Every time I try to combine colours in some painting or drawing – any kind of colour design work – I come up with colour combinations that are somehow frightening – I think they’re not going to work together. And then I look at some of the amazing colour combinations that show up in the fish and other marine life on coral reefs, birds, butterflies, and flowers. Beautiful, odd combinations that are so vibrant, so elegant.

I just want to swim in their colour ocean.

Manifesto
17. Every day look through a new lens.
22. Every day refine, clarify and simplify.
41. Every day use your mind. It is the greatest technology ever created.

Making a good portrait is about an emotional connection with the subject, the viewer, with yourself. – Fleur Wickes

I have a dream that one day I’ll be a great photographer of people. I want to be able to portray a person’s inner and outer beauty in a way that reflects their individual uniqueness. This is a lot harder to do than it sounds.

Finding people who are willing to be photographed can be a challenge all of its own. In my experience I have found that many adults are particularly reluctant subjects. As testament to this I have lots of photos of people’s backs and their hands as they put them in front of their faces to indicate “Don’t photograph me”.

I try to take photos of people as they go about doing what they normally do – at work, at play, while resting – and this at times can be difficult to do without being obvious and even obtrusive. I have never asked anyone to formally pose for me so I could photograph them and maybe if I had I would have had a different response.

Photographing people has a lot of responsibility associated with it as well. The person being photographed invariably wants to see themselves portrayed through their perspective and that may be different to your own. Then there are all the technical considerations of using my camera so that I can create that photo that makes us all stop and think.

I have come to realise that photographing people is so much more than just taking a photo. It is about seeing, feeling and connecting with another human being.

So this why I am in Wanganui this week – to learn more. I am attending a course at the UCOL Summer School of the Arts. This one week summer school offers many delights to tempt the creative soul and it is held every January. In this year’s offering one course grabbed my attention immediately: The New Portrait – Emotional Connection in the Digital Age being taught by a Wellington portrait photographer Fleur Wickes.

After checking out Fleur’s web site I knew I had be here. As soon as enrolments opened I sent in my application, paid my fees and booked my leave from work.

So today is the first day of what promises to be an exciting week. Our cameras are now on manual exposure, manual focus, no tripods are allowed to be used and we can only photograph using natural light. We have also been encouraged to take risks every day by letting go – we are to stop thinking and start feeling. In other words we need to “Just Do It” (the theme of our first photo shoot) and see what happens.

Today has already taken me out of my comfort zone and there are another six days to go! I somehow know I will be different by the end of this week long experience.

Manifesto
09. Every day learn something new.
26. Every day take action. Every small step counts.
33.Every day try something new.

A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren’t we like that wise old bird? — Unknown

How does one become wise?

Sometimes we have to stop and take time to be still so that we can become connected with our self and our world. This doesn’t come easy to me. It somehow feels like I’m being lazy or unproductive and I struggle to let go of all the things that need to be done or that I want to be doing.

This owl pendant attracted my attention today and reminded me of a number of things. I fell in love with her instantly. This particular pendant, not any other one being sold in the shop. As an aside the young shop assistant tried to convince me that the gold and black version of this owl pendant was more appropriate for someone my age!

In a shop full of all sorts of glitz and baubles it was this particular owl that spoke to me. This owl said I needed to press pause, even for a moment, and experience what is happening all around me – to let it infuse my being so I can connect to that inner wiser me who knows so much.

Sometimes the realities of the every day are so incredibly overwhelming I forget about the incredible resources that lie within because I need to be still to become connected to them and being still takes effort. The great thing is that our inner wise self lies in wait patiently until we’re ready to listen to it. It doesn’t fly away.

At the moment a lot is happening for me. There is a churning feeling within that both excites me as well as unsettles me. Change is happening on many fronts as are the challenges I am having to face. The owl within is indicating to me that this is going to be a big year so taking time for me to be still and listen and learn will be ever more important.

Manifesto
23. Every day retain your personal power. It belongs to you. No one else.
36. Every day be still. Connect to your inner being. Listen and be guided by it.
37. Every day fight for what’s worth fighting for. Pick your battles.

Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.
– William Shakespeare

Speed kills. We hear this message repeatedly – driving at excessive speed kills people. The statistics back-up this message. Speeding is a serious road safety and major public health issue in our country. Every time we choose to speed we’re taking a risk. We know the potential consequences. If we don’t slow down we can expect someone or something will make us do it. There are signs along the road to remind us to slow down but do we pay heed to them? Some do and they continue on their journey. Others are not so fortunate and their journey comes to an abrupt and tragic end.

Living a life where we are constantly speeding (in terms of the pace of our lives) can also kill us. Only this type of speeding is more insidious – it takes longer and it works from the inside-out. We miss so much when we buy into the frenetic lifestyle that is the norm today. Everything is getting faster and faster. We keep going faster to try to keep up. We feel we’re a failure if we can’t. Making the decision to not buy into this craziness doesn’t seem a viable option and we ignore all the signs telling us its time to slow down.

I realised over the last few days how important it is to make room for down time in my life – and not once in a while, but regularly. It can take on many different forms and doesn’t involve having to physically go away anywhere.

Even though my head knows all this stuff making the necessary choices to bring about change is harder to do. I keep thinking “if only I had more time”.  In reality what would I do differently with this extra time that I couldn’t put in place now.

I have enjoyed my break away from my every day routines and pressures. I felt so lucky to have had this opportunity. While I was away I felt more alive and more inspired. I slept well, went for walks, ate well, and generally chilled. I was happy and I felt at peace. Now my challenge is to continue to do this while at home and not wait for the signs telling me to slow down or else …

Manifesto
06. Every day you make choices.
29. Every day eat, drink, rest, work, exercise, play, love, create for your own good. And the good of others.
36. Every day be still. Connect to your inner being. Listen and be guided by it.