We are on holidays for a week in Mazatlan this week. Dave, myself, and our friend Dave ("Little Dave"). Another friend and her boyfriend were scheduled to come with us as well but they cancelled due to challenging circumstances. It's been a wonderful time of rest and relaxation. And a full battery recharge. Holy cow. I'm so thankful.
One of our aims with this trip was to stop moving so fast and trying to cram fifty million things into a single day, every day. We have done exactly that. And it's been amazing.
Dave and Little Dave, posing for my camera antics on the Malecon boardwalk.
Learning composition. Here is an attempt that I am actually quite delighted with. Far view from Little Dave's room on the eighth floor.
Recently, I faced some challenges in my life, of which one of them is some pre-session anxiety that seems to keep popping up shortly before impending sessions. Realizing this has been important to me in my journey of improvement as a photographer - especially a professional one. Anxiety is not necessarily a bad thing, as it drives us to avoid danger and therefore enables us to handle situations with an extra intuition that we otherwise would not. I find this has become the situation with my most recent sessions - and it has helped me avoid bad lighting situations as well as some other major mistakes - but it has not helped me avoid the jitters and a locked jaw when I'm trying to maintain communication with my clients in session.
So for that reason, we made a point of taking my laptop, my camera, and my two most powerful lenses with us on our trip so that I could gain some valuable practice while making memories with Dave and Little Dave, and it's been a powerful and medicinal engagement for sure. I remembered vividly, something another photographer told me recently. Take your time and take photographs when the moment is present. If it's not a moment, it's not worth the click of that shutter. So I kept that in mind this whole week, and today was the only day the camera came out and what a joy it's been. I've had so much fun today.
A single vendor along the way on our walk along the Malecon boardwalk.
We caught a pulmonia (pneumonia in Spanish - what they refer to the open taxis as) from our resort and had them bring us to the beginning of the Malecon so we could walk a ways. I took my camera and took my time, and am delighted to say I captured some delightful photos. Some of those photos are important enough to me that I will be framing and hanging them on my wall at home.
A lady saw me instructing Dave and Little Dave to pose, and offered to take my camera for me. Of course it was a little nerve-wracking handing her a ten thousand dollar piece of equipment and letting her handle it for me, but it also felt so worth it. She took a wonderful photograph of us that I will forever cherish.
Northbound (I think) on the Malecon
Southbound (Again, I think) on the Malecon. Gorgeous view.
The view from the top floor of our resort where our room is now. It's amazing.
We are having the most dreamy, wonderful time in Mazatlan. And it's time for me to get back to the two Dave's who are calling me away from my computer to go back to enjoying the sights and experience as we have been. I look forward to my return next week with two brand new blog entries of two fabulous families I had the pleasure of working with recently. One of which I was able to practice couple poses with for my own benefit and oh, are the photographs breathtaking. It's hard to peel myself away as I've already been editing them this evening.
But alas, I must go. And enjoy. And continue to recharge my battery.. So I bid you all farewell until next week. Happy Monday!
