll also turn a year older, so we're having a family date day and having homemade cheesecake when my parents come to celebrate. I am trying to soak in Christmas gently, without too much pressure…

  118. Found you through the fabulous Marilyn and La Salonniere. (love her. love the new project …)

    I'll be spending the last of 2010 working (and enjoying how the schedule at the non-profit arts service org that i work for really s-l-o-w-s down at year's end), Reverb-10ing, hanging with family and friends, and yes, shooting lots of photos.

    (booked with other stuff this january, but i'm going to put your spring course in the old 'tickler file' …)

  119. I'm planning to spend the last days of the year SLOWING DOWN and just enjoying the moment, the family, the snow, the time spent together, the holiday season.

  120. This time of year is incredibly busy at the theatre where I work, so I'm in full tilt work mode until 12/26 when all the shows end. After that, my Mister and girls are heading to Northern California to visit his family and the snow. Can't wait!

    On a side note, I've spent most of this year putting my own creativity aside to focus on surviving a new job. Now that I have a handle on the job, I'd really love to find my way back to my own art. This would be an excellent jump start. Fingers crossed.

  121. I'm cooking, making donations in the names of friends and family, making cards to announce those donations, attending a benefit to help pay a friend's medical bills (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31403417@N00/sets/72157625489119742/), taking photos of dogs in goofy head gear (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31403417@N00/sets/72157625579442262/), trying to figure out how to keep my dog both exercised and warm as the temps plummet and his little body shivers, giving a young friend her first tool for becoming a Shutter Sister (http://www.flickr.com/photos/31403417@N00/5235924279/in/set-72157625412286245/).

  122. Honestly, I'll be spending the rest of the year eagerly anticipating its end. This has been a very hard year. Admittedly, it was a year of many lessons learned, but I am looking forward to it being over. While every morning brings a new day and a new beginning, there's nothing quite like the New Year to really feel like there is a chance for a fresh start. And I really need that. A fresh start. So while I will be enjoying the time spent with family and friends this holiday season, seeing the end of 2010 will be the best part.

  123. I am very sad to say, I am spending the remainder of 2010 reflecting on the very few things that have been successful this year. I am not fishing for a "Oh, you did great! really!!" I am just feeling sad. I feel that my lofty goals merely set me up for failure.

    I also am having a tough time being joyful. I love my family but I am also feeling an overwhelming burden by caring for them. I can't remember the last time I did something that made me feel happy.

    Sorry I'm a downer, I guess since I'm new here I feel safe to unload without too many people who know me. Thanks.

  125. I am hoping to be moving into my new house the last few days of the year. I am crossing my fingers for a quick closing!

  126. I am spending the last few days of the year reflecting on the many things that happened in my life, writing down my aspirations for 2011, and enjoying unrushed family time.

  127. I’ll be spending the days of the year relaxing, taking care of myself, seeing friends and enjoying my Netflix subscription that I didn’t use all year.

    Happy Holidays!!!!

  128. The last days of this year will be spent with my family and friends, enjoying the crisp weather and each other. My husband and I have 4 young children. Every day we have an activity from our advent calendar- sometimes a treat, a craft, an activity, and sometimes we serve others by giving time and donations. We are mostly finished with our Christmas shopping (which we did entirely on Etsy) so I have plenty of time for my husband, my family, and of course, for taking so many pictures the kids feel like celebrities! 🙂

  129. I'm spending the last days of 2010 with my family and close friends, reflecting on the year and how it's changed us and brought us closer together. 2010 has been the hardest of my 37 years but it's been the year I've learned the most about what is important in life and the direction I want to go in the future.

  130. I will spend the last days of this year with my mother-in-law. She is coming in to stay with us for two weeks and while she can by trying at times, I know she is very lonely since her husband died. I plan on keeping her entertained by taking her to see the light displays in City Park, to see a movie, and to try new restaurants (it is New Orleans after all, eating is what we do best!). I also will spend the last days of the year making very hard decisions, such as where I will apply to graduate school, whether it will be for an MFA in photography or a MA in art history, will that mean staying or moving, and what decision will be best not only for me but for my husband and daughters. 2011 will be a big, big year for me- graduation, grad school, a possible move- and I will spend the last part of 2010 preparing for it and hoping for the very best.

  131. I will be spending the last days of this year recovering from a ride that my bipolar disorder has given me since July 4.
    Art is always what brings me through these awful periods in my life. and my mom.
    I purchased your book online (and love it!), which led me to your amazing blog. Thank you all so much for doing what you do and BEING who you ARE.
    all the love and light that i can muster to you for the holiday season. hope it is very blessed.
    kath

  132. I'm spending the last few days of 2010 hoping to make it to 2011. Between career stresses and holiday chaos, not enough time in the day and sleepless nights – I've reached the point of just hangin' on. Here's hoping that 2011 brings some much-needed relief (things are indeed coming to a head, so it's not like this is wishful thinking!), peace, and more time for photography.

  133. After all the client orders have gone out and I am standing in the doorway of the studio ready to say goodbye for a couple of weeks, I will say out loud how lucky I am that I get to do this for a living.

    Then..I will have one lovely glass of champagne in front of the fire with my sweet family who has been so understanding during the chaos.

    January is for book writing and art-making. I just can't wait!
    Lara