01/15/2024
On Saturday, I had to make a last minute trip out to Irvine (to satisfy my Facebook marketplace addiction) and tried desperately to find a couple to come to the beach with me for a model call.
I was unable to find one in time.
Instead, I chose to wander Newport Beach by myself with just a DSLR and a vintage film camera I still don't know how to navigate.
If you've ever taken a camera on vacation and experienced the unfounded embarrassment of carrying around a "fancy camera" in a tourist destination, you might be able to sympathize with my situation. It's a whole lot less embarrassing when you have people to take pictures of.
I forced myself to embrace being the weird girl that stops to take a photo of every little thing.
And while the film scans won't be back for awhile, I can confidently say I haven't felt this at peace in a long time. I bring my fancy camera on every trip, vacation, and outing; but when your hobby becomes your job, you sometimes lose sight of what made you fall in love with it in the first place. When traveling with others, I often feel rushed or too embarrassed to stop and capture the image I can see so vividly in my head. When working with clients, I develop a workflow that I am comfortable and confident in. I very rarely just get to slow down and take in the environment, light, architecture, and love around me.
So if you ever find yourself the person on vacation too embarrassed to pull out your fancy camera—slow down, embrace the moment, and do it.
It just means you see beauty where others forget to look.