This past year of life would be best compared to being in some weird time warp where time moves at the speed of light and I wake up another year older. Twenty-six has been a year full of a lot of wonderful surprises. This year has required stepping out in faith & being brave. I learned so much about myself.... & yet, I know I still have SO much left to learn.
This morning I came home from yoga to find the sweetest gift on my doorstep from my best friend, Jenice, it was a hand-crafted poster of 27 reasons turning 27 is awesome. The ones that rang the most true, "you own going to bed earlier" & "you are at the prime of your life." Can't wait for what this next year of life has in store!
A few things I am thankful to have learned from my 26 year old self:
- Hard work pays off... continue to do the work now & reap the benefits later.
- ANYTHING is possible.
- I could listen to Ellie Goulding on repeat for weeks & never get sick of her music.
- The best version of me is reached by breaking out of my comfort zone & becoming extremely comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.
- I have to be intentional about creating space in my life to welcome new opportunities.
- You don't need a ton of friends, just a few really amazing friends that you can count on when push comes to shove.
- I am much more than just what I do.
- When you finally commit yourself to the path you know you are supposed to be on doors will open in the most surprising places.
- Inspiration comes when I have dumped my mind of all of the un-necessary BS.
- Life & Photography is ALL about problem solving & there is ALWAYS a solution, it's my responsibility to find that solution.
- Never listen to the nay-sayers. Thankfully, those people are full of sh*t ;)
- Photographically I need to stay focused on the perfection of my vision. Get rid of the noise.
- Take a step back & start anew
- Saying "no" to "good" things opens me up to say "YES" to "amazing" things.
- Life rewards the brave.
post script - I am fully aware this is a creepy picture of me, but it was probably one of the last photos taken of me at 26. It was at my friend Kate's birthday party this weekend.
Happy Birthday! Hope 27 is as wonderful to you as 26 was!
Happy Birthday lovely Sarah! I can't believe you're only 27 and yet you have so much wisdom and talent!! You just improve with age : ) I hope this new year of your life is full of amazing things. x
Happy Birthday! I have been following your blog for a while and oh my gosh you are my age and so far ahead of me, which inspires me to work harder! Keep up the amazing work!
You couldn't have summed this up perfectly, alot of those things I noticed and learnt about myself too and I just turned 27 a couple weeks ago :) Happy happy happy birthday! xo
You couldn't have summed this up perfectly, alot of those things I noticed and learnt about myself too and I just turned 27 a couple weeks ago :) Happy happy happy birthday! xo
every year we all grow stronger and i hope and pray that you have an amazing 27th year of life!!! happy birthday!
:)..xo
Happy happy birthday Sarah!! Love this - esp. "I am much more than what I do". Take it from someone who's spent the last ten months being 27, you're in for a kick ass ride. xo
Happy B'day Sarah! My days at 26 are numbered, so it's fun seeing someone else embrace 27! I'm in the middle of watching your interview on [FRAMED] and love you even more! Hope your day is sweet!
hey sarah! these are all really great lessons to have learned. here's to many more! happy birthday :))
lots of great bits of wisdom from a now 27 years old! love it and so true! happy birthday!
Happy birthday amazing you! I hope I feel the same as you do when I reach 27 in a couple years. Have a wonderful celebration today!
Great thoughts! You inspire! Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday! P.S. I love Ellie Goulding too!!
Happy Birthday! 27 is a great age- though I am not even half way through it.
I really liked this:
- Photographically I need to stay focused on the perfection of my vision. Get rid of the noise
This will have to be my new mantra!
Have a delightful day.
Happy Birthday, Sarah! We love you. Have a fantastic day! Celebrate all week long.
Pish posh creepy... that picture is awesome. You have a crown. That is pretty much all that needs to be said about that. Happy Birthday and welcome to 27!!!! Amazingness is in store! Get down on it!
27 is a good age. It's been good to me so far =)
I, for one, love the photo. Happy birthday you beautiful gal!
you're the cutest! i hope you have an great birthday and an AMAZING 27th year of your life :) i'm sure it'll be great.
I LOVE this photo. It is so hard to believe you are 26. You have accomplished so much and are such an inspiration at such a young age. Thank you for being you! I hope you have an absolutely amazing birthday and that 27 brings you even more happiness and blessings!
I luf you! happy birthday you old dog!
Happy birthday to one of my favorite people. May your 27th year be full of many blessings. xox
Hi Birthday you amazing rockstar of a person that happens to also be a rockstar photographer. here is to another awesome year for you!
so honest. so pure. love this idea. you truly know what you are and I love that. you are not afraid to share. that is so honorable. you continually expose yourself and your craft. thank you for that.
/fa
I love your creative eye. You are amazing. Thanks for sharing!
very cool stuff guys!!!! OK, you may have already seen this but... if you are scrolling sideways past the chair shot and back and forth - the chairs move! Or maybe its just me that can see it! lol
I just visited seattle for the first time a few weeks ago (love it!!) and took my (big 5dmarkii) everywhere and snapped away. I recognize so many locations in your images because I took similar shots while in seattle! It's fun to know where you were for the shots because the sounds and smells and the feeling of the crowds come back to me when I look at your images. So fun. I think I'm going to put your shots next to my shots just to see how we look at the world similarly/differently. Anyhow, thanks for the inspiration to carry a pocket camera! I carry a small digital one that I don't enjoy taking pictures with but I think if I heeded your advice and carried one that challenged me in a good way I would use it more often! Thanks :)
As always....GORGEOUS stuff lady! I'm all kinds of inspired after this post!
couldn't agree more. i carry a t3, just a great way to capture life.
