Last month I was flown down to Key West to photograph my first ever destination wedding. Besides being ultra excited to soak in some Vitamin D, I was ridiculously nervous. TSA would ruin my gear, the hotel would biff my reservations, I’d get lost or mugged or both, and somehow be late for the wedding. All these scenarios ran through my head on loop as I boarded the flight to Miami. It was the fear of the unknown and confronting that elusive monster head on with my entire business on my back. But, I’m home now; safe and sound and with a thousand pretty images to finish editing. I feel okay telling the truth that I was petrified and exhilarated. Equally.

The night before I left Miami to drive down to Key West was Thanksgiving evening. I had dinner alone at my hotel. Don’t feel sorry for me just yet; the restaurant was nice, the food was delish and wine was buy 1 get 1 free. Since I had settled in and felt more at ease, I wanted to take this time to brainstorm. As I sat there pondering things – life, work and the future… my mind kept going blank. Like “CTRL, ALT, DELETE” was being pressed repeatedly in my brain. At the time it was starting to frustrate me. I was finally able to sit with my thoughts – no chores to be done and no one to interrupt me. And I couldn’t think! Whaaaat. I resigned myself to just enjoying my meal and saying a mental “Thanks” for everything in my life… including this trip that I was currently on.

Key West was magical, the wedding was beautiful and the trip was tons of fun. And none of the aforementioned tragedies struck at any time. The worst thing that happened was I lost my favorite sunglasses. I felt lucky and brave like I could conquer the world. I’m thinking a successful business trip can make you feel that way. It’s been a little over a week of settling back into my life and I finally realize why I couldn’t force myself to analyze and plan over that dinner. I needed to be present in that moment, at that little couch I was eating dinner on. There would be time to map out business moves and ideas when I got back. My brain was calling the shots and in that moment (let’s be real, most of the trip), it was telling me to just BE. Often I stress about my business and worry about it being successful but I’ve found the moments that define it have happened naturally. Sometimes I need to relax the reins and give a certain bit of perceived control up to the universe. Things will happen or they won’t. Either way, I love what I do and will continue to do it as long as there are couples who believe in me.

I came, I saw, I conquered. And cleared my mind in the process. Either I’m still on island time or I’ve stumbled across some perfect truths I needed to realize at this point in my business. That I need to relax and enjoy the ride. Always put my heart into my work and the rest will fall into place in due time. For this and so much more, I’m thankful.

Here are some photos from the trip…

Miami sunrise

Our trusty steed

Canopy of green

Feathery friend

Duval St.

Whistle Bar/The Bull

Art/Nature

Sunset Point

xoxo

Shann

The past couple of years have been a huge growing and learning experience both as a photographer and a business owner. My style has evolved and processes have been tweaked. It’s only fitting that I have a new blog to reflect where I’m at. I feel like I’ve come into my own as an artist and have embraced the direction I’ve been traveling towards.

I hope you enjoy the photos you’ll find here and check back often for updates! Thank you for your support!

xoxo

~Shannon~