I try to carry a small pocket sketchbook in my pocket, especially when working on a large project. I like to call it my "inspiration lightning rod" You never know when inspiration might strike so it is best to be prepared to capture those moments.
Augggh. The intensity of the inspiration is incredible. The hill with the kite? Breath taking.
Augggh. The intensity of the inspiration is incredible. The hill with the kite? Breath taking.
Love these. I keep coming back to the hill with the silhouettes and kites. Beautiful.
I get your updates in my RSS feed reader, but I love coming to your site to see your posts because of how they're laid out horizontally...
Anyway, this post is so inspiring me to load a roll of b/w in my film camera (vintage Canon FT QL) to have on my person at all times. I get scared with film because it's expensive to develop, but it's worth it if you stop and capture things that really matter. Which you do!
I get your updates in my RSS feed reader, but I love coming to your site to see your posts because of how they're laid out horizontally...
Anyway, this post is so inspiring me to load a roll of b/w in my film camera (vintage Canon FT QL) to have on my person at all times. I get scared with film because it's expensive to develop, but it's worth it if you stop and capture things that really matter. Which you do!
Thanks so much for the inspiration! Can't wait to see what I come up with...
So beautiful! I've been wanting to find some batteries for my old gear and bust out some film. Thanks for the inspiration.
Those are beautiful. Thanks for sharing a peek into your everyday life.
beautiful work! definitely added the pocket camera on the "to get" list, haha
Not only are these images amazing, but oh so cool. Now, to find me my own pocket camera since my iPhone just isn't doing it for me anymore!
Nice daily life shots!
These are amazing! I agree about bringing a camera everywhere - never leave without one!
These are amazing! I agree about bringing a camera everywhere - never leave without one!
This is all well and good, but the real question is how to fashionably rock the man purse and / or Batman-style tool belt.
Chris' hands and the wine glasses is incredible. Incredible.
(Geez, sorry about that barrage of duplicate comments. My internet is wonky tonight.)
I love everything about this post. So cool to see what catches your eye when you're out and about! Thanks for always being so inspired and inspiring.
great insight into your creative self, both the description and the pictures! do you develop your own film? or send/take it to whom/where?
I love everything about this post. So cool to see what catches your eye when you're out and about! Thanks for always being so inspired and inspiring.
I love everything about this post. So cool to see what catches your eye when you're out and about! Thanks for always being so inspired and inspiring.
Thanks for the encouragement! My M6 has been sitting and collecting dust for years!
So great. I haven't taken my camera out so much or had time to blog and this is my motivation to go out and do more of that. You're so awesome sarah!
such a good challenge. and such a good idea. i love this, so much easier to catch things rather than w a mkII. i love love this and what'd it mean for catching everyday things. I'm on it!
so nice to know that you always carry a camera with you even after all these years of professional photography.
it warms my heart. This is so inspiring.
You are such an inspiring artist. Thank you for reminding me how important it is to carry that camera on me. Batteries are going on the charger NOW! :)
You are such an inspiring artist. Thank you for reminding me how important it is to carry that camera on me. Batteries are going on the charger NOW! :)
These are my new favorites! So personal and raw and just beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
Love!
beautiful. visual signature....thank you for encouraging me to push myself.
Lovely lovely lovely. Thank you this morning.
Sarah, you're an inspiration to me! Your photography pushes me to think in new ways and look at life differently!
Just beautiful, Sarah. I grew up as a dancer, went on to college as a dance major, and am now a photographer. :) I think it's funny how creativity manifests itself in different areas of oneself at different times. I miss dance a lot too; I don't think that ever goes away. :)
Your photography makes me so happy, Sarah. I enjoy following your journey as an artist/photographer.
Thanks for this Sarah. Have been thinking about this process myself recently. And you put it so elegantly and succinctly.
Hey I really enjoyed your photographs! I especially like your blog's layout. Very attractive and easy to use.
Perhaps the Law of Attraction may have to do with how I somehow ended up here in your blog...and what a gem! I am at a fork in the road, wanting but hesitant...scared? so much...but just the thought is exhilarating...thank you for this. Thank you.
The idea that truly embracing who you are as a person and 'not shrinking back' is so freeing. That actually when I am most myself I am allowing others to be the most that they are as well.
One of my favorite quotes. And I'm sure you killed it during your presentation. I was just thinking of you and thought I'd stop by here. Miss ya. xo.
Thank you for this Sarah...this is exactly what I needed to hear to challenge myself and never settle.
thanks for posting this
Beautiful post Sarah. Thanks for this easily forgotten reminder of how much we can do and how often it can be squandered. Enjoy G.R. :) You must eat at Marie Catrib's +/ Gaia
I think I heard part of that quote in the movie "Akeelah and the Bee".
I love reading your blog! Total source of inspiration and I needed to read that today! Thanks and come back to Dallas again!!!
Somehow, I'd never seen or heard the 2nd part of that quote, and that's the part that makes my heart race a little bit faster. The 1st paragraph alone always sounded was intimidating and confusing, the 2nd is inspirational and exciting, to me, personally. Thank you for sharing.
I'm reading her 'Return to Love' RIGHT NOW, actually, where she first said that. Written in the 90's, but a timeless collection of words, it rang true then and even more so now. Thanks for sharing. Always.
always love your personal posts - so inspiring!!
Yes!
yes. wonderful. thank you for reminding me (all of us) of this quote for i think i have forgotten it!
Ah. Have loved that quote for several years also. I'll be chewing on that word for a while here. THanks for sharing.
Great quote... def a call to action! :) Thanks for sharing!
That's beautiful Sarah, thank you so much for sharing it!
Ah! Love the quote and the picture! May it affect many more to "manifest the glory of God within us"! Thank you for posting!! :)